Stalemate Over Anaheim Council Vacancy Mirrors Split on Issues

A deadlocked Anaheim City Council will try again Tuesday to fill a vacant council seat--a decision that could determine how Anaheim is run, both sides say.

Two weeks ago, the group was so bitterly divided on the appointment that it even split 2 to 2 on how to proceed in order to break deadlocks in the future.

It was an example of what may happen during the next five months if the council cannot agree on an appointment and a special election is called for June 2 to fill the seat vacated by Don R. Roth, who was elected to the county Board of Supervisors.

The fifth council member could create a new council majority. At stake, some officials say, is how the city is run, possibly the city manager’s job and, some fear, greater influence by outside interest groups.

Also at stake, Mayor Ben Bay says, is “whether I stay mayor or not or whether I stay on the council or not. That’s how important I find this issue.”

In one corner are Bay and Councilman Fred Hunter. In the other are Mayor Pro Tem Miriam Kaywood and Councilman Irv Pickler. Both sides define the issue differently.

“Is somebody going to join Pickler and Kaywood and let the staff and (City Manager) Bill Talley run the city?” Bay said. Or will the new council member join him and Hunter and “have the guts” to make some changes, Bay says.

From Kaywood’s perspective, the issue is the need to find someone who is “not handpicked, not aligned to a special interest, and not in a destructive behavior. . . .” Bay, she says, is “out to take control of the city.”

While the council debates, however, the city could suffer, Talley says.

“Divided councils do not get the best production out of staff. (And) they frighten people looking to invest in the community,” Talley said. “I think right now it’s an uncertain situation that is leaning toward instability, unless the council can get back together again.”

The best solution, he says, is a new council member that at least three of the four can agree on.

Bay and Hunter have aligned themselves behind William D. Ehrle, who missed winning one of threecouncil seats that were up for election last November. Hunter calls the 21,000-plus votes Ehrle received “a mandate of the people” for his appointment.

Kaywood and Pickler strongly oppose Ehrle, calling him a special interest candidate, and say there are many community leaders the council could appoint.

One of the issues dividing the council is the how the city is operated--specifically, the roles of the City Council and the city manager.

“We try to stay out of politics and, hopefully, the politicians stay out of administration,” Talley said.

Pickler and Kaywood are satisfied that the council relationship with the city manager has been satisfactory.

“We set the policy, management has to take care of running the city. I don’t want the City Council to get into running the city,” Pickler said. “I just get the impression that Ben would like to keep Mr. Talley under his thumb.”

Hunter, however, says the council should delegate less and should become more involved in day-to-day work. Instead of “cutting ribbons and going to all these parties,” he says, council members should work on “nitty-gritty issues, like the Angels lawsuit.”

But what Hunter sees as getting in touch with groups that have problems with the city--groups such as the Angels and the Anaheim Municipal Employees Assn.--Pickler and Kaywood see as dangerously catering to special interest groups. The Angels and the employees’ union, for example, are both involved in lawsuits against the city.

In last November’s election, the Angels, for the first time, actively supported a candidate, Hunter.

Pickler says he fears that “the special interest groups will have control . . . with someone outside pulling the strings of Bill Ehrle and Bay controlling him and Fred going along.”

Ehrle, Bay and Hunter have denied that any individual or group controls them and have said they would vote their own consciences on each issue.

Talley also points out that groups supporting Hunter and Ehrle, both of whom have said they want Talley ousted, stand to gain from his departure. In the case of the Angels, for example, “I’m in their way, clearly,” Talley said, referring to the Angels’ lawsuit to stop development on the Anaheim Stadium parking lot. “I have represented this city for years in resisting their attempts to stop the development.”

Another example, he says, is the employees association, which supported Hunter and Ehrle and has sued the city over a study on job classifications and compensation.

“A labor union is designed for two reasons: to improve working conditions for employees and extract money from the employer,” Talley said. “The City of Anaheim has a long record of dealing fairly but not being overly generous with employee unions.”

Talley says he does not believe his job is at stake with the selection of the fifth council member because “anytime anybody wants me to leave, they know what to do: ask for my resignation, officially.”

Bay has voted against Talley’s contract and salary raises but has not said he would vote to fire him. Hunter said during his campaign that he would vote to oust Talley. So did Ehrle.

Both Kaywood and Pickler support Talley and proudly point to issues such as Anaheim’s bond rating, the highest in California, as an example of what Kaywood calls “excellent management.”

This rift between the four members has already polarized the council. If they cannot make an appointment between now and June 2, when the special election could be called, they may face 2-2 splits on some issues.

“There may be some items that get delayed if we end up in a 2-2 deadlock,” Bay said.

Bay says he expects decisions by the council would not be affected anymore “than it is affecting it right now. We’ll still do the business at hand. There are a lot of things that we don’t disagree on.”

Although a special election hasn’t been called yet, a campaign is definitely on, says Ehrle, who last week received the endorsement of Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) and met with his campaign consultant to discuss strategy.

Council members still express optimism that they can make an appointment before heading to a special election, if the other side changes its mind.

“I’m not sure the council will stay divided,” Bay said. Although he won’t change his vote, Bay said, “I’m still hoping that one of them will change their minds.”