TUSTIN : Council Rejects Plan to Add 2 Members

A suggestion to add two members to the City Council and hold council elections by district was rejected by the council Monday on a 3-2 vote.

Councilman John Kelly, who made the proposal, said it would allow better representation of the entire community.

“Three of the five present council members live south of Walnut Street,” Kelly said.

Councilman Earl J. Prescott supported Kelly’s idea but the majority disagreed, saying Tustin is too small to warrant elections by district.

“This would make people not accountable to the city as a whole,” Councilman Ronald B. Hoesterey said.

Kelly and Prescott disagreed with the majority of the council on another election issue as well--the shift of local elections from November to April.

Although the change was approved on a 3-2 vote last month, the ordinance was reintroduced Monday for the purpose of making a technical change.

Mayor Ursula E. Kennedy and Councilmen Richard B. Edgar and Hoesterey say they support the change because April elections allow greater focus on local issues and lower campaign costs for candidates.

Kelly and Prescott say they support November elections because they cost the city less and draw more voters.

Resident Berklee Maughan told the council that as soon as approval is final, Nov. 20, he and other residents will begin circulating a referendum aimed at overturning the council’s decision.

The council was scheduled to consider another election measure as well, but it was continued until the next meeting at the request of Prescott. He had suggested asking voters to decide whether they would prefer elections in April or November, but City Atty. James Rourke advised him that the law allows only an advisory vote. Prescott said he wants a chance to study Rourke’s written opinion.