TUSTIN : Council Will Try to Fill Open Seat

The City Council on Monday will try to fill the vacant seat of Ronald B. Hoesterey, who resigned last month after moving out of the city.

If the remaining four members are unable to agree on a replacement for Hoesterey within 30 days of his resignation, voters will be asked to fill the seat in a special election.

Several residents have expressed interest in the seat by sending letters to the city clerk or talking to council members.

Among those interested are:

* James A. Niemiec, real-estate broker, member of the Parks and Recreation Commission and City Council candidate in 1986.

* Zipora Shifberg-Mencher, community volunteer and co-owner of a bookkeeping and tax service in Tustin.

* Susan Welsh, psychologist and member of the Parks and Recreation Commission and Tustin Chamber of Commerce’s subcommittee on the arts.

* March Bachan, actor, writer and talk-show host for a local cable channel.

* Carole Bryant, one of the leaders of the referendum drive to overturn the council’s decision to shift election dates, and director of Sanity in Government Now, which opposed Measure M.

* Charles P. Mack Jr., roofing and construction material sales representative.

* Charles Puckett, former Tustin planning commissioner and two-time City Council candidate.

* Arnold Gaunt, a systems engineer.

Although Mayor Pro Tem Ursula E. Kennedy has expressed reservations about appointing a new council member because there are three years remaining in Hoesterey’s term, other council members say they are optimistic about agreeing on a replacement.

“More than educational pedigree or experience in the community, the thing that’s the most important is philosophical orientation,” Councilman John Kelly said.

But Kelly and Councilman Earl J. Prescott are often on the opposite side of the philosophical fence from Kennedy and Mayor Richard B. Edgar.

And unless the council approves Prescott’s suggestion to hold a special meeting on Dec. 14, Monday will be the council’s only chance to discuss and appoint a replacement because the majority voted to cancel the Dec. 18 meeting.

If the seat is not filled, 2-2 votes might deadlock the council on controversial topics.

For example, at the last meeting, the council majority, including Hoesterey, gave its preliminary approval to an ordinance requiring permits for and regulating the locations of news racks on the public right of way.

The ordinance is scheduled for final approval on Monday, but Prescott and Kelly oppose it, favoring instead a total ban on news racks on public rights of way. Without Hoesterey’s vote, the ordinance will not pass.