Alien Vote to Put Mayor on the Spot in Costa Mesa : City Hall: Peter F. Buffa will be the swing vote when the council decides whether to reinstate a ban on funding groups that aid undocumented residents. No matter which way he goes, he’ll feel the heat.

Peter F. Buffa swept onto the City Council four years ago here by avoiding the ubiquitous development debate, focusing his campaign instead on addressing the needs of the city’s growing Latino and immigrant community.

When Buffa, who has since become mayor, runs for reelection in November, Costa Mesa’s treatment of its immigrant community will probably be a hot topic--this time, however, presenting Buffa with a thorny dilemma.

Before then, Buffa will have to decide whether to support Councilmen Orville Amburgey and Ed Glasgow and reinstate the city’s much-disputed policy on funding groups that help aliens, now that federal authorities have approved that policy.

No matter which way Buffa goes, he is likely to feel the heat come election time. The funding policy--originally passed in August, only to be rescinded when its constitutionality was questioned--would deny city money to charities and other groups if they refuse to bar illegal aliens from their programs.

In a precedent-setting opinion Thursday, the Department of Housing and Urban Development said the policy does not appear to violate federal anti-discrimination guidelines, leaving the city free to resurrect the measure.

However, the policy and HUD’s endorsement are strongly opposed by immigrant-rights groups--who promise a court challenge--and charitable and religious communities throughout Southern California.

Buffa, 41, an independent TV producer, provided the swing vote in both adopting and rescinding the policy. The four other council members are evenly split.

But Buffa, who in 1988 briefly vied for Robert Badham’s congressional seat and does not rule out another run, said Friday that he has not decided how he will vote when the council takes up the issue again June 18.

“I’m not going to do anything about it until the other side of the weekend, not until the city attorney reviews the HUD ruling and what it means,” he said last week.

Buffa insisted, however, that his reelection bid will play no role in his decision: “I am not considering what it would mean in terms of the future.”

As for being on the hot seat, he said: “I’ve been there before and I’ll be there again.”

It is either fortuitousness or good drama that the key players in the dispute--Amburgey and Buffa--find themselves both up for reelection.

Amburgey, the original sponsor of the policy and other controversial measures designed to stem the city’s influx of illegal aliens, said he believes that the issue will play in his favor at the ballot box.

“It has always been my view that I have to do what I think is right and not allow the fact that an election is coming up to cause me to do anything differently,” Amburgey said.

Buffa, however, may be more vulnerable, many observers agree.

Jean Forbath, chairwoman of the Orange County Human Relations Commission and director of the Costa Mesa-based charity Share Our Selves, said several residents who object to the city’s immigration posture are considering challenging Amburgey and Buffa.

But she also hopes that the mayor will ultimately side with her view.

“A lot of people don’t speak out because they are afraid of being labeled one way or another,” Forbath said. “But if Costa Mesa is going to be a progressive community and not draw up the walls, then Buffa will have to say that (dropping) the policy is right.”

When Buffa--citing HUD’s pending review--backed away from the policy in September, Amburgey called his about-face “cowardly” and raised the specter of a recall against the mayor.

On Friday, Amburgey repeated that “without question, the mayor waffled,” but he also said that their squabbling has ended and that he expects Buffa to support the policy.

“He had indicated to the media that should the HUD ruling be affirmative he had no problem making (the policy) mandatory, and I see no reason why he would change his mind,” Amburgey said.

But other observers said the mayor will be better off opposing the policy. “This is a golden opportunity to show what kind of leadership he will provide if reelected,” Forbath said.

“Very few candidates have a chance like this. We are facing a 21st Century where the face of California will be totally different, and his decision will mark whether Costa Mesa looks forward or backward.”

It seems unlikely that the national anxiety over immigration and undocumented workers should spotlight Costa Mesa, a middle-class community of mostly white residents with an uncommonly large and exclusive shopping center and many of the county’s most prominent arts groups.

Yet the city’s west side is home to a burgeoning Latino and immigrant population that has aroused increasing resentment among some white longtime residents. Buffa has indicated that his own views were changed by the alleged negative impact that illegal aliens are having on the community.

What is unknown is the extent of support in the community for the policy, which led to the city being characterized by some as uncaring and even racist.

“The day after we voted the original funding policy in, I received 70 phone calls, and all but one were positive,” Amburgey said.

However, Councilwoman Mary Hornbuckle, who has consistently opposed the policy, said most of her constituents support her position.

“It’s a divisive subject,” she said. “It’s unfortunate when public policy appeals to the baser instincts of people, rather than more lofty ideals. But I’m sure it will be an (election) issue.”