COSTA MESA : Amburgey Defends Policies on Aliens

Having brought to life the issue of illegal aliens as a city councilman, Orville Amburgey continues to defend policies adopted by the city as he campaigns for a second term.

Amburgey, along with four other council candidates, including Mayor Peter F. Buffa, answered questions Thursday night from a panel that included Harold W. Ezell, former director of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in the Ronald Reagan Administration.

In particular, the panel focused on actions championed by Amburgey, including setting up a hiring hall to end job soliciting in residential areas.

The council also passed ordinances making it illegal to solicit work in certain areas of the city. One of the laws--making it illegal to go these areas with the intent of finding a job--was later struck down in Superior Court.

Ezell complimented the city and Amburgey for establishing the hiring hall.

“I want to publicly apologize to you, Orville, for telling you that your job corps center wouldn’t work,” Ezell said, noting that the center had spawned imitators in other cities.

Candidate Karen McGlinn proposed better enforcement of local laws to alleviate overcrowded housing, ease litter, curb crime and address the problem of illegal aliens. She disagreed with recent efforts by the council to withhold federal money from charities that serve illegal aliens.

Candidate Jay Humphrey also opposed making the charities police themselves, citing a possibility of endangering their mission to help the needy.

Other candidates said traffic is a major concern. The city is grappling with overcrowded streets and is in the middle of a major project to widen Victoria Street.

Some candidates also cited concerns that the local Latino community has been alienated by city government. Recently, a group of Latinos in Costa Mesa has begun a bid to become more involved with city politics.

“There has been a split, and there has been some tension,” Buffa said. “We should recognize that we have a large Hispanic community, and we should be proud of that fact. . . . There was not enough communication between the city and the Hispanic community.”

Arlene Shafer, a former mayor who is running for her third council term after a four-year absence, said the city can learn from businesses that have hired consultants to educate their employees about racial problems.

“One of my points in my campaign is the cultural clash,” she said. “A lot of us don’t understand the different cultures. I think the city could do a lot in that area.”