COSTA MESA : Amburgey Denies Vote Favored Donor

Councilman Orville Amburgey on Thursday dismissed an allegation that he improperly accepted a $1,000 campaign contribution earlier this year.

Amburgey, who is running for reelection, received the contribution from Robert Zeimer, owner of Henry n’ Harry’s Goat Hill Tavern, soon after voting in favor of Zeimer’s appeal of restrictions placed on the bar.

“That wasn’t the first time I voted on it and wasn’t the last time,” Amburgey said. “My votes have been consistent. My vote’s not for sale at any price.”

Councilwoman Sandra L. Genis said Amburgey’s actions, though legal, were “unhealthy” for city government.

“His attitude is, ‘I am so overwhelmingly moral that I wont be influenced by the money.’ ”

Genis said that she supports a conflict-of-interest ordinance on the November ballot that would prohibit council members from accepting contributions from anyone within three months after a vote affecting the contributor.

The Ethics in Costa Mesa Initiative also would require any council member who receives more than $500 in a year from a single source to abstain from voting on issues affecting the contributor.

Amburgey said that existing conflict-of-interest laws are sufficient and that he opposes the initiative.

“I totally do not agree with that,” he said. “We have state laws in effect that if you accept a bribe it’s a felony. People who support the measure are saying that for $499 their vote can’t be bought, but for $500 it can. “

Amburgey came under fire in March when he refused to abstain on a vote that allowed his son, Ron, to develop an eight-unit housing project on Valley Road. Because his son was not a dependent, Orville Amburgey would have no financial interest in the matter and therefore had no conflict of interest, he said. State and city officials agreed.