FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Council Race Centers on Traffic, Growth

As Fountain Valley grapples with the results of a 30-year development boom, quality-of-life concerns have emerged as the primary issues among the five candidates running for City Council in the Nov. 6 election.

Mayor Laurann Cook and Councilman James E. Neal are competing against a planning commissioner, a businessman and a former high school principal for three seats on the City Council. Councilman Howard Stephens, who was appointed last year, decided not to run.

Each of the five candidates has promised to deal with the traffic congestion that plagues the city of 56,400 residents. In the last two years, Fountain Valley has approved controversial new sources of traffic, including the Southpark development, the Marriott Hotel and Residence Inn.

Cook and Neal have also expressed concerns about the costs that will result from recent state legislation to pass government service fees from the state and county to the cities.

One challenger, businessman John J. Collins, said: “Any solutions regarding traffic and development must be found through a joint effort with other cities.”

Collins ran for the council in 1988. He lost by 200 votes.

Guy Carrozzo, a retired school principal, has no previous experience in city government. He said, however, that his successes as a principal and community leader relate to his ability to work fairly with people.

Marvin P. Adler, an optometrist, is seeking to regain a seat on the council after four previous terms as a councilman between 1972 and 1984. He is currently serving his third year as a planning commissioner.