COUNTY ELECTIONS : CITY COUNCIL RACES : 3 Incumbent Mayors Head Toward Victory

In city elections across Orange County Tuesday, three incumbent mayors were headed for re-election, including Anaheim Mayor Fred Hunter, while in Huntington Beach environmentalists made some gains on the City Council.

Costa Mesa Councilman Orville Amburgey, a proponent of several measures adversely impacting the poor and illegal immigrants, appeared to be on his way to defeat. In neighboring Irvine, the imminent election of Bill Vardoulis administered the final blow to the remnants of a coalition assembled by former Mayor Larry Agran.

In other major municipal races Tuesday, three Mission Viejo candidates backed by Councilman Robert A. Curtis, an antagonist of The Mission Viejo Co., were running ahead of the pack. Santa Ana returns showed that Mayor Daniel H. Young was way out in front and all incumbents except for Ron May were ahead in early balloting.

Anaheim

Hunter was well ahead of Councilman Irv Pickler, whose campaign manager Harvey Englander conceded defeat hours before the polls closed and without a single vote being counted. Perhaps more important, Pickler was in jeopardy of losing his council slot. He was trailing fourth in the bid for three seats behind Hunter, former city manager Bob Simpson and Councilwoman Miriam Kaywood.

The Anaheim mayor’s race was dominated by a dispute over whether to spend millions of dollars on a 20,000-seat sports arena when no professional teams have formally agreed to play in the facility.

“The way it appears now, we’re going to win in a landslide,” Hunter said at his campaign headquarters near City Hall. “When I go back in as mayor, I want the mandate of the people. I think the people will give me that. I think that they like my leadership style.”

Anaheim council members are paid $300 a month and serve four-year terms. The mayor is paid $800 a month.

Huntington Beach

Early returns showed that incumbent Councilwoman Grace Winchell, Linda Moulton Patterson, Earle Robitaille and Jack Kelly were leading a 10-person field seeking four seats on the City Council. Winchell and Moulton Patterson, who oppose the proposed Pierside Village development, were backed by environmental groups, while Kelly and Robitaille were viewed as the pro-development candidates.

Huntington Beach City Council members are paid $698 a month and are elected every four years.

Also, Measure C, which would prohibit sale or lease of park or beach land without a citywide vote, was passing 3 to 1 in early returns. A rival measure, Measure D, also was passing by about a 2 to 1 margin. Measure D would only limit the sale of beach and park land.

Santa Ana

After a race marked by innuendo and negative campaigning, several candidates for Santa Ana City Council have vowed to continue fighting--at least with lawsuits and complaints to the state Fair Political Practices Commission as well as complaints to City Hall.

Returns showed that Young was well ahead, incumbent May was trailing, Councilman Miguel A. Pulido was holding a narrow lead while Councilman Richards L. Norton appeared to be on his way to victory.

On the eve of the election, Pulido filed a $250,000 libel and slander suit against his challenger Coween Dickerson, who charged in mailers that Pulido misused $5,300 in campaign funds. Dickerson said she will pursue a complaint with the state Fair Political Practices Commission against Pulido.

Norton said he also plans to file an FPPC complaint against his opponent Glenn Mondo for sending a mailer that describes Norton as “the Puppet Master of Santa Ana.”

Council members hold four-year terms and earn $425 a month.

Costa Mesa

Mayor Peter F. Buffa and Karen McGlinn were leading in the race for two City Council seats. Amburgey, a sponsor of several controversial measures aimed at illegal immigrants, was running a distant fourth. Amburgey’s measures included an effort to deny city funds to charities that served undocumented workers.

Council members are paid $690 a month and serve four-year terms.

Irvine

Early returns showed that Vardoulis held a commanding lead over four other candidates in the race for a single council seat, capturing more than twice the votes of the next-closest candidate. Vardoulis, a former councilmember supported by Mayor Sally Anne Sheridan, defeated Carol Yocum, who was appointed to the planning commission by an Agran ally. Council members earn $600 a month and normally serve four years.

Mission Viejo

Leading the Mission Viejo council race in early returns were three candidates backed by returning Councilman Curtis--Sharon Cody, Robert David Breton and Gary Manley. They were closely trailed by Susan Withrown. The Curtis-backed trio has espoused the city’s independence from its sole developer, the Mission Viejo Co., which unsuccessfully lead a recall effort against Curtis.

Council members are paid $500 a month and serve four-year terms.

San Juan Capistrano

early returns showed that Mayor Gary L. Hausdorfer was headed for another term as mayor and fourth consecutive council term, closely followed by planning commissioner Gil Jones, former commissioner Collene Campbell and local photographer Jeff Vasquez. Council members are paid $300 a month and serve four-year terms.

San Clemente

Incumbent San Clemente Councilman Thomas Lorch led in early results for that beach city, followed by Chamber of Commerce-backed candidate Joe Anderson and Truman Benedict, a former superintendent of schools. They are vying for three council seats that pay $217.50 a month and have terms of four years.

Times staff writers Lily Eng, Bill Billiter, Kevin Johnson, Wendy Paulson, Marcida Dodson and Carla Rivera contributed to this report.