Mayor Switches Vote on Zoning

Mayor Donna Smith voted for a zone change sought by Councilman Tomas Ursua when she was allied with him politically last April, but she opposed the same project when it came before the council this week, a few days after Ursua announced he was running against her for mayor.

Ursua accused Smith of treating his project like a “political football,” but Smith denied she allowed political considerations to influence her actions. Smith said she changed her mind about Ursua’s proposal to build seven new houses at 1760 S. Towne Ave. after considering the impact on overcrowded schools.

When the zone change came before the council Monday, Ursua, a builder in partnership with his father, was ineligible to vote, as was Councilman Boyd Bredenkamp, who was disqualified because he had acted on the matter previously as a city planning commissioner.

Council members Nell Soto and Mark A. T. Nymeyer voted for it. Smith voted against it at first, but then abstained after conferring with the city attorney. Smith said the attorney warned her that the city might be open to a lawsuit if it rejected the project.