SANTA ANA : Council Members Take Their Oaths
Despite a rocky election year that pitted City Council members against each other, a new council was sworn in this week and unanimously chose Miguel A. Pulido Jr. to be mayor pro tem.
Pulido survived a bitter race against challenger Coween Dickerson, who accused him of using campaign funds illegally and alleged that he had drug connections. Pulido has filed a $250,000 libel and slander suit against Dickerson.
Council members Richards L. Norton, who contributed $700 to Dickerson’s campaign, and John Acosta, who endorsed Dickerson, voted for Pulido without any objections. Norton defeated attorney Glenn Mondo by only 888 votes.
Two years ago the council pledged to work together after its members had continuously voted on opposite sides of major issues such as police contracts and ordinances related to neighborhood standards. But despite the pledge, the council remained mostly divided. Siding with Acosta, for the most part, were Ron May and Norton. Daniel H. Young, Daniel E. Griset and Patricia A. McGuigan were generally aligned against these three, with Pulido as the swing vote.
On Monday May turned over his seat to Robert L. Richardson, an aide to Supervisor Roger R. Stanton who scored an easy election victory. Richardson will serve four years.
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