SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : 14-Year Councilman Friess Elected Mayor

Kenneth E. Friess, a 14-year city councilman, was elected mayor Tuesday night by the unanimous vote of the five-member council.

Friess, 48, a general contractor and building consultant, will be serving his fourth one-year term as the city’s mayor. He was mayor in 1978, 1979 and 1986.

Friess said dealing with the uncertain economy is the city’s most immediate challenge.

“Any time you have an economic condition with the uncertainties that we do, it affects everyone down to the lowest entity,” Friess said. “That’s the biggest issue. How do you continue giving people what they expect with less money?”

Friess said that the city’s sales revenues are down, as are fees for construction.

“It’s the old domino effect. Our projections show that we will get 10% less money than we expected,” Friess said. “But this is not the first time we’ve had this problem. I’ve been around for a long time, and we’ll survive this.”

Friess also said gangs are becoming a problem.

“The numbers aren’t big, at least at the moment, but the emotional and psychological impacts of gangs are very large and we have to do something about it.”

Friess replaces outgoing Mayor Gary L. Hausdorfer, who was recently elected to serve his fourth term on the city council. Hausdorfer had been mayor for almost three years.

Councilman Lawrence F. Buchheim, a local rancher, was reelected mayor pro tem. Two new City Council members, Gil Jones and Jeff Vasquez, also were sworn in to begin their four-year terms. It was the first time in 10 years that the makeup of the council has changed.

Jones, a local businessman and owner of a small farm, and Vasquez, a photographer and filmmaker, are neighbors in the city’s historic Los Rios neighborhood.

Tuesday also marked the final meeting for longtime City Council members Anthony L. Bland and Phillip R. Schwartze. Bland spent 10 years on the council while Schwartze served for 12 years.