ORANGE : Change Is Sought on Council Selections

A residents’ group, upset that the City Council filled a vacant council seat by appointment, wants voters to decide whether such appointments should be banned in the future.

“This is the second time in two years that a new member has been appointed by the City Council rather than being elected by the voters,” said Carole Walters, president of Coalition of Active Involved Residents, an umbrella organization that represents nine homeowners’ groups.

The group does not oppose new Councilman Mike Spurgeon, who was appointed Dec. 5 to complete the term of Mayor Gene Beyer, but “by bypassing the electoral process, the City Council is doing a major disservice to the entire city,” Walters said.

“I think (the appointment process) excludes people who have a little more fire in the belly,” said Bill Lewis, chairman of Orange Pac, the political arm of Coalition of Active Involved Residents. “They (the council) are more likely to appoint people who are going to agree with them.”

The California State Government Code empowers the council to fill vacant seats through appointment or by special election. The Orange City Council traditionally appoints council members.

Two of the city’s five council members gained their seats through appointment. Councilman William G. Steiner, who was reelected in the Nov. 6 election, was also appointed to his first term in 1988 to fill a seat vacated when Don E. Smith became mayor.

The group will announce a plan to change the selection process next month, Walters said. She hopes to place the measure on the November ballot. “We have a lot of support,” Walters said. “I know it will pass.”

The group would need to gather about 5,100 signatures, or 10% of the city’s registered voters, for the council to create a new city ordinance or order a special election on the issue, said City Clerk Marilyn J. Jensen.

In 1989, the Coalition of Active Involved Residents helped lead a popular but unsuccessful drive to place a development plan for East Orange on the ballot. The group gathered nearly 5,000 signatures in two weeks, Walters said, but missed its goal by about 200 signatures.