ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Orderly Succession for Irvine

Whatever becomes of Measure A, Irvine’s ballot measure dealing with the problem of succession on the City Council, a milestone will have been reached come Election Day. A city known for rancorous public discourse in recent years will have proved itself capable of reasoned deliberation.

Not everyone agrees that the prescription offered by the ballot measure is the best way to go, but there can be no doubt that it was arrived at through the collegial efforts of a diverse but diligent citizens committee.

And with that feather in its cap, Irvine should go ahead and approve this solution to the dilemma of what happens when a sitting City Council member is elected mayor.

Through the long period of disagreement and litigation over Measure D, the city’s current muddled guidelines for council succession, it has been clear that something more workable was needed. The city lacked a procedure that was clear, made sense and presented minimal problems for voters and minimal disruption in the council’s day-to-day functioning.

After long argument, Irvine appears to have resolved the larger question of whether it should directly elect its mayors. Now, proponents of Measure A advance a plan whereby, when a council member runs for mayor, voters will be allowed to vote for three candidates for the two council vacancies to be filled that election year. The third-highest vote-getter will fill the third open seat only if a sitting member becomes mayor.

This system is workable.

Opponents of Measure A complain of the plan’s “dubious constitutionality,” saying there is something wrong with having two people elected when a voter casts three votes.

But there is nothing misleading for the voters or for the candidates in this game plan. Everybody knows the ground rules up front, and that the third-highest vote-getter among council candidates will be seated only if a sitting council member vacates a seat.

That seems as clear a plan as a city could expect, and it avoids the cost and low voter turnout associated with special elections.

This plan also bypasses the awkwardness of a petition drive to hold a special election, which is now an option.

Measure A may not be perfect, but it lets everybody know how the game is played, and it eliminates confusion.

A vote for it is a vote for clarity and orderly succession in Irvine.