Anaheim Groups Support District Elections : Voting: Homeowner, Latino and labor organizations call for the issue to be placed on the ballot. Ex-Mayor Bay opposes the move.

A local homeowners group has asked the City Council to support a charter amendment that would provide for the election of council members by municipal districts.

Steve White, a board member for Homeowners Maintaining Their Environment, presented the request Tuesday in an open letter to the council stating that it would mark a “step toward restoring a sense of representation to areas that . . . feel isolated from the community decision-making process.”

The group’s position, supported by local Latino organizations and city labor groups, calls for the issue to be placed on the city ballot.

“Concerns about election financing and increasingly area-specific issues lead us to conclude that the geographical differences alone justify consideration of the issue by the voters,” the letter presented by White said.

The group has also announced its support for charter reforms aimed at limiting to two the number of terms that council members may serve and for placing a $1,000 ceiling on individual contributions to citywide political campaigns for each election cycle.

The presentation drew opposition from former Mayor Ben Bay, who told the council that such districts would foster territorial disputes among council members.

“In my opinion,” Bay said, “if Orange County had not been divided into supervisorial districts, the jail problem would have been solved 10 years ago; the dump problem would have been resolved 10 years ago.”

Bay, who left the council in November, 1988, referred to county government disputes about where to locate new jail facilities and landfills.

“I think (districting) is a bad move for this government or any other government,” Bay said.

Councilman William D. Ehrle has been vocal in his support for the issue. Mayor Fred Hunter said Tuesday that he will support scheduling the matter for future council discussion.

“Districts are not a panacea, but they might solve some problems, so I say let’s put it on the agenda and let the public talk about it,” Hunter said.