THE TIMES ORANGE COUNTY POLL : Anaheim’s Residents Seek Political Reform

Residents here overwhelmingly support term limits for City Council members and other municipal government reforms currently under consideration by city leaders, a Times Orange County Poll on Anaheim shows.

A clear majority would support measures to set campaign contribution limits and also to elect City Council members from districts, discarding the current citywide balloting, according to the poll.

What’s more, the poll revealed a sense of powerlessness among the residents. Only one in six said they felt homeowners and neighborhood groups have a lot of influence in city politics. By contrast, Disneyland, developers, the city’s two professional sports franchises--the California Angels and the Los Angeles Rams--and the Visitors and Convention Bureau were all viewed by homeowners as more powerful than themselves.

“The last time I looked at the city government flow chart, the people were listed at the top,” said resident Jeff Kirsch, who often hears groans from officials as he approaches the speaker’s podium at City Council meetings. “But for a city of a quarter of a million people, it is disappointing to see the lack of participation. There has to be some mechanism for reform. Hopefully, it’s not past reversal.”

Still, three-quarters of the residents are satisfied with the overall performance of their city government, according to the poll, although only 9% said they were “very satisfied.” The Times Orange County Poll of 600 Anaheim residents was conducted by Mark Baldassare & Associates on Feb. 1 through 4. The survey has a 4% margin of error.

Nonetheless, residents at large and registered voters alike clearly want their City Council members to have not only their terms in office limited, but also their campaign contributions restricted as well, according to the poll. More than three-quarters said they would vote yes on such ballot measures.

Further, 68% want City Council members, currently elected citywide, to be elected from districts--as many larger cities do to increase local representation.

“People are what (government) is supposed to be about,” said Cora Nedo Kon, an unemployed saleswoman questioned in the poll. “We are affected by what happens, but the little people really don’t have that much say.”

The call for reform and the perceptions expressed by residents can be traced to a voter awakening that is sweeping city halls and statehouses throughout the nation, according to analysts.

“This is an outgrowth of voter outrage in politics,” said Ellen Miller, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, headquartered in Washington. “This is not just a federal phenomenon.”

Although voter discontent has been spotlighted in both the current Republican and Democratic presidential primaries, Miller said the issues and energy to bring about change have started with local governments.

There is no question, she said, that voters realize the effect of large monetary contributions to political candidates, the presence of big business and the perception that unlimited terms in office sometimes breed entrenched, career politicians.

“I think people feel that if democracy still works, it works at the local level,” Miller said. “People feel that we can still control this thing, if we can just wake up.”

Lisa Foster, executive director of California Common Cause, said her Sacramento office has been receiving calls from cities throughout California where, as in Anaheim, residents and government officials are considering a wide range of political reforms.

Foster said the requests reflect more than just raising the level of election-year rhetoric.

“I think officials are beginning to understand how deeply people feel and how outraged they are about how their governments are being run,” Foster said. “Now, elected officials have firmly gotten the message.”

Although he is one of the most successful fund-raisers on the Anaheim City Council and was once seen as preparing for higher political office, Mayor Fred Hunter ironically made the most recent call for reform. That call in December included requests for limits on council terms and political donations.

The proposals, which include limiting office terms to two four-year periods and political donations to $1,000 per contributor for each election cycle, are scheduled to be considered by the council in April. And Councilman William D. Ehrle has said he would propose a district system of elections.

The contribution limits could be approved by a vote of the City Council, but term limits and district elections would have to go before voters.

Hunter, who received a 50% approval rating in The Times Orange County Poll, said in support of term limits that officeholders have lost touch with their constituents and have set their agendas based on the interests of large campaign donors.

The mayor’s statements came as a computer-assisted investigation by The Times Orange County Edition in December showed that the five current council members, collectively, had received more than $2 million in contributions since 1984.

At the same time, Hunter also admitted that large donations had influenced city policy decisions and that contributions from developers and big businesses had become “outrageous.”

Hunter’s revelations apparently have not come as a surprise to residents.

“If people are giving big money to politicians,” Kon said, “the politician is going to have some obligation to that person, whether you like it or not. Let’s face it, developers are looking for permits to get their developments approved, and they’ve got to go through City Hall.

“The way the system runs now,” Kon said, “we may not be getting necessarily the best candidate, but we’re getting the one with the most money.”

Poll figures showing Disneyland as the dominant political force in the city come only months after reports in The Times detailed the city’s longstanding and friendly relationship with the theme park.

For more than 30 years, Disneyland has showered Anaheim’s elected officials and staff members with free tickets, gifts and annual trips. However, the all-expenses-paid fishing and golf outings to San Diego were canceled last year because of ongoing negotiations involving the theme park’s $3-billion expansion.

“People are fed up,” the mayor said in a recent interview.

But the mayor’s biting, anti-government rhetoric aside, The Times Orange County Poll indicated that residents still have not lost total faith in their governing council.

Poll results showed that the City Council earned an overall favorable rating of 49%, while 30% gave an unfavorable rating.

One possible way to restore lost confidence in local government, some residents and council members say, is to do away with at-large city elections and choose representatives from geographic districts.

Ehrle has been the city’s chief sponsor of the proposal and believes that the change would bring municipal government closer to the people.

“Anaheim is such a large city,” Ehrle said in a recent interview. “Between Anaheim Hills and west Anaheim, the problems are different, the needs are different.”

Ehrle said the city’s growing Latino community--now numbering about one-third the city’s population--not only makes district representation popular but could also be a future requirement.

Anaheim has never elected a Latino or other ethnic minority to the City Council, and Ehrle said district voting could put a council seat within the grasp of minority candidates.

Although the issue has not been formally presented to the council, local Latino groups and a homeowners’ association already have announced their support. And Ehrle has said he would schedule the subject for future council consideration.

“If we don’t put it on the ballot to adopt, the courts are going to dictate it to our city,” the councilman said, referring to court decisions that have found that minorities have been deprived of equal representation under some election systems.

Miller of the Center for Responsive Politics said approval of the districting proposal, while largely endorsed by cities’ minority groups, could also greatly reduce the amounts of money now needed to fuel current citywide campaigns.

According to the poll, nearly seven in 10 residents favored a district election system. Some residents cited the city’s changing demographics as the spark for that change.

“I think there are problems in Anaheim that go unsolved,” said Eleanor Gonzalez, a 30-year resident questioned in the poll. “If you are elected from a certain (section of the city) and you are from there, there’s no excuse for not knowing what’s going on.

“I’m really not in favor of affirmative action, but there are a lot of Hispanics and blacks here in Anaheim, and it would seem to me that you would need some kind of ethnic representation.”

Said Hunter, who has tentatively endorsed a district plan: “Anaheim is a city that’s now 26 miles long. It’s not a neighborhood city anymore, and it’s getting harder to preach the politics of inclusion.”

SERIES AT A GLANCE

Taking a look at Anaheim--inside the city Mickey Mouse made famous.

* Sunday: While eight of 10 residents like living in Anaheim, the quality of life is not what it used to be.

* Monday: Residents say gangs, violence and fear of crime have invaded their once-tranquil neighborhoods.

* Today: There is a sense of political powerlessness among Anaheim residents, who overwhelmingly support City Council reform measures.

* Wednesday: Who can beat Mickey Mouse for a neighbor?

How the Poll Was Conducted

The Times Orange County Poll was conducted by Mark Baldassare & Associates. The telephone survey of 600 adult residents of Anaheim was conducted Feb. 1 through 4 on weekend days and weekday nights, using a computer-generated random sample of listed and unlisted telephone numbers. The interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. The margin of error is plus or minus 4%. For subgroups, such as residents of a specific geographic area, the margin would be larger. For this analysis, Anaheim was divided into three areas based on ZIP codes--west (92801, 92803 and 92804), central (92802 and 92805) and east (92806, 92807 and 92808).

VIEWS ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Power and Change at City Hall

Anaheim residents overwhelmingly support three proposed changes in city election procedures. There are no substantial differences between the views of all residents and those of registered voters. Disneyland, the city’s most famous attraction, is also viewed as its most powerful force at City Hall.

City Hall Reforms

Would you vote yes or no on a ballot measure to limit City Council members to two consecutive four-year terms?

Yes: 77%

No: 19%

Don’t know: 4%

Would you vote yes or no on a ballot measure to limit contributions to City Council candidates to $1,000 per contribution for each election term?

Yes: 77%

No: 19%

Don’t know: 4%

Currently, City Council members are elected from the city at large, rather than representing a district within the city. Would you vote yes or no on a ballot measure to elect City Council members by district?

Yes: 68%

No: 27%

Don’t know: 5%

Who has Influence?

In your opinion, how much influence does each of the following have on Anaheim city politics?

A lot Some Little/none Don’t know Disneyland 70% 19% 8% 3% Developers 52 28 13 7 Angels and Rams 48 34 14 4 Visitors and Conventions Bureau 40 36 16 8 Labor Unions 17 33 33 17 Homeowner and neighborhood groups 17 41 35 7