Disney Tickets May Bar Officials From Voting : Anaheim: Gift passes to mayor, councilman may exclude them from decisions on park expansion.

Two elected city officials received free tickets to Disneyland worth a total of $5,912 last year, raising the prospect that they may be barred for a year from voting on the entertainment company’s proposed $3-billion expansion in the city.

Mayor Fred Hunter received 137 tickets in 1991 and Councilman Irv Pickler 78, according to statements prepared by the theme park and recently delivered to city officials. The tickets cost $27.50.

State law bars officials who accept more than $250 in gifts in a year from voting on issues involving the donor for a year. The two officials could also face fines if they are found to have violated a state law that prohibits local elected officials from accepting more than $1,000 in gifts from a single source during the course of year.

City Manager James D. Ruth said the Disneyland gifts are being studied by City Atty. Jack White, and the city is expected to seek an interpretation of the law from the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission.

White was in Sacramento on Tuesday conferring with commission officials on the ticket issue.

Commission spokeswoman Carol Thorp said that while she could not comment specifically on the Anaheim case, tickets made available to public officials are generally considered gifts and subject to the state restrictions.

The Disney gifts come at a time when the city is involved in negotiations with the entertainment company over environmental and financing issues relating to the Disneyland Resort expansion.

During the time park tickets were made available to city officials, the council voted to approve Disney-related items including the hiring of a Los Angeles attorney to help with ongoing negotiations, retaining consultants to investigate financing options and the spending of about $1 million for an environmental impact study.

Later this year, the council is to consider the completed environmental study and how much the city would be expected by Disney to contribute in street, parking and utility improvements for the expansion. Officials have said early estimates put that figure at nearly $1 billion.

On Tuesday, Pickler said the bulk of tickets credited to him were obtained by him on behalf of other people, mostly other government officials or dignitaries visiting the city. The councilman said he did not know exactly who received the tickets, nor was he aware until recently that the tickets would be credited to him by Disney.

“I always got the impression that when I called in for tickets for Joe Blow that he would be charged with reporting them as a gift,” Pickler said. “Some of the people I don’t even know. I never stopped to think that they would be charged to me.

“We’re checking (with the FPPC) to see how it all works,” the councilman said. “Whatever they decide, we’ll go along with. It was not our intention to do anything wrong.”

Hunter could not be reached for comment Tuesday, but he said in an interview earlier this month that visiting government officials and others frequently call his City Hall office and law firm asking for Disneyland tickets.

The mayor said a number of the requests were filled through either an assistant at City Hall or his law office.

Asked earlier about the numbers of tickets, Hunter provided a statement prepared by Disneyland showing that the mayor’s office had made 33 separate requests and received a total of 137 tickets during 1991. On the same document, two requests totaling eight tickets were listed for his personal use.

Disney ticket statements for the remaining council members show that Bob D. Simpson accepted seven tickets during the year, while William D. Ehrle and Tom Daly were listed as having accepted none.

Disney statements did not indicate the dates the tickets were received.

FPPC spokeswoman Thorp said that in cases where public officials decide who receives the tickets, the admissions are considered gifts to the officeholder. When these exceed $250, Thorp said, officials are generally prohibited from voting on issues for up to a year from the time the last gift was received.

Just last summer, city officials talked about the need to remain free of possible Disney influence when Ruth and Disneyland officials canceled an annual outing to San Diego. On the outings, a city tradition for more than 30 years, Disney paid for the lodging and entertainment of city staff and elected officials at the Hotel del Coronado.

One city official, who declined to be identified, said Tuesday that there has been much discussion among council members of the latest gift report statements.

“These guys should know better,” the official said.