ANAHEIM : Council to Take Up Proposed Reforms

The City Council tonight is scheduled to consider a variety of wide-ranging reforms that could change the way members are elected, conduct campaigns and deal with companies doing business with the city.

The discussion may be postponed, however, because of a death in Councilman Bob D. Simpson’s family. Simpson could not be reached Monday.

Coming in the wake of disclosures that councilmen received hundreds of free tickets from Disneyland and gifts from other businesses, the members are scheduled to discuss proposals limiting campaign contributions council members could receive. They may also take up the issue of possible term limits and a proposal by Mayor Fred Hunter barring members from accepting gifts from anyone doing business with the city.

Also scheduled to be considered is a proposal by local Latino activists to have council members elected by districts rather than the current at-large system. Public comments on the proposals are also on the agenda.

“These would be major changes in the city government,” said Councilman Tom Daly. “It deserves a full discussion with input from all interested parties.”

Under one proposal, campaign contributions would be capped at $1,000 per candidate. Some members say the cost of campaigning has become excessive, with $200,000 now considered the minimum amount a serious candidate must be willing to raise and spend.

City Atty. Jack L. White has submitted three proposals to the council for term limits. While differing in some details, each basically limits an incumbent mayor and council members to two consecutive four-year terms. Because a term limit would require amending the City Charter, the council could only submit a proposal to the voters, who could then decide the issue in November’s General Election.

The Orange County Hispanic Committee wants the city divided into four council districts, with each electing its own council member. The committee maintains that a district system would make it easier for Latinos, who make up a third of the city’s population, to be elected to the council. The mayor, who is a member of the council, would still be elected at-large.

Three of the current members--Hunter, Simpson and William D. Ehrle--live in Anaheim Hills. Tom Daly lives near downtown, which has a large Latino population, while Irv Pickler lives in west Anaheim. No Latino has ever been elected to the council.

Hunter said last week that the simplest way council members can avoid the appearance of impropriety that comes with accepting gifts from business is to ban the practice. He said he would bring up the issue tonight, although it is not on the agenda. Affected could be such council perquisites as Disneyland tickets and season tickets to the California Angels and Los Angeles Rams games at Anaheim Stadium.

State law bans elected officials from receiving more than $1,000 in gifts a year from any single source. It also bars elected officials who accept gifts worth more than $250 in a year from voting on projects involving that donor for one year.

Hunter received $4,675 worth of tickets from Disneyland last year, while Pickler received $2,695 in tickets and Simpson $660. All said the tickets were mostly redistributed to dignitaries visiting Anaheim and should not be charged as political gifts.

The meeting begins at 5 p.m. at City Hall, 200 S. Anaheim Blvd.