Councilman-Elect in Dana Point Still Awaits Final Tally : Politics: William Ossenmacher won by 18 votes in June 2 election. A recount this week will determine if he gets a seat on five-member board.

Call him paranoid, cautious or just careful, but William L. Ossenmacher is not feeling secure as Dana Point’s newest city councilman.

An 18-vote victory margin in the council race June 2 and a recount looming this week do not generate feelings of confidence. A recount could offer a surprise, he said.

“I guess I’m not convinced I’m in yet. There is a lot at stake in this election, more than many people think,” said Ossenmacher of the tight race for two open seats on the new coastal city’s five-member council. “For starters, there are hundreds of thousands of dollars in redevelopment money lingering. I guess we will see if Chicago-style politics are alive in Dana Point.”

It was Ossenmacher’s outcry against a proposed redevelopment plan in Dana Point that many people credit for his victory, as slim as it was. Ossenmacher, 34, a city planning commissioner and marketing consultant, came in second between two incumbents--first-place finisher Judy Curreri, a nurse, and third-place Bill Bamattre, a Los Angeles fire battalion chief.

But three other challengers, all who ran campaigns against redevelopment, also tallied a significant number of votes.

“I think, judging by the election, that the community has spoken out against redevelopment,” Ossenmacher said. “I’d like to see the council take a bold step and disband the redevelopment agency. All that agency can accomplish is tearing down homes and businesses and building hotels and tourist-serving uses, which is just what the people don’t want.”

Unless dramatic changes occur this week, Ossenmacher is scheduled to be installed on the council Tuesday night. With the depressing effects of a recession rippling throughout the state, he will be expected to make some big decisions quickly with no time to get up to speed.

“There is a lot of work already on the table,” said Mayor Mike Eggers, who is finishing his mayoral term and will step down Tuesday. Karen Lloreda, the city’s mayor pro tem, is expected to be selected by the council to take his place.

“We have some very difficult budget decisions to make and we have a new city manager to choose,” Eggers said. “Bill (Ossenmacher) has to hit his stride fast.”

That’s fine, said Ossenmacher, who says “sometimes you can be more objective if you’re not caught up in the process for a long period of time.” But there are other issues in the city he would like to dive into right away:

* A study of the downtown “couplet” area bounded by two one-way streets: northbound Coast Highway and southbound Del Prado Avenue. “It’s a freeway in the heart of our business community, which isn’t appropriate,” he said.

* Elimination of the city Cultural Commission and Human Services Commission. “I support cultural funding and I support human services funding,” Ossenmacher said. “But I would rather see citizens making decisions on funding on their own, not the council using taxpayers’ dollars.”

* Further cutbacks on city staffing. “Even though our system is relatively small, it could be smaller and more efficient,” he said.

Perhaps the one area Ossenmacher differs most from the current city Establishment is in his ideas on resort development. Dana Point has two mega-resorts in the planning stages--in Monarch Beach and on the promontory called the Headlands--each calling for 400-room hotels.

It is Ossenmacher’s contention that those hotels have not been pushed by the developers--who are more interested in residential development in these recessionary times--but by the city staff seeking the bed tax revenue they generate. That push toward resort development is what turned off city voters, he said.

“The reality is the Monarch Beach Resort developers proposed a much smaller project with a hotel of only 250 rooms. They were forced to compromise at 400 rooms,” Ossenmacher said. “On the Headlands, I’d like to see more community discussion of everything, starting with retaining the property as open space. . . . If possible, I’d like to see the property owners involved in the process, not just the hired consultants.”

His election, once it is finally confirmed, is a victory for a new Establishment in Dana Point, Ossenmacher said. The insiders who have ruled politics in the city since incorporation in 1988 should feel threatened, he said.

“Dana Point is a microcosm of this country,” he said. “The same things are happening here as all over the country. Special interest groups and politics--all based on greed--have brought the system to the breaking point.”