Embattled Brea Mayor Won’t Seek Reelection : Politics: Ronald E. Isles, who faces 21 misdemeanor allegations of conflict of interest, says he wants to devote more time to his family, private interests.

Mayor Ronald E. Isles, who faces trial next month on 21 misdemeanor charges of conflict of interest and failing to disclose millions of dollars in loans and other financial concerns, has announced that he will not seek reelection.

Isles, a 54-year-old attorney, said he wanted to spend more time with his family and on private interests.

“I’ve got horses and I’ve got grandkids, and right now I have time to play with one but not both,” Isles said at the City Council meeting Tuesday.

The mayor made no reference to his legal woes, instead saying that he decided not to seek reelection because he had accomplished what he wanted to do while in office, including seeing the city established on a firm financial footing and working on a downtown redevelopment project.

Nor did Isles explain why he changed his mind regarding another four-year term on the council. When the Orange County district attorney’s office filed conflict-of-interest charges against him in May, Isles said then that he would run for reelection.

Several of the charges facing Isles focus on his business relationship with Don McBride, owner of McBride Development Co. of Brea. The two men had a partnership to build an apartment and business complex in Brea.

Isles has said he ended the partnership when he was elected to the council in 1988. However, the criminal complaint against him alleges that the relationship between the two continued even as Isles voted in 1990 to extend the time factor on a city contract that granted McBride Development exclusive rights to negotiate to build an auto service station on a city-owned parcel.

Other charges facing Isles include allegations that he voted on Olen Properties Inc. development projects, even though the group had made a loan of $925,000 to Isles and McBride in 1988.

Isles is also charged with failing to report some of his economic interests in state economic disclosure forms in 1989 and 1990, including five loans totaling over $6 million and owning properties in the downtown redevelopment area.

Isles, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, could face six months in jail and a maximum fine of $10,000 per count if convicted.

Councilman Glenn G. Parker said he was not surprised by the Isles announcement.

“I had the feeling Ron was looking to spend more time with his family,” Parker said. “He’s been doing work on his home, he seems to be enjoying his family, horses and home.”

Bill Vega, a Brea resident and longtime opponent of Isles and the Brea City Council, said he was happy that Isles has decided not to seek a second term.

“Whatever the reason, (his decision) is in the best interest of the community,” Vega said. “This decision is going to benefit not only himself but other people. It is going to start to help to clear up the city’s reputation.”

Isles, a native of Indiana, was first elected to the Brea City Council in 1980 but resigned in 1983 to devote more time to his business interests. He was elected to a four-year term on the City Council in 1988 and was appointed mayor in December.

Isles, whose term ends Dec. 1, will be leaving office in a city rife with controversy.

In June, Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert C. Todd ruled against the city’s Redevelopment Agency in a lawsuit brought by the Brea Small Business Coalition, which has effectively halted all downtown redevelopment activity. The group, made up mostly of merchants with small businesses, challenged the city’s relocation benefits for business owners, tenants and homeowners who were moved to make way for an ambitious downtown redevelopment project.

In addition, Councilman Wayne D. Wedin, the other incumbent whose term ends this year, announced in July that he would not be seeking reelection. Wedin is being investigated by the Orange County district attorney’s office on allegations that he attempted to gain a city contract for Keith Cos. of Costa Mesa, an engineering firm, to study development issues in Tonner Canyon.