Brea Contest May Turn on Redevelopment

In what is expected to be a wide open race with redevelopment as the probable central issue, nine candidates will vie for two seats on the City Council in the Nov. 3 election.

Six of the candidates listed themselves as business people and one as a schoolteacher. All mentioned redevelopment in their statements, with some for it and others against, raising the possibility that it will have a major impact on the election results.

Candidates backing current efforts of the Redevelopment Agency are calling for “managed growth” while those against further development, particularly of the downtown area, charge that families and small businesses are being driven away.

The candidates are Louis Knappenberger, Bev Perry, Patrick Davis, Bill Vega, Harold Ivy and Stephen Kaas, all business people. Kathryn Wiser, a schoolteacher, is also running.

The other candidates, Lee Jordan and Chris Terrance Jr., did not have statements on file at the city clerk’s office.

Incumbents Ronald E. Isles, the current mayor, and longtime councilman and former mayor Wayne D. Wedin, both beset by legal troubles, are not running.

Isles, who is facing trial on 21 misdemeanor counts of conflict of interest and violation of financial-disclosure laws, said he wants to spend more time with his family.

Wedin, whose term also expires this year, is being investigated by the Orange County district attorney’s office regarding allegations that he violated conflict-of-interest laws in attempting to gain a city contract for Keith Cos. of Costa Mesa, an engineering firm, to study development issues in Tonner Canyon.

Formal charges had not been filed against him as of Wednesday. He announced on July 16 that he was not seeking reelection after 24 years on the council.

Incumbent City Treasurer John H. Sutton is unopposed, as is Deputy City Clerk Elaine Capps, running for city clerk.

After eight years as City Clerk, Donna M. Rhine has decided to retire.