HUNTINGTON BEACH : Replacement of Kelly Divides City Council

City Council members were divided Monday over how to fill the vacancy created by the death of Councilman Jack Kelly.

Kelly, 65, died Saturday of a massive stroke. He had two years remaining on his four-year council term. City law gives the council the option of either filling the seat by appointment or calling a special election.

Councilman Peter M. Green said he favors calling a special election next spring. “The city is going to need a special election anyway in 1993 because of park questions that come under Measure C,” he said.

Measure C, an initiative passed by city voters in 1990, requires a citywide vote whenever major development is proposed on any city park or beach. The city is considering several plans for developing part of Central Park. City Atty. Gail C. Hutton has said that any plan must go before the voters and gain citywide approval before the City Council can implement it.

Other council members said they favor appointing someone to fill the vacancy, but they disagreed as to whether the current council or the council with the newly elected members should do the appointing. The new council will be seated in December.

Councilman Don MacAllister said he thinks that the current council should appoint someone to Kelly’s seat “as soon as possible.” MacAllister said city law empowers the council to fill vacancies, and he said he sees no reason for delaying until new council members are seated.

MacAllister and Green will be leaving the council in early December, when two newly elected members, Dave Sullivan and Victor Leipzig, are to be sworn in.

Councilwomen Linda Moulton-Patterson and Grace Winchell both said they think that Kelly’s replacement should be appointed by the new City Council in December. “There’s no reason to rush on this,” Winchell said.

Moulton-Patterson added: “I feel very strongly that this should be done by the new council, and I also feel that we should have a procedure whereby people apply for the opening and where all the candidates are interviewed and the best person is selected.”

Mayor Jim Silva said he favors having the incumbent council appoint someone and thinks the council should have a special meeting on Nov. 25 to make the appointment.

Several City Hall sources said Planning Commissioner Susie Newman is frequently mentioned as a possible appointee to Kelly’s vacant seat. Newman was appointed to the Planning Commission by Kelly, and she also finished a close fourth in the Nov. 3 election to fill three seats.

However, there is a division in the city between pro-growth and slow-growth factions over Newman. Environmental groups, including Save Our Parks and Amigos de Bolsa Chica, did not endorse her in the Nov. 3 election and have indicated that they would oppose her appointment to the vacant seat. Because of the victories of Sullivan and Leipzig, both of whom were endorsed by environmental groups, the new council in December will have an environmentally oriented majority.