Bid to Put Newman on Huntington Beach Council Fails

A bid to name Planning Commissioner Susie Newman to the City Council failed, and the council instead voted to nominate and interview more candidates.

The action late Monday ensured that a political struggle that has pitted pro-growth and slow-growth activists against each other will continue another two weeks.

The battle involves filling the seat vacated last month by the death of Councilman Jack Kelly.

After sharp debate late Monday night, the council deadlocked, 3 to 3, on the motion to appoint Newman. The council then voted 4 to 2 to allow candidates to apply for the vacant seat and to allow each council member to nominate two from the applicant pool. The council would then interview the nominees and make a choice on Dec. 21.

Three new names for the council vacancy were prominently mentioned after Newman’s supporters failed to get her appointed. They are are former planning commissioners Geri Ortega and Mark Porter, and Ralph Bauer, leader of CoOp, an organization opposed to plans for building around the Bolsa Chica wetlands.

Newman came in a close fourth in the Nov. 3 election to fill three council seats.

Many slow-growth advocates contend that Newman, who got substantial campaign support this fall from big developers, would be excessively pro-development. Her opponents also have criticized her for circulating a law-and-order flyer that called for the “arrest of anyone who looks like a gang member.” Opponents said such indiscriminate use of police force would be unconstitutional.

Supporters have claimed that Newman deserves the vacant seat because she was the runner-up in the Nov. 3 election. Councilman Jim Silva, one of her supporters, argued that “it’s a matter of fairness to give the seat to the person who finished fourth in the election.”

But in rebuttal, those in favor of an open-nomination procedure said that the Nov. 3 election was to fill three council seats, not four. They said Newman’s fourth-place finish did not automatically qualify her for the vacant council seat.

Silva, Councilman Earle Robitaille and Councilwoman Linda Moulton-Patterson voted for a motion late Monday night to appoint Newman. Voting against were Mayor Grace Winchell and new Councilmen Victor Leipzig and Dave Sullivan. Under city rules, a tie vote defeats a motion.

Later, Moulton-Patterson joined Winchell, Leipzig and Sullivan in supporting a motion to open nominations and make a final decision on Dec. 21. Robitaille and Silva opposed that motion.

Meanwhile on Monday, Huntington Beach Tomorrow, a slow-growth citizens’ organization, beat the drums for the appointment of either Ortega, Porter or Bauer. All three are well known for opposing dense development in the city.

In a postcard to members this week, the organization said: “We . . . strongly solicit your support for the appointment of Mark Porter, Ralph Bauer or Geri Ortega as the replacement for Councilman Kelly. Simply appointing the fourth-place runner-up does not necessarily reflect the desires of the citizens.”