STANTON : Commissioner Fills Vacant Council Seat

The City Council on Tuesday appointed William C. Estrada, a planning commissioner, to fill the council seat left vacant last month by the death of William H. Horton.

Estrada, 35, said he wants to build community pride through graffiti-removal parties and gang prevention work.

In his application for the City Council post, Estrada wrote that he would like to build Stanton into a “role model community.”

“He’s one of the best planning commissioners we ever had,” Councilman Sal Sapien said.

Sapien will appoint someone to fill Estrada’s seat on the Planning Commission; the term expires in 1996.

Estrada is an estimator for Sully Miller Contracting, a public works construction firm in Long Beach.

“I’d like to thank the council for the vote of confidence,” Estrada said after he took the oath of office. “I will work very hard with both the staff and council.”

Horton was elected to the council last fall and died Jan. 19. The council decided after his death to fill his seat by appointment rather than special election.

Mayor Don Martinez, Sapien and Councilman Joe V. Harris voted for Estrada at Tuesday’s council meeting. Councilman Harry Dotson voted for Rene Ferrer Jr., an Orange County deputy sheriff.

The council interviewed seven candidates at a special afternoon meeting before the appointment.

Besides Estrada and Ferrer, Thomas M. Frazier, a planning commissioner, applied for the position, as did Alicita Lewis, an accountant and former council member; Tony H. Lueken, a bakery consultant; Linda J. Pappas-Diaz, a recent appointee to the Community Services Commission, and H. David White, an attorney.