IRVINE : Requirements Met for Special Election

The county Registrar of Voters office has certified more than 4,500 signatures on petitions, more than enough to force a special election to fill a vacancy on the City Council, officials said Friday.

The council on Tuesday is expected to authorize the Nov. 2 election, which will cost about $60,000.

Of the 5,617 signatures collected by petitioners, 4,551 were verified by the county and 1,066 were rejected. Under city rules, 4,339 signatures, or 7% of the city’s registered voters, are required to force an election.

Had the petitioners fallen short, the City Council very likely would have attempted to appoint someone to fill the year remaining on the term of William A. (Art) Bloomer, who resigned from the council this month to accept a job in Virginia.

Now the appointment process will be scrapped, and candidates interested in running for the office will have to obtain candidacy papers once the election is officially set.

Several candidates being considered for appointment have expressed reservations about running for the seat, saying they don’t relish the prospect of mounting one campaign this year and a second campaign for reelection in 1994, when the term expires.

Nonetheless, City Hall observers doubt there will be a shortage of candidates for the position.

Among the possible contenders are: Greg Smith, an Irvine Unified School District Board of Education member; Kenneth Bruner, a planning commissioner and aide to Supervisor Thomas F. Riley and Marc Goldstone, a planning commissioner and leader of the petition drive.