Norton Leaving Santa Ana Council; Cites Poor Health

Announcing that he has rheumatoid arthritis, Councilman Richards L. Norton, 43, resigned Monday, effective immediately.

“I am no longer physically able to do this job as it should be done--with dedication and the time and energy that it takes to do this job right,” said Norton, who has been on the council for five years.

Although his condition is not life threatening, it is “life-limiting,” he said. He is taking medication to help alleviate the symptoms, but on some days it is “totally debilitating.”

Norton told the council that when a member “can no longer serve the people properly, (he) should step aside and allow someone else to take over that charge. Now is the time to put that belief into practice.”

The announcement took many by surprise, although Mayor Daniel H. Young knew of the decision in advance.

“You deserve to leave in a blaze of glory. . . . I know there are big things ahead for you.”

Norton said he has been considering resigning for the past four months.

“What prompted this is that I realized that my active time with my family is limited. I would rather spend as much time with my wife and kids as I can.”

Norton, who is a self-employed swap meet operator, has two children and two stepchildren.

He is well-known for his battles with the City Council over his swap meet in Santa Ana.

In a suit that asked for $1.8 million in damages, Norton charged that the council met in secret, in violation of the state’s Brown Act, when the council closed his swap meet at Santa Ana Stadium in 1987 after neighborhood complaints of litter, parking problems and noise.

Last year, the suit was thrown out of court, and Norton was ordered to pay more than $30,000 in back fees, plus interest, to the city.

Norton was also a frequent critic of the homeless people who camped out in Santa Ana, and he voted against changing council ward boundaries to enhance Latino political power.

Under terms of the city charter, the City Council has 30 days to appoint a new council member. That person must be from the same ward as Norton and must have lived in the area for at least one year. Young said the council will canvass neighborhood groups in Norton’s ward for applicants and will try to reach a consensus on an appointment at its Nov. 15 meeting.

If no candidate is chosen, a special election will be held, most likely on the first Tuesday of March.

According to City Clerk Jan Guy, 69,223 voters are currently registered in the city, and at a cost of $1.25 to $2 per voter, a special election could run from roughly $87,500 to $140,000.

Times staff writer Mark I. Pinsky contributed to this report.