ANAHEIM : Anti-Vendor Group Seeks to Oust Mayor

A group opposed to street vending and increased crime told Mayor Tom Daly on Tuesday that he will be the target of a recall effort.

The group, Neighborhoods Opposed to street Vending in Anaheim, or NOVA, which is already trying to recall City Councilmen Frank Feldhaus and Bob D. Simpson, said Daly has not kept his campaign promises to bolster the police force and alleviate blight in the city.

“Crime is going from bad to worse with no end in sight,” said NOVA leader Mike Blanco. “It is the first duty of local government to provide for public safety, and our mayor and council are not providing for that.”

In response, Daly said that in the five years he has been on the council, the police budget has risen from $37 million to $51 million, and the department now has 46 more civilian and sworn employees.

“I have a lot of respect for Mr. Blanco, and I intend to sit down with him and discuss with him the city budget,” Daly said. “I think I can convince him that this entire City Council’s first priority is public safety.”

In related action, the council decided to vote next week on two controversial ordinances that would restrict street vending and begging on city streets.

The proposed street-vending ordinance would make it illegal for vendors to park in one place for more than 10 minutes instead of the current hourlong limit. In addition, it would limit the weight of unloaded trucks to 6,000 pounds and require vendors to pay annual licensing fees of $325 per truck, up from $175.

There are about 150 vendors in the city selling everything from groceries to clothes to furniture from the back of parked trucks and vans.

The panhandling ordinance would still allow people to solicit money--federal courts have said begging is protected by the First Amendment’s free speech clause--but they will have to do it in a nonaggressive manner.

Banned conduct would include pursuing someone who said no, blocking streets or sidewalks, confronting somebody getting into or out of a car or washing someone’s windshield without permission. Violators would pay a $100 fine for a first offense, $200 for a second offense within a year and $500 for each subsequent offense.

The recall plans against Daly, Simpson and Feldhaus are the latest in a recent swarm in the county. Twelve elected officials in other Orange County cities and school districts are current recall targets.

But such recall efforts are extremely difficult to carry out. To begin the process, NOVA will have to gather about 12,000 signatures against each councilman within six months to place the recall question on the ballot. A majority vote would then be needed to remove them from office.