Nine Seeking Vacant Seat on Santa Ana City Council : Government: Members will make appointment at a Nov. 15 meeting after hearing candidate presentations.

Nine candidates, including two former vice mayors, are seeking the City Council seat recently vacated by Richards L. Norton.

Candidates had until Monday evening to submit applications for 6th Ward representative, the post Norton had held since 1990. Norton resigned Oct. 18 because of rheumatoid arthritis.

“It’s encouraging to me that so many people want to serve in local government,” said City Clerk Janice Guy, who was surprised by the number of applications.

Under the city charter, officials must either appoint a new council member by mid-November or fill the seat through a special election. Council members will interview candidates just before the Nov. 15 council meeting, in which they will select the new council member.

Applicants Patricia McGuigan and P. Lee Johnson are former council members and vice mayors.

McGuigan, 59, a planning commissioner, joined the council in 1981 for what turned out to be a 3 1/2-year term because of election-date changes. She served two full four-year terms before leaving in 1992.

She is a past president of the county chapter of the League of California Cities, a statewide organization for city government officials.

Johnson, 61, served one four-year term that ended in 1986, when he was ousted in a contentious election.

Johnson, a lawyer, has worked for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and Santa Ana Police Department. He supports plans for a new city jail and opposes homeless encampments in the Civic Center.

Robert John Banuelos, 41, a former community services worker with the city of Santa Ana, is also seeking the post. Banuelos, a Democrat, ran for the House of Representatives in 1992 and for the U.S. Senate in 1986. He is a volunteer with Hermandad Mexicana Nacional who helps people fill out citizenship applications.

Sean Mill, 27, a title service representative, ran for the council in 1992. Mill has repeatedly said he opposes plans for a waste recycling facility in the city.

Applicants Margaret Lee Brown, Ivan V. McKinney and James Richards trace their civic involvement to Santa Ana schools.

Brown is a librarian and media specialist with the Santa Ana Unified School District. McKinney was Valley High School’s principal until 1985, and was the district’s director of educational support services until he retired.

Richards, an engineering consultant, served eight years on the Santa Ana Unified School District Board of Trustees. He also served on the Mayor’s Task Force on Neighborhood Standards and Preservation in 1990.

First-time candidate Miguel Gil, 47, has served on the city Housing and Human Relations commissions and was a McDonnell Douglas research and development assistant. Gil says he is concerned about adequate housing.

Judy Buffin-Edge, 49, is a former bank manager, now a homemaker in the Sandpointe neighborhood. She is seeking to join the council in part to oppose a utility tax increase that will probably accompany plans for a downtown Santa Ana city jail.

Each candidate will give a five-minute presentation beginning at 3 p.m. on Nov. 15, Guy said. The meeting, in the council chambers, will be open to the public.