YORBA LINDA : Wedaa’s AQMD Bid Loses City Backing

In an unexpected move, the City Council withdrew its support of Councilman Henry W. Wedaa as chairman of the Air Quality Management District earlier this week.

The council had voted 3 to 2 last October to support Wedaa in his fight to hold onto the position.

But on Tuesday, Mayor Barbara Kiley changed her position, voting with Councilmen John M. Gullixson and Daniel T. Welch to keep the city neutral.

The city will abstain when the League of California Cities considers the issue next week.

To keep his position, Wedaa needs to get the support of two-thirds of the county’s mayors representing two-thirds of the county’s population.

At the league’s October meeting, Wedaa failed to reach both those numbers.

Councilman Mark Schwing, who voted to support Wedaa, said that Tuesday’s reconsideration of the issue came as a surprise to him and Wedaa.

“Neither of us expected it to be brought up,” Schwing said. “We had already voted on it in November, and I thought it was settled.”

Schwing speculated that Kiley changed her vote after Wedaa voted against her when the council picked its new mayor last month.

Schwing nominated Wedaa for both mayor and mayor pro tem last month, but Welch, Gullixson and Kiley voted against Wedaa for both positions.

The three then picked Kiley as mayor and Welch as mayor pro tem.

On Tuesday, Kiley, Welch and Gullixson joined forces again to eliminate Wedaa and Schwing from several key county committees and agencies.

In addition to the AQMD vote, Wedaa was removed from the Orange County Sanitation District, and Schwing lost his spot on the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency.

Welch was appointed to both spots.