FULLERTON : Special Election to Be Held in November

A special election to replace Mayor A.B. (Buck) Catlin and council members Molly McClanahan and Don Bankhead, who were recalled, will be held in conjunction with the November general election, officials announced this week.

Catlin said that if a special election were held by itself, it would take place just one week before the general election. “So we thought it would be better and cheaper to wait until November,” he said.

By consolidating the special election with the general election, the city saves about $50,000, said Brenda Stutzman, a city clerk aide.

The mayor and council members who were recalled are not allowed to run in the special election. Winners in the special election would finish the terms currently held by Catlin, McClanahan and Bankhead. Bankhead’s term expires in 1996.

Catlin’s and McClanahan’s terms expire two weeks after the election. The winners in the general election in Catlin’s and McClanahan’s seats would then begin a four-year term.

During a City Council meeting Monday that centered on a proposed $81.2-million 1994-95 city budget, Catlin said he and the others who were recalled will remain in office until the election.

“It is important that the continuity of annual budget planning, especially in light of the many financial uncertainties facing the city, not be disrupted,” he said. “This is not a time for realignment of the city’s elected leaders.”

Officials said the 2% utility tax that prompted the recall effort probably will be repealed. The tax was approved by Catlin, McClanahan and Bankhead last year to close an estimated $3-million shortfall in the 1994-95 budget.

Recall proponents said they want to elect people who will repeal the tax.