ANAHEIM : 13 Take Out Papers for 2 Council Seats

The race for two open seats on the City Council is already shaping up to be a crowded one, with 13 potential candidates taking out nomination papers last week, according to the city clerk’s office.

Candidate filings do not close until Aug. 12, and potential candidates have until then to return their documents with the signatures of at least 20 registered Anaheim voters, City Clerk Leonora Sohl said.

The four-year terms of Councilmen Fred Hunter, Irv Pickler and Bob. D. Simpson expire in November.

Pickler and Hunter are prohibited by term limits from seeking reelection.

Simpson has said he will not run again for the council.

Although this means there are three open council seats, only two will be up for election because of a charter amendment passed in 1992 that changed the selection process of the city’s mayor, Sohl said.

There are five council members, with one serving as mayor.

In the past, one of the council members was selected by the voters to be mayor.

But beginning this year, someone running for mayor need not be a council member to run for the office, Sohl said.

So far, incumbent Tom Daly and retired businessman Curtis A. Stickler have taken out nomination papers in the race for mayor.

If Daly were to lose the mayoral race, however, he would retain his council seat for two more years; that would eliminate one of the open seats.

If Daly is elected mayor and a third seat remains open, the City Council will have 60 days to appoint someone to the position.

If they fail to do so, then the city must hold a special election, Sohl said.

Those who had taken out nomination papers for a City Council seat as of Friday afternoon were: Keith Oleson, a computer hardware salesman who ran in 1992; Loretta Sanchez Brixey, a public finance specialist; and Leonard Lahtinen, a high school teacher and member of the North Orange County Community College District board.

Also taking out papers were: Lou Lopez, an Anaheim police officer and a member of the Anaheim City School District and Anaheim Union High School District boards of education; Sharon A. Ericson, president of the largest employee union and an office supervisor in the Parks and Recreation Department; and Shirley A. McCrackin, an educational consultant.

In addition, the following people took out nomination papers: Mitchell T. Tracy, an assistant program director; Jerry R. Stoces, a buyer in the aerospace industry who ran in 1988; John A. Russo, a sales representative; Paul V. Bostwick, an Anaheim business owner; Jason D. LeVecke, a business manager; Kurt F. Meidinger, a pattern maker; and Phyllis R. Boydstun, a real estate broker.