GARDEN GROVE : Council Ousts Chung as Mayor Pro Tem

Councilman Ho Chung has been ousted as mayor pro tem following charges by a majority of his colleagues on the City Council that he would use the position to gain an unfair advantage over his opponents in the race for mayor.

But Chung, 60, said in an interview that he was removed from the largely ceremonial position during the council’s meeting Tuesday to humiliate him publicly and derail his bid to become the first Asian American mayor of Garden Grove.

“They want to destroy my public image,” said Chung, who won a four-year seat on the council in 1992. “But if it’s unfair for me to keep the position, who is appropriate to take this position?”

On a 3-2 vote, the council appointed Councilman Mark Leyes to serve as mayor pro tem until the council reorganizes in December.

Leyes, however, is running for reelection. Chung contends that Leyes should not accept the position because that would give him an unfair advantage over other council candidates.

In the city’s convoluted politics, four council members are running in the Nov. 8 election. Chung and Bruce A. Broadwater are running for mayor, and Leyes and Robert F. Dinsen are seeking reelection to the council.

Mayor Frank Kessler, who was elected in 1992, has decided not to seek another two-year term, turning the race into a virtual free-for-all.

Also running for mayor are Al Snook, Kelly Sherwood, Josh McIntosh and Bart Blakesley.

Chung filed his candidacy papers Monday, three days after Kessler announced he would not seek reelection. Chung said he tried to persuade Kessler to run “because I feel he is the most qualified.”

But Leyes, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor two years ago, said that Chung promised in December when he was appointed mayor pro tem that he would not be a candidate for mayor.

“We need a level of integrity in the council,” Leyes said. He added that he will not use his new position to his advantage, although he said that as mayor pro tem, “it’s a relative advantage because of the confidence of being second in command.”

The mayor pro tem presides over council meetings when the mayor is absent and represents the city in community events and public meetings whenever the mayor is not available.

Broadwater and Dinsen said they supported Leyes because the 36-year-old councilman has never been mayor pro tem before.