LOCAL ELECTIONS / FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Challenger Says Council Puts Development Before Residents

In this predominantly residential community, a lone challenger is trying to wrest a City Council seat away from one of three incumbents in the Nov. 8 election by portraying the present council as unconcerned with the adverse effects of commercial development on the city’s residential neighborhoods.

But the three incumbents are campaigning to maintain the leadership that they say represents the interests of all citizens--not just neighborhood residents--as well as to keep the 37-year-old city a balanced, crime-free and economically thriving community with a strong sales-tax base.

The incumbents include Mayor John Collins, a businessman; Guy Carrozzo, a retired school principal and one-term council member with 30 years of residence in the city; and former mayor and community volunteer Laurann Cook, who is seeking her third four-year term. Trying to unseat one of the incumbents is first-time candidate Gus Ayer, a past president and current board member of Green Valley Homeowners’ Recreation Assn.--the largest homeowners association in the city with 1,048 homes.

The main issues that have surfaced in the campaign involve the quality of life in Fountain Valley, preservation of neighborhoods, balanced growth, strong programs against crime, gangs, graffiti and drugs, and maintaining the bedroom-community nature of this city of 55,000 inhabitants.

The candidates are not expected to spend more than $10,000 on their campaigns. Carrozzo will spend less than $1,000.

Ayer, 44, has criticized the city’s efforts to bring more retail businesses to town at the expense of neighborhoods. He points to the added traffic, crime and pollution that invariably accompany increased commercial development.

He also says that the city has wasted money updating the city’s General Plan--a blueprint to guide the city’s future development: “The city has spent hundreds of thousands on that and hasn’t produced anything meaningful.”

Ayer, a 14-year resident and businessman, is opposed to future street-widening projects on major thoroughfares such as Euclid and Brookhurst streets and Ellis and Garfield avenues.

“These are things that impact every neighborhood in the city,” said Ayer, whose campaign message is “Yes to Neighborhoods,” his pledge to protect them from adverse affects of commercial development. “My first priority is to protect and enhance residential neighborhoods.”

Collins, another first-term council member, started volunteering in the community when he moved here 20 years ago, which lead to his candidacy in 1990.

A past president of the Fountain Valley Chamber of Commerce, Collins said he wants another four-year term so he can continue to use his public service and business experience to keep the city financially sound and a nice place to live.

The 51-year-old Collins said the city has balanced its budget without raising taxes, enticed businesses that have generated more sales tax revenue, and has put six more police officers on the street by shifting four positions and adding two new hires.

He added that the city has spent $6 million in past four years to maintain streets and improve traffic flow. “Do we still have traffic problems? Yes. Where are they? They’re at the (city’s) border at both ends. We need to work with the county, state and federal governments to resolve these problems.”

Maintaining and enhancing the current level of public safety services are also among top priorities for current council members.

Cook, who is 45 and a 20-year resident, also said continued support of Neighborhood Watch and community policing programs that get residents involved in reducing crime are among solutions to combatting crime.

“We need to continue the tough stance on gangs--that they won’t be tolerated--and we need to enhance anti-gang programs,” said Cook, founder of the Child Abuse Resistance Education Program and the No to Drugs Foundation.

Cook’s priorities also include neighborhood preservation, maintaining a balanced budget and continuing open communications with residents about their local government.

Carrozzo is the current mayor pro tem, which means that if voters return him to his seat, he will be next in line to become mayor. The council rotates members to the ceremonial post.

Carrozzo, 62, was first elected in 1990 following his retirement after 30 years with the Westminster School District.

“I have enjoyed it tremendously. I feel I have the time to give it the time it deserves,” said Carrozzo, who refuses to accept campaign contributions from any source and plans to spend his own money for this election.

“By not accepting contributions, I can assure the public I’m totally committed to serving their needs and interests.”

Carrozzo, a 30-year resident and active member of Holy Spirit Church, said he wants to maintain a small-town atmosphere for the city, promote a strong sales-tax revenue base and continue to provide quality services without raising taxes.

When Carrozzo was elected to office four years ago, he promised his constituents he would not raise taxes--and he’s kept his word.

“I did my best to vote no. I look at a tax as something mandatory that everyone has to pay,” Carrozzo said of his anti-tax voting record.

Cook, a former public relations executive who has made serving on the council a full-time job, said term limits is not an issue in this year’s council race.

“I serve at the will of the people. And if the citizens of Fountain Valley wish for me to continue serving them, it will show during the election,” Cook said. “I haven’t lost my enthusiasm to serve the citizens of Fountain Valley, which is one of the reasons why I’m running.”

In 1984, voters decided to limit council members to two four-year terms. But because Fountain Valley is a general-law city, term limits cannot be enforced under state law.

Ayer said he strongly supports term limits. Carrozzo, who voted for term limits, said it’s up to the voters to decide who they believe is the best person to serve them.

Collins, like Cook, said that term limits are not an issue this election.