LAGUNA NIGUEL : Newest Councilman Pledges Cooperation

Despite his outsider status, Councilman-elect Eddie Rose has pledged a spirit of cooperation with others on the five-member panel when he takes office next month.

“I won’t be combative on every issue,” said Rose, a 56-year-old engineer who placed second in the Nov. 8 election behind incumbent Patricia C. Bates, a local political fixture since before the city’s incorporation five years ago. “But the people have voted and said they don’t want a rubber stamp.”

Paul Christiansen, a former councilman who placed fourth out of nine hopefuls last week, said that Rose’s election “will probably make the body politic more mature because there will be differences of style and opinion.”

During his three campaigns for a council seat, Rose has accused council members of pandering to developers’ wants while ignoring taxpayers’ needs. He also lambasted the council for giving City Manager Tim Casey what the new councilman termed an excessive salary and benefits package.

Rose’s theme of an out-of-touch council apparently struck a chord with some voters. Rose captured 15.4% of the vote. The third-place finisher, Planning Commissioner Linda Lindholm, received 11.3% of the vote. But Bates, 54, attracted the most support, with nearly one of every three voters casting ballots for her. She said she interpreted the election results as a vote of confidence in the current council.

Bates said she will continue to focus on how the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station is used once the Marines depart in 1999, and on keeping the city financially secure.

Rose said he hopes to introduce more recreational activities for teen-agers, and to investigate building a municipal golf course. He also wants to appoint new people to city commissions.

“If I had lost, I would have had to give my Richard Nixon speech and say ‘You won’t have Eddie Rose to kick around anymore,’ ” he said.