ANAHEIM : Council May Name Daly’s Successor Today

The City Council, which has had an empty seat for two weeks, will try to name a fifth member today.

Choosing the new member is crucial as the city grapples with the county’s financial crisis, which could affect landmark proposals such as a new baseball stadium, a new or renovated football stadium and the proposed $3-billion expansion of Disneyland.

The vacancy was caused by an election quirk that arose after a 1992 charter amendment changed the mayoral selection process.

Previously, mayoral candidates had to be sitting council members and they competed for two-year terms. This was the first year that the mayor was elected at-large for a four-year term.

Because Mayor Tom Daly was in the middle of his council term when he was reelected Nov. 8, two years of his council tenure remain. His seat had to remain vacant during the election in case he lost the mayor’s race, according to the city clerk’s office.

If the council cannot agree by early January on a candidate to fill the two years remaining on Daly’s term, one will be selected in a special election, which the city clerk’s office estimates could cost $100,000.

Daly has said that a logical choice would be Shirley A. McCracken, the chairwoman of the city’s budget advisory commission, who finished third among 16 candidates in the November election. Other council members have not publicly supported any candidates.