Anaheim May Face Special Election for Council Seat : Vacancy: The four members deadlock on making an appointment to the position. That could result in special balloting that would cost city about $100,000.

The city appears headed for a special election, after the City Council on Tuesday failed to agree on who should fill a vacant seat on the panel.

Although the council will try to make the appointment again next week, council members Bob Zemel and Lou Lopez said the vacancy should be filled by a vote of the people.

“I don’t have the right to vote for the citizens of Anaheim. . . . I can’t do it,” Lopez said.

A motion by Councilman Frank Feldhaus to appoint Shirley A. McCracken, the third-highest vote-getter in the Nov. 8 election, was supported by Mayor Tom Daly but not by Lopez or Zemel.

Zemel, in a lengthy and detailed presentation, said McCracken should not be appointed simply because she placed third and that the most qualified person might be someone who didn’t even run in the election.

If the council cannot reach a consensus by Jan. 29, which is 60 days after the seat became vacant, a date for a special election will be set, probably in June, at a cost of about $100,000.

Several McCracken supporters urged the council to appoint her.

“The one thing we cannot do is spend any additional money,” said former Councilwoman Miriam Kaywood.

And unless the council appoints a fifth member, she said, it will experience “turmoil . . . with 2-to-2 split votes. It’s crucial that the city not be handicapped and be able to act.”

McCracken would not say whether she would run in a special election.

“It’s a difficult time for a special election not only for the city but for candidates who have to go out and raise money,” she said.

She was the third-highest vote-getter in the November election, in which the top-two finishers in a field of 16 candidates were elected to the council.

McCracken’s total of 10,866 votes gave her only a slim lead over fourth-place finisher Paul V. Bostwick with 10,613 votes and Sharon A. Ericson, who finished fifth with 10,533 votes.

Supporters of Bostwick urged the council to appoint him, while Ericson’s supporters called for a special election.

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 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.

The county’s current financial crisis was mentioned often Tuesday night as a reason for the council to act quickly. But Zemel disagreed.

“I think it’s imperative that before an appointment is made, we get to the bottom of our financial problems,” he said. “The city is in the most uncertain time in its history, and we need to show leadership. We need to stay focused on the task at hand and not let this appointment get in the way.”

Daly said he was disappointed that the council was unable to reach a consensus and asked that the item be placed on next week’s council agenda so the group could try again.

“There are so many important decisions that have to be made in the coming weeks and months,” Daly said. “My concern is that without a full council, we won’t have the benefit of complete discussion and a full range of views.”