ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Not a Time to Waste Money

The Anaheim City Council cannot afford the estimated $100,000 cost of a special election to fill an open council seat. The four council members should pick someone to fill the vacancy, created by a City Charter revision that lengthened the mayor’s term and rearranged council positions.

Last week a group of concerned residents urged the council to pick Shirley McCracken. She finished third in the Nov. 8 election, in which the top two finishers in an at-large election won. Choosing her would be logical. However, there is nothing to prevent council members from considering other nominees as well.

Some residents and one council member called for a special election. But that would mean operating with only four members, and inviting 2-2 deadlocks, until June. Anyone elected then would serve for only a year and a half.

In the best of times, Anaheim would be advised to think several times about shelling out $100,000. In these times, when the city could lose more than $40 million from the investment pool that plunged Orange County into bankruptcy, spending the extra money would be ridiculous.

If council members do not fill the seat by Jan. 29, a special election must be held. They should remember they were elected to represent the city’s residents, and that includes taking action in an extraordinary situation like this one. They were not put in office to avoid responsibility and waste money.