5 Interested in Filling Vacant Council Seat

Council members will conduct a public hearing next week to meet with five residents seeking to fill a vacant council seat.

Former Councilman Bill Doane stepped down in protest last month after Planning Commissioner Patty Campbell was elected to the council.

Doane supported attorney Phillip Fife, a proponent of the Bixby Ranch Co.’s proposed 223-home residential and commercial development in the College Park East community. Campbell voted against the controversial project, along with a majority of Planning Commission members.

At the close of the Monday deadline for submitting “letters of interest” for the vacant council seat, five residents offered to serve the remaining two years of Doane’s term, according to City Clerk Joanne Yeo.

They are: Alex H. Brett, Harry R. Fulton, Henry M. Glunz, John C. Nevin and Vincent Spinosa. Council members will meet with the candidates at 6:45 p.m. Monday in council chambers.

The last time the council had to fill a vacant seat was in June 1991 when Councilman Joe Hunt resigned. Hunt said he was frustrated over the council’s rejection of the proposed Hellman Ranch development.

Doane, a Leisure World resident, was appointed to replace Hunt, promising to “mend the fences” among council members frequently divided over development issues.

But Doane frequently found himself to be the lone supporter of projects he said were necessary to bring revenue to the city.