Three on Council to Seek Reelection

Saying their work is not finished, three incumbents on the City Council said this week that they will seek reelection in November.

Mayor Dave Sullivan and Councilmen Tom Harman and Victor Leipzig have declared their candidacy and have taken out nomination papers. Eight challengers have also picked up candidacy forms, which must be filed by Aug. 9.

Sullivan and Leipzig, both elected in 1992, are seeking second terms on the council. Harman will be seeking election for the first time--he was appointed in January 1995 to fill the council vacancy created when Jim Silva was elected to the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

The three said they want to complete a number of projects, among them finalizing an economic program to build the city’s lagging sales tax base.

“That’s the key to being able to do other things--that we get our city on a strong economic footing,” said Sullivan, 59, an orthodontist.

Harman, 55, an attorney, said building financial security will be challenging, but “it’s a high priority of mine, and we’re working very hard on it.”

Leipzig, 48, a college biology instructor, said business development programs that the council has built in the past four years “are starting to take off.”

Other unfinished business, the three agreed, includes resolving the conflict over a proposal to build homes at the Bolsa Chica wetlands and maintaining programs for senior citizens and children.