Budget Deficit Tops List for New Mayor

Art Brown has been chosen by his colleagues on the City Council to serve as mayor for the coming year.

Brown, 59, was elected to the council in 1990, at the onset of the recession in Southern California. For Buena Park, recovery has been slow, with the city facing a budget deficit this fiscal year that officials say could run as high as $2 million.

“I seem to get the prize of going into really horrendous times,” Brown quipped as took the gavel Monday night.

But the retired Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy said he was excited about the prospect of his year at the helm. “We’ll be looking for ways to get out from under,” he said. “This would be very hard for someone working full time.”

Besides the budget, a major challenge is keeping the streets clear for residents and tourists while several major highway projects proceed.

The new council, Brown noted, is relatively young in terms of service. Two incumbents--Donald L. Bone and Don Griffin--did not seek reelection. That made Brown, with six years of service, the panel member with the longest tenure.

Brown is an alternate member of the Orange County Transportation Authority’s board of directors. He is also co-chair of energy and environment panels for the Southern California Assn. of Governments and chairman of the group’s North American Free Trade Agreement committee.