Councilman Should Resign Himself to Facts

I would find the prospect of sitting on a city council or school board about as appealing as getting seasick. Yes, the chairs are cushioned and they swivel and you get your own nameplate. But how do those people sit there hour after hour and listen as city or school department heads say, “In accordance with council’s directives, we have developed the procedures and outlined the parameters and implemented the infrastructures . . . “

Zzzz.

And yet, some public officials get so attached to their jobs they refuse to give them up. Even when they’re not doing them.

Take James Petrikin, a Fountain Valley council member the last nine years who was reelected in November to a term that expires in the year 2000. Petrikin, 57, is no dilettante: Besides his council tenure, he’s a former city planning commissioner and a past president of the local Chamber of Commerce.

So it is especially telling when a community newspaper feels compelled to run a cover story, as the neighboring Huntington Beach Independent did a couple weeks ago, with the headline: “Where’s Jim?” Or when a number of residents appear at a council meeting, as they did Tuesday night, and suggest that Petrikin step down.

Petrikin is beset with physical problems that cause him much pain. He has two prosthetic hips and has undergone spinal surgeries. Fellow council member John Collins says, “The poor man does walk around in pain.”

As a result, however, Petrikin has become something of a phantom in a town small enough for residents to notice such things. The council meets just twice a month, but since his reelection Petrikin has missed six meetings. Under the city’s rotation system, Petrikin was slated to serve as mayor this year but surrendered that job a month into it because of his health.

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Worst of all, however, according to City Hall observers, is that Petrikin himself concedes that he hasn’t been able to keep up with city business and has, in fact, spent much of the year recuperating from the ailments at his ranch in Northern California.

The increasingly pertinent question is not “Where’s Jim?” but “Why doesn’t Jim resign?”

Given Petrikin’s history, let’s accept on faith he’s run for office because he enjoys public service. And, yes, he may well argue that he was elected to do a job, and he wants to see it through.

That argument is losing steam about as quickly as Petrikin is.

At a time when he should be leveling with people about his physical condition, Petrikin has been elusive. Hard to corner for interviews and harder to reach by constituents, he’s acting as though Fountain Valley owes him an honorary council seat. He didn’t return my call for an interview, but in other interviews he’s said his doctors will tell him in January if he needs to step down.

Longtime Fountain Valley resident and former school board member Sheila Marcus is among those calling for Petrikin to resign. “I think he’s kidding himself,” she says. “He needs to step down.”

She says Petrikin’s inattentiveness to duty means that Fountain Valley essentially has a four-member council. “It’s not like he’s a heart surgeon, doing one-of-a-kind surgery,” she says of Petrikin. “We can find another person to serve. He needs to step down gracefully. I want him to go out as a star. As it is, he’s killing 25 years of good work. It’s beginning to look like he’s just being stubborn.”

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Mayor Collins said Petrikin’s recent absences at least have come when the city’s business is in somewhat of a lull. “There’s not an awful lot of weighty things going on,” he says. “We have four other council members who are diligent and doing their job.”

Obviously wanting to be diplomatic, Collins said the decision on resigning should be Petrikin’s. “My take on this is the man obviously has some severe medical conditions to deal with. He isn’t there [at meetings] all the time. That’s a fact. Our prayers are with him. We support him as much as we can to have him get better, so he can either come back full time or choose another alternative.”

Petrikin’s situation reminds me of that of Mike Hernandez, the Los Angeles city councilman arrested for cocaine possession, who subsequently enrolled in a rehab center. Despite the arrest and the fact that recent rehab graduates are prime candidates for relapses as they begin recovery, Hernandez refuses to resign, saying he can still do the public’s business.

You want to be charitable to people like Hernandez and Petrikin and say that they have an honest desire for public service. After a while, though, they merely come off as arrogant and selfish when they won’t quit.

Or, maybe they just like those swivel chairs.

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Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Parsons by calling (714) 966-7821 or by writing to him at the Times Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or by e-mail to dana.parsons@latimes.com