CITY GUIDE : WESTMINSTER

Mayor Frank Fry Jr.

Age: 71

Occupation: Retired retail manager

First elected: Elected mayor in November 1996; had served seven terms as a councilman.

Term expires: November 1998.

Key issues: Redeveloping Little Saigon to boost tourism; building the long-planned Community Cultural Center; upgrading water system.

Councilman Tony Lam

Age: 60

Occupation: Restaurant owner

First elected: November 1992

Term expires: November 1998

Key issues: Turning Little Saigon into a tourist attraction to generate revenue for the city, including building a parking structure and entry signs; reducing city budget; working with Chamber of Commerce to hold workshops for merchants; developing a Visitors Center and tourism brochure; working with community groups to build Monument to Freedom.

Councilwoman Margie L. Rice

Age: 67

Occupation: Board member, Midway City Sanitary District

First elected: November 1994

Term expires: November 1998

Key issues: Repealing the city’s utility tax and expanding senior and youth programs; trying to attract new businesses and keep existing ones; supporting community policing.

Councilwoman Joy L. Neugebauer

Age: Declined to state

Occupation: Executive director, Westminster Museum; director, Midway City Sanitary District

First elected: November 1996; served three terms as mayor in the 1970s and ‘80s

Term expires: November 2000

Key issues: Promoting police programs to reduce crime rates and increase a feeling of safety; supporting community policing; hiring a community youth liaison; examining fire services; placing more emphasis on city infrastructure, such as improving streets and fixing potholes.

Councilwoman Margaret Shillington

Age: 58

Occupation: Local business owner

First elected: November 1996

Term expires: November 2000

Key issues: Controlling cost of Community Cultural Center; balancing the budget; bringing more businesses to the city through economic development; working on the water system: “a huge infrastructure problem and probably our No. 1 issue.”

Other Key Officials

Interim city manager: Don Vestal

Age:48

Length in office: Nine months

City attorney: Richard D. Jones

Age: 47

Length in office: Seven years

Police chief: James Cook

Age: 59

Length in office: Eight years

Fire services: City contracts with Orange County Fire Authority

How to Reach Them

Council meets: Second and Fourth Tuesdays of the month at 7:30 p.m., City Hall, 8200 Westminster Blvd.

Hours: City Hall is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays

Telephone: (714) 898-3311

Factoids

Motto: “City of Progress--Built on Pride”

Flower: Roundelay Rose

Incorporated: 1957

Population: 82,536

Legislative districts:

* 45th and 46th congressional;

* 34th and 35th state Senate;

* 67th and 68th Assembly

City budget: $28-million operating budget

Number of employees: 260

Highest-paid employee: City manager, $100,000 annual salary

Council perks: Council members receive stipend of $500 a month; expense allowance of $200 monthly for mayor and $100 for council members; $50 for each Redevelopment Agency meeting, up to four per month.

RESEARCHED BY J. J. POPE