BITE OF THE GADFLY

Some call them community activists. Others label them gadflies. And a few simply call them pests.

But no matter what you call them, they get noticed, and they get involved in their cities.

They seem to have these things in common: They are colorful, committed, sometimes eccentric, fervent, often attention-seeking, accomplished and driven.

Times correspondent Lisa Addison looks at five of them.

ALAN MORTON

FULLERTON

At 72, with a successful career in the aerospace industry behind him and his two children grown, Alan Morton could be kicking back and enjoying the sweet days of retirement.

But then who would keep an eye on City Hall?

“As far as I can tell, I’m the only person who seems to care enough to be there every week,” Morton said.

For more than six years, the gregarious gadfly has devoted every other Tuesday evening to speaking out on various issues at Fullerton City Council meetings.

Morton said he is responsible for persuading the council to air its meetings on cable TV as well as for prompting local government to name three city parks after the Apollo astronauts--Col. Virgil I. Grissom, Col. Edward White II and Lt. Cmdr. Roger B. Chaffee--killed Jan. 27, 1967, in a spacecraft fire during a simulated launch.

“The incident devastated me because I knew the astronauts on a first-name basis and came in contact with them while working for Rockwell International,” Morton said.

Morton recently took the council to task because it was not hooked up to the Internet.

“Heck, I told them that they just weren’t up with the times,” he said. “This is the ‘90s, and they needed to be right up where everybody else is. They finally listened to me, and they have a Web site now, and the council agendas can even be downloaded from the Internet.”

Some of his methods may be effective, but at times they have been controversial, including an incident that took place a couple of years ago during a council meeting in which a sign Morton brandished during a heated debate about political placards ended up striking a council member.

“That got blown all out of proportion,” he said. “I was holding the sign and when I went to put it on the dais, it flipped and it hit a councilwoman. But it was an accident and I did apologize.”

Mayor Don Bankhead said he supports the right of Morton and other residents to voice their opinions.

“I defend their right to give their opinions, but I don’t have to always agree with their opinions,” he said. “I don’t think community activists in our city create any problems at our meetings, but it is unfortunate that the topics they sometimes choose to discuss have very little to do with benefiting the city.”

Regardless, Morton said the council always listens to what he has to say.

“They may not always agree,” he said. “They may not particularly enjoy me being there because I rock the boat. I think the council would like to just go in there every week, rush through the agenda and get out of there as quickly as they can.

“I guess you could say we’re playing a game of chicken. I’m older, and I think they are waiting for me to die on the vine. But you know what? I’m holding on like a little fox terrier. I’m not going anywhere. I’m there to show them that the public does exist.”

REG CLEWLEY

SEAL BEACH

Reg Clewley is a real estate investor by day, a watchdog by night.

For more than three years, the community activist has been a fixture at Seal Beach City Council meetings, and through his involvement has managed to make a difference in his neighborhood.

“Right after I moved into my house, I got a letter from the city concerning the decks along the back property line that abuts my property,” he said. “It was something that tweaked my interest.”

Fired up about the upcoming meeting, he did his homework--gathering every bit of information he could find about the deck issue--and with folders bulging with data, he went to the meeting and presented his case.

“The council listened to everything I had to say, and eventually, their attorney told them that I had raised some pretty good points,” he said. “In fact, he told them that if they passed the deck variance, they could possibly be sued by some of the property owners.”

After realizing that one person could make a difference, Clewley made a commitment to attend not only City Council meetings but any other meetings in the city that might pertain to citizens’ rights.

With a folksy manner and the deep, rich voice of a radio announcer, Clewley, 46, is at ease in front of an audience.

“Well, I call them as I see them,” he said. “I’ve been around this neck of the woods since I was about 13, so I feel like I know the area pretty darn good. Keeping an eye on what the council does has become a job of sorts. Because of all the time I spend on reading and research, it’s more than just a hobby.”

Clewley, who said he relishes being the center of attention, attributes any success he’s had in swaying people to “good genes, a voice that can reverberate off the walls like thunder and a certain forcefulness that assures people will listen to what you have to say.”

They might listen, but they don’t always agree, especially when it comes to city officials.

“He’s very articulate, but he does tend to go on and on,” said Councilman George Brown. “His comments can be a nuisance from the standpoint that he drags it out. And there have been times that he has gone on a tirade and called all of us stupid. But I’ll have to admit that he does his homework. And I will say that he makes some good points on occasion.”

His dissenters have a right to their opinions, says Clewley, who, when he is feeling pulled in several directions, grabs his headphones, straps on a pair of skates and rocks and rolls the stress away.

“You can’t let things get to you,” he said. “I take the issues seriously, but I never, ever take myself too seriously.”

CAROLE WALTERS

ORANGE

It was a letter that landed in her mailbox about 10 years ago that ultimately propelled Carole Walters into a life of community activism.

“The letter that day was from Chapman College [now Chapman University], and it said that they wanted to expand the college and take my house,” she said. “But I wasn’t about to let that happen.”

Walters, 53, who has lived in Orange since 1968, decided to fight back and began contacting neighbors, getting signatures on petitions and attending council meetings.

“Because we got involved, more than 100 homes were saved,” she said. “And the college had to pay the full value of the homes to property owners who did give up their houses. It was quite a victory.”

The unpretentious activist goes about her business quietly and has no political ambitions, even though some people have encouraged her to toss her hat into the political arena.

“Sometimes, I feel like City Hall because so many residents call me,” she said. “When they want something done, they call me. But I’ll never run for office. I won’t forget where I belong. Being there for people is more important than having a title.”

Walters has been speaking out at council meetings since 1988, continuing to be vocal despite threats, hate mail and some vandalism at her home, which she attributes to the fact that she has addressed certain issues at council meetings.

“Some of it has scared me, but I’m not going to shut up,” she said.

She’s proud of the things she has helped accomplish.

“One thing that I’ve always felt good about is that during the county bankruptcy, a grass-roots committee I belonged to went out and fought the half-cent sales tax that the county supervisors were trying to pass, and we were able to get it killed,” she said.

Another issue Walters has spent time on concerned a mobile home park in Orange that didn’t have any fire hydrants. She went before the council, addressed the matter, wrote letters, got the community involved, and--voila--the park soon was equipped with three fire hydrants.

Councilman Dan Slater said he thinks community activists serve a good purpose in that they help to keep politicians honest and on their toes.

“As far as Carole Walters goes, there have been many issues in which we have been diametrically opposed,” he said. “However, she has a very good and dear heart and truly feels she is doing the right thing. And I could never fault her for that. She is a very good citizen.

“In some respects, it’s frustrating to see the same people at every meeting. However, they are doing a service for the community in that they are the community’s watchdogs, so to speak.”

The activist role is a time-consuming one, but Walters said she has the full support of her husband, David, and their six grown children.

“After that first time when I got involved in city government and saved our house, David has been behind me all the way,” she said, laughing.

BRUCE HOPPING

LAGUNA BEACH

He’s a night owl. A champion of youth. A voracious reader who has never owned a television.

Longtime community activist Bruce Hopping believes it’s important to give back to the community and to pass on any wisdom one might have, especially to young people.

“Sure, it requires a commitment to be active in local government,” he said. “And many people today lack the ability to commit to anything. Commitment takes discipline.

“But there is an obligation for citizens to participate actively in our government. How can people not get involved in their community?”

Hopping, 82, believes that the discipline required of those who are active in sports is the same discipline that can nurture youth into leaders of tomorrow.

But not all sports; he has tried to get local high schools, without success, to halt football programs.

“I feel that football and boxing for children and young adults is just disastrous,” he said. “Football is stressful on the human body, and it’s dangerous. But I try to encourage young people to take up water sports. Swimming is something that you can do for the rest of your life. It’s good for you, and it’s a sport that appeals to both girls and boys.”

Hopping is the head of the Kalos Kagathos Foundation, a private, nonprofit organization he formed in 1953. In Greek, Kalos Kagathos means “physical distinction, nobility of mind.” The foundation organizes trips abroad and provides scholarships to athletes.

“I founded the organization with the goal in mind of putting athletic fitness on a pedestal, much like the Greeks did,” he said. “It’s imitating something that was started thousands of years ago in Athens, in which they mixed academics with sports.”

Robert Gaughran, a former high school water polo coach who was inducted into the U.S. Water Polo Hall of Fame in 1993, has known Hopping for 27 years.

“He has unbelievable energy,” Gaughran said. “But he doesn’t limit it to Laguna Beach. He reaches out to students at high schools and colleges all over the county, the state and the country.”

Hopping has many irons in the fire these days, including serving as an organizer of international surfing contests, a role he has enjoyed for more than 20 years. He treks all over the country to surfing competitions and often takes along groups of students.

“Being around these vital, brimming-with-energy young people helps to keep me young. And it inspires me to see that some of these kids are going to be so successful in life.”

Although he has a dignified, soft-spoken manner, Hopping can get somewhat riled up on certain issues.

Take skateboarding.

“One of my quests is to have skateboarding legalized in Laguna Beach,” he said. “We should not be locking people up for doing something that takes skill. It’s just absolutely ludicrous.”

KATHRYN McCULLOUGH

LAKE FOREST

Kathryn McCullough, a former community activist who now serves on the City Council, is incredulous when asked why she got involved in local government.

“How could I not be involved?” she said. “Back when I was just attending the meetings, there were many times when I was the only citizen there. And the council was making decisions about our rights and about things that concerned all citizens in the community. I just could not believe that nobody else cared enough to be there.”

In addition to being a councilwoman, she is co-pastor of the Mission Church in Lake Forest, heads up a food outreach program called Adopt a Neighbor, serves on several committees and tries to squeeze in some quality time each day with her husband of 24 years, Christopher, and their four grown children.

And yet, she has missed only two council meetings in the last six years--both times because she was in the hospital.

“I just make the time to be there,” McCullough said. “As you can see, the only way I would miss a meeting is if I have a very good reason. It’s not like I’m not busy enough doing other things, but I can’t think of much that is more important than being there for the citizens of the city that I love.”

The 55-year-old said she was never nervous about making the leap from activist to council member.

“Oh, I knew if I ran, I would win,” she said, “because God had spoken to me. He led me down that path. I prayed it through, and sure enough, I ended up winning. I just worried about how I would be able to juggle everything in my life around so that I could be the most effective that I could possibly be and do the best job I could do for the people.”

McCullough said that before she was elected, she was instrumental in getting more street lights, park improvements and a bike patrol. Since she’s been on the council, she has pushed for motorcycle patrols as well as neighborhood watches and more community involvement.

“I’m still doing the same things that I was doing when I was sitting on the other side of the fence--caring about citizens’ rights.”

But she has done at least one thing that really surprised her constituents.

“Well, during the most recent flooding, I got out and helped dig out blocked drains and culverts in the city,” she said.

“I really got in there and got my hands dirty. I had people coming up and saying, ‘Why are you doing that? Don’t you have people who could do that work for you?’ Hey, I would get out there and get involved, whether I’m on the council or not. It’s what we should all be doing.”