Fountain Valley Councilman Resigns

James D. Petrikin resigned Tuesday from the Fountain Valley City Council, giving notice just half an hour before his colleagues were to consider declaring his seat vacant.

By stepping down, Petrikin ended speculation about his eligibility to serve. State homestead papers filed in December declare that his “Lazy J. Ranch” in Garden Valley near Placerville is his principal dwelling.

State law requires that a council member’s seat be declared “vacant” when compelling evidence shows that the officeholder lives outside the city that he or she is elected to represent.

Petrikin also has been under fire because he had missed 12 of the past 34 council meetings and recently was convicted of drunk driving. A campaign to recall him began earlier this year.

“Because of my continuing medical problems, it is time for me to step down,” Petrikin wrote in a short letter read Tuesday by Councilman Chuck Conlosh.

Conlosh said Petrikin told him to inform the public that his troubles began when he started mixing pain medication from four hip surgeries with alcohol. Petrikin did not resign in person because of pride, Conlosh said. “He wanted you to know that he really cares about the city of Fountain Valley.”

Petrikin had told colleagues earlier that he sold his house in Fountain Valley last year and has lived since with friends in town, making trips to the Northern California ranch to recover from surgery. Under the law, he could have kept his council seat--no matter where he was staying--until he listed another city as his main residence, City Atty. Alan R. Burns said. Once that happened, Burns said, the council was free to declare his seat open.

Petrikin was elected in 1988 and reelected in 1992 and 1996. The remaining council members have the option now of appointing someone to his seat or leaving it open until the November election.

Officials with the state attorney general’s Office and the League of California Cities said it is unusual for a City Council member to resign under such circumstances. The residence issue has come up before, though, in Orange County. Tom Nelson stepped down from the Mesa Consolidated Water District’s board in 1995 after constituents said he lived in Seal Beach rather than Costa Mesa.

Some residents applauded him Tuesday for resolving the issue.

“It’s not an easy decision to make, and I want him to know we appreciate his many years of service to the city,” said Bob Hoxsie, who worked on Petrikin’s campaigns in 1988 and 1992 but later helped lead the recall campaign against him.