Ex-Mayor Appointed to Council in San Juan

San Juan Capistrano’s City Council appointed former Mayor Collene Campbell on Wednesday to succeed John Greiner, who resigned this month.

Campbell, 68, the city’s first female mayor, received 85% of the vote when she ran for reelection to a second term in 1996, the largest margin of victory in the city’s history. Campbell did not run again in 2000 because her husband was ill.

Before being elected in 1992, Campbell served on the city Planning Commission for seven years, including two as chair.

After a brief discussion, the council voted 4 to 0 to pick Campbell from among 14 candidates who applied for the vacant seat. She will serve until the November 2002 election.

Some residents urged the council to hold a special election instead of appointing Greiner’s successor.

Council members said the soonest a special election could be held is March and choosing someone to serve only six months would cost the city $40,000.

Other speakers said they did not think the council considered all the candidates.

Councilman David M. Swerdlin disagreed, saying, “I don’t think it was a done deal. We looked at a lot of competent people.”

Greiner, 63, was reelected to his second term last year with nearly 70% of the vote. He resigned this month after he moved to Fallbrook, citing family reasons.

Greiner, who had served on the Planning Commission and was an Orange County Fire Authority representative, said this summer that he and his wife were moving to Fallbrook so their grandchild could escape “unpleasant memories.”

Greiner’s daughter, Laurel, who lived in San Juan Capistrano, was killed in a traffic accident three years ago in Paris.