Another Dark Cloud Over Surf City

The resignation of Huntington Beach Councilwoman Pam Julien Houchen amid a federal investigation into her possible involvement in selling wrongly converted condominiums is another blow to a city that would rather be known as Surf City than Sin City.

Houchen’s brief resignation letter, citing “personal reasons,” came three years after the resignation of her former colleague Dave Garofalo, a local magazine publisher. He pleaded guilty to one felony and 15 misdemeanors for repeatedly voting on matters involving companies that bought advertising from his business.

In May, Jan Shomaker, who owns the real estate office that handled many of the condo sales, resigned from the Planning Commission as local and federal investigations have come to review about 120 transactions. Houchen, who worked at one time as an agent through Pier Realty, appointed Shomaker to the commission.

A year ago, Shomaker’s colleague Keith Bohr resigned from the commission after city workers complained that he had asked them to assist some of his real estate clients as well as a contributor to his unsuccessful campaign for City Council.

Houchen declined to comment on her resignation and the condo investigation when reached by phone. She has insisted to friends that she did nothing wrong.

Several business leaders and residents declined to discuss Houchen’s resignation Thursday, saying they didn’t know enough about her personal business dealings. She has been generally well-liked by colleagues and many residents, who empathized with her as the mother of toddler triplets.

“I would urge that people let the facts come out before convicting her ... or anyone else,” businessman Ron Shenkman said.

“People tend to think the worst when it comes to politicians.”

But several residents bemoaned the resignation as yet another black cloud over a city still recovering from a series of scandals, including Houchen pleading guilty to three misdemeanor counts in 2001 on behalf of the city for discharging sewage into the environment.

Last year, a judge ordered the city to refund about $20 million in property taxes that had been illegally levied to help pay for employee pension payments, causing a budget crisis at City Hall.

Huntington Beach has long been known for its welcoming beaches, professional surfing tours and laid-back attitude. The city’s downtown bustles on weekends with throngs of tourists and locals crisscrossing Pacific Coast Highway between beaches and businesses.

Though less glitzy than Newport Beach to the south, Huntington Beach has nonetheless attracted money -- such as big oil in the derricks that once dominated but slowly faded from the coast, and the hotels and promenades of big development that sprang up in their place.

Although Houchen’s actions haven’t been called a crime, any blurring of public responsibility and private profit yields a cautionary lesson for other elected officials, said longtime Orange County government watchdog Shirley L. Grindle -- especially in cities that attract big money.

“The older I get, the more convinced I am that at the base of all these [scandals] is greed and a human weakness for money,” Grindle said. “People get into office and they get swayed by money and they lose their integrity. Huntington Beach has a history of it.”

Council members will decide Tuesday how to handle Houchen’s vacancy. She was to leave anyway in December, having served the maximum eight years on the seven-member council.

The timing of her announcement, however, created a quandary. Under the city charter, the vacancy should be filled by appointment. But the council is supposed to call a special election if that doesn’t happen within 60 days. The Nov. 2 election is 61 days from the date of her Wednesday letter.

The city attorney will advise the council on whether to appoint a successor or leave the seat vacant until after the election, City Administrator Penny Culbreth-Graft said. There are 16 candidates hoping to fill three seats. Councilwoman Debbie Cook is the only incumbent running for reelection.

Also to be resolved is what will happen to the roughly 120 condominiums that the city has discovered were improperly converted from apartments.

There is a strict list of requirements for such conversions -- including the payment of city fees -- that reportedly weren’t followed with the cluster of duplexes, triplexes and four-plexes sold as condos. At least three of the building sales, affecting 12 units, involved Houchen, say people familiar with the inquiry.