Past offers lesson for council

Deirdre Newman

In 1991, when the City Council tried to appoint a replacement for

Councilman Edward Glasgow, the first seven attempts, over the course

of two meetings, failed.

Finally, the council succeeded in appointing Joe Erickson, who

ended up serving the city for nearly 10 years.

Twelve years later, the council has chosen to appoint Mayor Karen

Robinson’s successor. Robinson is resigning April 15 to become an

Orange County Superior Court judge.

The lesson from 1991?

Shelve personal politics and focus on the greater good of the

community, those who participated in the earlier appointment process

say.

“Sometimes you have to put your own political philosophy aside for

the good of the broader community,” said Mary Hornbuckle, who was

mayor at the time.

Glasgow resigned citing health reasons after it was revealed that

he and a Costa Mesa Police Department lieutenant had monitored

private computer communications between City Manager Allan Roeder and

Police Chief Dave Snowden for six months in 1989.

After the 1991 council chose the appointment process, each member

nominated two people, and only those who received a second vote of

support were considered. Then Hornbuckle recommended that each member

rank the nominees by preference. Straw votes were taken on the four

with the best rankings, but the votes failed to carry.

Later in that meeting, council members started making motions to

appoint their choices. Four failed, and the attempt to appoint was

continued until the next meeting.

On July 15, Erickson received a majority vote only after three

other candidates did not. Twenty minutes later, the clerk

administered the oath of office to Erickson, and he assumed his seat

on the dais.

Sandra Genis, who also was on the council at the time, said the

process evolved from a selfish attitude to a more thoughtful

approach.

“When we each started out, we each had our own ideas and thought

we would do what would enhance our own position on the council, and

then [we] realized that was dumb,” Genis said.

The council instead focused on who could best complement the

members, Genis said.

“We didn’t have a council member on the Eastside,” Genis said. “We

also looked at, ‘Is this someone who has a long-term commitment to

fixing up the city?’ Joe was on the Planning Commission and had a

long-term commitment.”

Erickson said when he was first appointed, it was asked that he

pledge to run for another term, which he did. He said he only served

two full terms because he believes in term limits.

As the beneficiary of the 1991 appointment process, Erickson said

he recommends the current council look for a team player.

“I urge them to have open minds, and what I think they need to

look for is someone that has the best interest of the entire city at

heart,” Erickson said. “We’re one city, and one area shouldn’t be

emphasized more than another. The four [remaining council members]

are good people, and I think they’ll make the best decision.”

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa and may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.