Two paths to new Yorba Linda mayor choice

Since the first Yorba Linda City Council was seated in 1967, members have used two methods to choose the mayor and mayor pro tem—and both approaches have benefits.

The first council decided that members would serve six-month terms as mayor and mayor pro tem in order of votes received in the election. Many subsequent councils also adopted a rotation system, removing politics from the process.

However, some councils in each decade of cityhood picked a mayor who reflected the majority opinion of elected council members, noting the mayor would be representing council positions at city, county and regional gatherings.

Mayor Pro Tem Jan Horton would be mayor and John Anderson mayor pro tem using a rotation method, but if new members want a mayor more reflective of majority thinking, Anderson might be mayor and Nov. 4 first-place finisher Mark Schwing mayor pro tem.

A decision could come at Tuesday’s council session. Interestingly, two years ago, Horton cast the only vote against selecting Jim Winder mayor pro tem under the rotation method.

Other election-related items:

--Schwing returns to the council after an eight-year layoff. He placed second in 1988 and first in 1992 and 1996 but lost by 100 votes in 2000 and three votes in 2002. He attended most council meetings since he left office, and his three-term limit clock starts this year.

--Hank Wedaa voluntarily retired from the council twice, after six terms in 1994 and a seventh in 2000. He won an eighth short term in a low turnout 2007 special election but now leaves the dais after his only council defeat since first taking office in 1970.

--A sad aspect of any council election is a small number of intense partisans who brand those with opposing views as “liars.” To suggest that any of the nine recent candidates didn’t have the best interests of Yorba Linda in their hearts is arrogant and distasteful.

--Longtime resident and two-time mayor Mike Duvall won his state Assembly seat with 55 percent of the vote, down from the 59 percent he received in 2006, but winning west Yorba Linda with 70 percent. Curt Hagman won the eastside seat 62 percent overall and 69 percent in Yorba Linda.

--Hagman replaces Bob Huff, who won the state Senate seat 62 percent overall and 70 percent in Yorba Linda. Congressman Gary Miller won re-election 64 percent overall and 72 percent in Yorba Linda.

--Yorba Linda resident Mike Matsuda wasn’t on an Orange County ballot because no one opposed the North Orange County Community College District board incumbent. But he won 4,392 votes in Los Angeles County for the small part of the district outside the OC.

Reporting from the Yorba Linda fire scene

City Editor Heather McRae called Saturday to ask if I could go to Travis Ranch Activity Center to interview evacuees, since a Register reporter was caught in traffic on the smoky 91 Freeway.

On my way out the door, Team Leader John Murphy called to redirect me to Yorba Linda Community Center. My wife Jill joined me to take cell phone photos while I interviewed officials and residents seeking shelter at the Imperial Highway facility.

The place was packed with police because it houses city emergency communications gear, and it became a check-in point for police resources. I saw uniforms from Placentia, Newport Beach, Irvine and Tustin, as well as county deputies, Brea police and Explorers.

Brea Police Captain Jack Conklin told me the city substation on Yorba Linda Boulevard west of Yorba Ranch Road was too close to the fires, so the center became a staging area.

Evacuations north of Yorba Linda Boulevard reached west to Lakeview Avenue, Conklin said, with Esperanza High School set up as a Red Cross center—but it was later moved to another location due to the smoke.

Although the center was not an official evacuation point, several residents sat inside, including Ernest and Dolores Donato from Rockhampton Court by Chino Hills State Park.

Donato said they came to the center because they were familiar with the facility, noting an officer who lives in his neighborhood alerted residents to the danger by sounding the siren on his motorcycle. “Embers were falling from the sky and winds strong,” he said.

Jill Young, with daughter Macy, 7, said she was afraid she’d get stuck in Eastlake Village if she stayed. She said, “Traffic was heavy” with “people parked on the side of the road.”

Another refugee was Melissa Ness, with her seven-year-old daughter Megan. She said they were out that morning and couldn’t get back to their Bryant Ranch home. They first went to the Steinmart parking lot, which was “full like the Christmas shopping season.”

Theresa Rameriz, who works at Albertson’s on New River Road, dropped off roasted chicken, sandwiches and bakery items from the evacuated store.

Jill and I went home, and like many others, packed photos and clothing for a potential evacuation. That evening, we could see the fire roaring westward from our front porch.

Television coverage was dramatic, but the reporters weren’t familiar with the city—one scary report had flames close to the Nixon Library—so we turned to the Breaking News Blog on the Register Web site for frequently updated, accurate info, including McRae’s interviews with residents moving horses from affected areas.

Election is over--where do we go from here?

Yorba Lindans can expect the new City Council majority—slated to be seated Dec. 2—to quickly begin action on an ambitious agenda of municipal reform. Here’s some of what’s on tap for the coming months:

--An ethics policy with real teeth to bind the city’s elected and appointed leaders and top-level employees to principled practices, including a ban on campaign contributions from city contractors and limits on cash supplied by developers doing business within the city.

The past council’s reaffirmation of a forgotten 1972 ethics resolution was useless, since that policy didn’t prevent the 1990s “secret pay” or 2004-06 Town Center improprieties.

--Old Town redevelopment following principles recommended by the 24-member Town Center Blue Ribbon Committee under current zoning, rather than “bonus” densities of up to 15 units per acre listed in the 1993 revision of the 1971 General Plan.

A plan will be vetted in public meetings instead of the closed-door sessions with council members, top city staff and favored developers allowed by a past council. Also, look for several developers working on small projects, not just a single master-developer.

--An inquiry into questionable activities of past council members, senior managers and a developer with a city-approved exclusive negotiating agreement regarding the most recent Town Center redevelopment process to make sure bad practices don’t persist.

Of course, an investigation shouldn’t be a “witch hunt” to punish people who just made honest mistakes, but a look at activities that led to a breakdown of appropriate behavior.

--Close and more strategic examination of three revenue-hungry city responsibilities: policing, landscape maintenance and possible costly Black Gold Golf Course repairs.

Brea police contract expenses, water for the arterial and neighborhood landscaping zones and new golf course grass could quickly eat up the city’s sizable reserves, especially in a down economy. Independent, expert advice is needed to control costs in these areas.

--Decisions on cultural arts and equestrian facilities, probably using some form of public-private partnerships that would make these long-awaited amenities economically feasible.

A FINAL NOTE

Councilman Allen Castellano, who holds the city record for most votes received in a council election—16,879 in 2004—will be given a plaque recognizing eight years of service and two stints as mayor on the governing body at the Dec. 2 council meeting.

But more important, the retiring leader will be honored by colleagues and residents for his consistent application of core principles to all issues that came before him. Rare in politics, Castellano maintained integrity in both public and behind-the-scenes actions.

Coyotes are not welcome residents

A lethal combination of coyote sightings and missing pets has led a number of residents to express concerns to city officials and suggest several methods to resolve the situation.

According to a report prepared by city management assistant Lauren Cochran, the City Council has received letters and e-mails about the problem. She noted, “After living in such close proximity to humans for so long, coyotes have little fear of man….”

Coyotes are “frequently seen within a few feet of joggers, bikers and horseback riders,” Cochran reported. “While not normally a danger to human beings, coyotes will display defensive behaviors if threatened or cornered.”

After hearing Cochran’s report and public comments at a recent meeting, council called for an education program on the city Web site and in the quarterly newsletter, with an e-mail address logged into a database for residents to contact regarding sightings.

A report on the education program’s effectiveness is due back at an April meeting, and a motion “to do some type of coyote trapping every three months in three or four areas of the city and that they be moved into another area” was withdrawn by maker Jan Horton.

Other ideas heard by council members included putting out bait “soaked with some sort of birth control,” phone hotlines and patrols to report sightings, fencing and eradication.

“There are those in the community that feel it would be best to destroy any coyotes that kill small animals in order to survive, particularly those small animals that are pets,” Cochran stated in her report, but she noted “this is not a permanent solution.”

She explained, “Once a coyote pack senses the depletion of its population, one of two things can happen: the other coyotes in the vicinity will take over the destroyed coyote’s territory or the coyote population can actually increase.”

Orange County Animal Control “will only destroy a coyote if it is sick or injured” and the California Department of Fish and Game “will only euthanize a coyote once it has behaved ‘aggressively’ towards humans,” Cochran noted.

“Relocating coyotes is also not a viable option because it can cause…issues for residents in other cities or counties,” Cochran stated. She also presented proposals from an animal pest management firm.

The Chino-based company would send a “capture specialist” to trap coyotes for 10 days in one area for $2,500 per month or two to four areas for $3,500 monthly. The specialist would check snares placed in locations with coyote activity daily.

Snares are of the humane foot-snare type approved the state fish and game department, which will not injure legs or other parts of animals, according to the company proposal.