Expect constructive changes by council
Happily, the election of two brand-new City Council members promises to move Yorba Linda in a more positive and less divisive direction, as newcomers Gene Hernandez and Craig Young take seats at the governing body dais Dec. 4.
Let’s look at some constructive changes residents can expect as a result of the breakup of the former three-vote council majority (John Anderson, Nancy Rikel and Mark Schwing):
--A return to a popular and long-standing policy of rotating the position of mayor among all five council members, rather than passing over “minority” members, when selecting a colleague to serve for one year in the largely ceremonial presiding officer post.
The rotation policy began at the 1967 seating of the first council, when the five winners from a diverse 27-candidate field decided each would serve six months as mayor in the order of votes received, until the 1970 election, when all seats again were on the ballot.
Because five members serve staggered four-year terms and some members don’t seek re-election or are turned out by voters, a seamless rotation isn’t possible. But in the past few years, Jan Horton and Jim Winder were noticeably passed over for the top spot.
In fact, Horton is the only council member to never serve as mayor, and Winder served just 20 months in a 12-year council career, less than other two and three-term members. Previously, longtime member Hank Wedaa was dumped from the rotation in the 1990s.
Although Tom Lindsey was selected mayor pro-tem last year, his elevation to the top job was iffy, since he broke from 2010 running mate John Anderson on key votes and supported Hernandez and Young over Rikel and Schwing.
But expect Lindsey to become mayor on a 5-0 vote, in recognition of the new political realities, with Young, second to now-mayor Schwing in the vote tally, named mayor pro-tem. A return to rotation will eliminate some of the needless council and citizen discord.
--Schwing, the top vote-getter in four of his five successful council campaigns (he lost two others), might assume a more conciliatory role as “elder statesman,” since Lindsey and the two newcomers will have a total of two years experience with council business.
Schwing’s 12 years on council 1988-2000 and four years since 2008, along with attending most council meetings 2000-2008, gives him a vast store of knowledge of the reasons behind council actions during the last quarter-century.
He also was in a council minority during his earlier tenure and a majority during the past four years, so he could use the experiences to promote more harmony and less animosity during contentious council discussions.
--The sheriff deputy union’s very generous “independent expenditure” support for Rikel, Schwing and Ken Peterson was as troubling as the money coming from builders and real estate interests in this and many past election cycles.
A new contract with the county sheriff now has three overseers in Hernandez, Lindsey and Young, who were not supported by the 2,200-member, cash-rich deputy union and whose votes will be untainted by possible perceptions of payback.
Let’s look at some constructive changes residents can expect as a result of the breakup of the former three-vote council majority (John Anderson, Nancy Rikel and Mark Schwing):
--A return to a popular and long-standing policy of rotating the position of mayor among all five council members, rather than passing over “minority” members, when selecting a colleague to serve for one year in the largely ceremonial presiding officer post.
The rotation policy began at the 1967 seating of the first council, when the five winners from a diverse 27-candidate field decided each would serve six months as mayor in the order of votes received, until the 1970 election, when all seats again were on the ballot.
Because five members serve staggered four-year terms and some members don’t seek re-election or are turned out by voters, a seamless rotation isn’t possible. But in the past few years, Jan Horton and Jim Winder were noticeably passed over for the top spot.
In fact, Horton is the only council member to never serve as mayor, and Winder served just 20 months in a 12-year council career, less than other two and three-term members. Previously, longtime member Hank Wedaa was dumped from the rotation in the 1990s.
Although Tom Lindsey was selected mayor pro-tem last year, his elevation to the top job was iffy, since he broke from 2010 running mate John Anderson on key votes and supported Hernandez and Young over Rikel and Schwing.
But expect Lindsey to become mayor on a 5-0 vote, in recognition of the new political realities, with Young, second to now-mayor Schwing in the vote tally, named mayor pro-tem. A return to rotation will eliminate some of the needless council and citizen discord.
--Schwing, the top vote-getter in four of his five successful council campaigns (he lost two others), might assume a more conciliatory role as “elder statesman,” since Lindsey and the two newcomers will have a total of two years experience with council business.
Schwing’s 12 years on council 1988-2000 and four years since 2008, along with attending most council meetings 2000-2008, gives him a vast store of knowledge of the reasons behind council actions during the last quarter-century.
He also was in a council minority during his earlier tenure and a majority during the past four years, so he could use the experiences to promote more harmony and less animosity during contentious council discussions.
--The sheriff deputy union’s very generous “independent expenditure” support for Rikel, Schwing and Ken Peterson was as troubling as the money coming from builders and real estate interests in this and many past election cycles.
A new contract with the county sheriff now has three overseers in Hernandez, Lindsey and Young, who were not supported by the 2,200-member, cash-rich deputy union and whose votes will be untainted by possible perceptions of payback.
posted by Jim Drummond at 12:00 PM
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