IRVINE : Officials Plan Visit to Sister City in Japan

Five city officials, including three City Council members, will probably pay a sister-city visit to Tsukuba, Japan, in May, but the city’s share of the estimated $5,000 travel expense--if any--is still undecided.

The council debated the issue Tuesday night and will consider it again next month. In the meantime, the city will solicit donations from the Irvine business community.

The three council members planning to make the trip--Mayor Michael Ward, William A. (Art) Bloomer and Christina L. Shea--have said they do not intend to use public money. What delayed the council, however, was a disagreement over setting a precedent and questions about who really benefits from the sister-city relationship.

“This is something that definitely benefits the business community dramatically,” Councilman Barry J. Hammond said. The city should solicit funds from the business community to make the trip, he said, but should also be willing to help pay for the visit out of public funds.

If council members pay their own way, it will discourage future council members who might be unable to afford such an expense, Hammond said. That would be another barrier to poorer people running for public office, he said.

In 1990, the city sent three council members and two staff members to Tsukuba. The city paid travel and hotel costs for all but Councilwoman Paula Werner, who paid her own way to avoid accusations of taking a political junket.

The nonprofit Irvine Sister Cities Foundation has raised $1,000 to pay Ward’s way, since Tsukuba Mayor Misao Kimura specifically invited the new mayor to visit. Bloomer and Shea said Tuesday that they will pay their own way. That will leave the council to decide next month, if business contributions fall short, whether to pay about $2,000 to send two city staff members.