COSTA MESA : Schafer, Worthington Join Sanitation Board

Arlene Schafer, a former Costa Mesa mayor, and Dan Worthington, a business owner, have officially assumed their positions on the Sanitary District board.

Schafer, the first woman to serve on the city’s Planning Commission, becomes the first woman on the Sanitary District board since its was formed 50 years ago.

And for Worthington, the elected seat is his first in Costa Mesa, after having run unsuccessfully for the City Council six years ago.

Both new directors met Monday at City Hall for a briefing on the district’s activities.

“It feels great,” said Schafer, 57, a public relations consultant who received 11,978 votes in the Nov. 8 election. “I always thought it would be a challenge to run and be on a board that didn’t have a woman at all.”

Worthington, 59, who garnered 12,088 votes, said he ran because “I had the time to give to the job and I wanted to be involved in the city, and this looked like a good thing to try.”

Worthington and Schafer succeed Mike Scheafer, who gave up his seat in an unsuccessful bid for City Council, and Jim Wahner, a 14-year board member.

The new attorney on the board is Alan Burns, who was selected from a field of 30 candidates. He succeeds Roy June, who served as the board’s attorney for 30 years.