District vote delayed

Jose Paul Corona

Residents will have another year and half to debate the proposal

that would cut Huntington Beach into five City Council districts.

The City Council Monday night voted 6-1 to put off the Fair

District Initiative measure, proposed by former Assemblyman Scott

Baugh, until the March 2004 election, saying that council members and

voters needed more time to study the issue.

Mayor Debbie Cook cast the sole dissenting vote, arguing that

voters asked for the measure on the November ballot via petition.

The initiative would slice the city into five districts, with one

council member to be elected in each of those areas. The plan would

cut the council from seven members to five.

Supporters of the initiative were anxious to cast their ballots in

November, but council members felt voters already had enough on their

plates this fall.

“This November’s election is going to be extremely important

because the citizens will elect a majority of the council,” said

Councilman Peter Green, who will be termed out this fall.

Green said he was concerned that the initiative would distract

voter attention from the more important issue of electing city

leaders.

Four of the seven council seats are up for grabs this fall, with

no incumbents eligible to run. Those who are elected to fill those

vacant posts will end up deciding the way the city is run for the

next several years, he added.

The current budget crisis facing the state and the city is also an

issue that voters will have to deal with in November, he said.

Green said he hoped putting it off would keep it from being a

pressing candidate issue.

“That’s secondary, whatever position they take on that means

nothing because the voters will decide,” Green said.

Councilwoman Connie Boardman was swayed to delay the vote by the

diversity of the residents asking that it be put off, she said.

Members of the both the business and environmental factions of the

community urged council members to give them more time to examine the

issue, Boardman said.

“It was the most unified group I’ve ever seen,” she added.

Huntington Beach resident Joseph Jeffrey, who helped gather

signatures for the initiative, was surprised by the council’s

actions.

While he knew that some members of the council didn’t agree with

the proposed initiative, he feels its wrong to take the decision out

of the voters hands for so long.

“It never dawned on me that they would pull something likes this,”

he said. “I had hoped that the council would give the voters the

right to vote on the item. I accept the fact that it might be a bad

initiative, but I’m willing to let the people decide.”

* JOSE PAUL CORONA covers City Hall and education. He can be

reached at (714) 965-7173 or by e-mail at jose.corona@latimes.com.