Council prefers to pick new member

Deirdre Newman

The City Council’s ability to agree may be tested after Mayor Karen

Robinson resigns April 15 to become a Superior Court judge.

The other council members favor appointing her replacement instead

of a special election, based on expediency and economics.

Reaching consensus on whom to choose will be tricky. But it is

possible, council members say.

“I don’t know how we will come to consensus,” Councilwoman Libby

Cowan said. “I think it’s going to be very difficult. [It’s] going to

require people to be really honest on the dais and when we talk about

individuals. It’s very difficult to do. ... I think it can be done.”

On March 26, Gov. Gray Davis announced Robinson’s judicial

appointment. Robinson will be the first woman African American judge

in the county.

Since election laws prevent a sitting judge from holding another

elected position, it is now up to the remaining council members to

decide how to replace Robinson. Discussion will begin Monday.

Robinson can be replaced by appointment or a special election. The

election could not be held until November because it is too late to

qualify for the June ballot.

Another reason the four prefer appointments is because a special

election would be costly. If a special election were held, the cost

would depend on whether the election stood alone or was held with

other elections going on in the county.

If it’s consolidated, that would reduce the cost, City Clerk Julie

Folcik said.

Folcik said she did not know how much a stand-alone special

election would cost because it depends on a number of factors,

including how many candidates would be running. If it were held

during a regular election, it would be more than the approximately

$34,000 the city spent for the November election, Folcik said.

A special election would mean that Robinson’s seat would remain

vacant until December, which is the soonest the winner could be

sworn-in.

Eight months with only four council members is too long, said

Councilman Gary Monahan, especially with painful choices looming

regarding the state budget crisis.

“There are so many crucial important issues, starting with the

budget, in light of what’s going on with the state, and we most

likely need to make some very strong priority shifts in cutting of

funds,” Monahan said. “To have a four-person council that may split a

vote would bring the city to a halt, to be perfectly honest.”

All four are not saying who they think the best replacement for

Robinson would be.

Cowan said there are people she would like to see on the council

and others whom she believes the council could reach a consensus on.

Monahan said it’s difficult to form any opinions until the

candidate pool becomes known.

“There are so many avenues. There’s experience, knowledge,

philosophy, politics,” Monahan said. “There’s all kind of things that

come into play, and each candidate will have to be scrutinized by the

four council members as to how they fit into those categories, and

hopefully whoever is chosen will be the smoothest and least

controversial that we can come up with.”

If the council is not able to decide on an appointment within 30

days after April 15, the selection process automatically becomes a

special election, Monahan said.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa and may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.