Council will appoint next mayor

Deirdre Newman

The replacement for outgoing Mayor Karen Robinson rests squarely in

the hands of the city’s four remaining council members.

For now, that is.

On Monday, the council decided on a 3-2 vote to appoint Robinson’s

successor through a process it will begin using on April 21. If it

can’t decide on an appointment by May 15, the replacement procedure

automatically goes to a special election, which can’t be held until

November.

Robinson will resign on April 15 to become a Orange County

Superior Court judge.

While the majority favored the appointment method, Robinson

supported Councilwoman Libby Cowan’s suggestion of selecting the

runner-up in the November 2002 election, former Mayor Linda Dixon.

Robinson and Cowan cast the two “no” votes to follow the appointment

process.

Cowan’s proposal won support among residents who called it the

least political.

“I think Cowan’s suggestion is a little more democratic,” resident

Beth Refakus said. “It concerns me about appointments that don’t

involve the electorate where the public is not allowed to have

input.”

The approved process, one of three possibilities offered by City

Manager Allan Roeder, calls for candidates to submit letters of

interest between now and April 14. The letters will then be submitted

to the council for review and posted on the city’s Web site.

At the next council meeting on April 21, the names of the

candidates will be announced and the public will have a chance to

comment on them. Then the nominations will begin and the first one to

receive three or more votes will fill the vacancy.

If no one receives three or more votes at that meeting, the topic

will be continued to the May 5 meeting, where the process will be

repeated.

Former councilman Jay Humphrey, who was on the council in 1991 the

last time the council had to replace a member, issued a caveat to the

council members about being too rigid in their choices.

“Don’t become inflexible and intransigent in wanting someone that

doesn’t reflect a balance,” said Humphrey, who along with his

colleagues chose former Councilman Joe Erickson to fill the vacant

seat.

Councilman Gary Monahan said he supported the appointment process

because it seemed the most logical.

“I felt [it was the] smoothest and best way to take a stab at

this,” Monahan said.

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

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