Appointment process is a debacle

The City Council meeting of Oct. 18, that resulted in the eventual

appointment of Grace Winchell to serve out the remaining term of Pam

Houchen, was another sad and embarrassing chapter in what passes for

leadership in our city.

It was foretold weeks ago that former Mayor Grace Winchell, who

had so admirably and recently served as the appointed council member

to cover the remaining term of former Mayor Dave Garofalo, was the

best choice for the job.

Last month, Mayor Cathy Green somewhat disingenuously blocked the

outright appointment of Winchell, claiming that a rush to select her

might smack of “cronyism.” It turned out that Green had no intention

of voting for Winchell at all, and this was her pathetic attempt to

minimize Winchell’s tenure on the council.

The charade of compiling a list of applicants for the appointment

proceeded, and it was duly noted by half of the council that only a

former City Council member with the capacity to step into the

position and “hit the ground running” would be acceptable. Only three

of the 10 applicants, including Winchell, fit this qualification.

Instead of being appointed at the Sept. 20 meeting, with four

useful and productive council meetings to provide her seventh vote

and her wise counsel remaining, Winchell was forced to wait almost a

month for the obvious move to take place.

However, further insults for Winchell were in store. A perfunctory

motion to appoint Winchell to the council the following meeting was

hijacked by Councilman Dave Sullivan on the most dubious of pretexts.

Sullivan claimed that because former Councilwoman Pam Houchen had

resigned just short of the deadline for not appointing a replacement,

this somehow indicated that the best course was to limit Houchen’s

replacement to the minimum number of full council meetings remaining.

This logic was, of course, ridiculous, and was a further slap in the

face not only to Winchell, but to the citizens of Huntington Beach,

as well.

It had been painfully obvious that the council needed another

member to provide the seventh vote in forming majorities. It had been

equally and shamefully obvious that some council members had enjoyed

the extra amount of leverage a six-person council had briefly

afforded them.

It was further obvious that the council could have benefited from

Winchell’s wisdom and experience, as well.

Sullivan’s “tour de farce” led to a deeper disintegration of good

judgment when Councilman Gil Coerper inexplicably tried to nominate

applicant Bill Kerwin for the position despite the fact that Kerwin

had no elected or appointed experience in local government. In fact,

Kerwin had lived in Huntington Beach less than five years.

Fortunately, no second was forthcoming, and Coerper’s misguided

motion failed.

Not to be outdone in dodging the obvious sentiments of most of the

council, Green nominated former mayor Al Coen who last served, I

think, when Nixon was president. That move got nowhere.

A motion to appoint former Mayor Ralph Bauer, a more acceptable

choice, fell victim to Sullivan’s “quid pro quo” of an abbreviated

term, and the three more responsible council members returned to

seeking Winchell’s service.

Rather than risk a further meltdown of municipal credibility at a

somewhat late hour, Councilwoman Jill Hardy exercised the common

sense she will need as mayor next year by securing Winchell’s

appointment under Sullivan’s terms.

Councilwomen Debbie Cook and Connie Boardman were understandably

furious at these shenanigans, and Boardman, a Winchell ally, appeared

ready to fight on regardless. However, Cook’s vote sealed the deal.

What a debacle.

When citizens point to a lack of leadership on the City Council,

this is the kind of shameless and shameful behavior they are pointing

to. Petty personal politics is alive and well in our city. City

Council members must realize and remember that they work for the good

of all our citizens.

Voters would do well to examine the candidates for City Council

closely to try and select truly collaborative leaders for our future.

We deserve no less.

* TIM GEDDES is a Huntington Beach resident. To contribute to

“Sounding Off” e-mail us at hbindy@latimes.com or fax us at (714)

965-7174.