Another chink in the armor

The resolution of Councilman Gil Coerper’s lawsuit against the city

is, no doubt, a great relief to the third-year councilman.

Unfortunately, that resolution -- not to mention the lawsuit itself

-- is yet another, albeit perhaps minor, chink in the city’s

floundering reputation for clean and honest government.

Coerper, who worked for the Huntington Beach Police Department

from 1980 to 2001 and won his seat on the council the following year,

filed a worker’s compensation claim against the city in 2002,

claiming he had sustained “whole body” injuries during his year’s on

the force, though he’s not said specifically what the hurt was.

Last month, the City Council settled that suit in a $121,000 deal

that will pay Coerper $230 a week for 10 years. Rightly, Coerper was

not part of the discussion concerning the size of the agreement. But

his absence from that deliberation points to the inherent problem of

a former city worker eventually taking the reins of government.

Conflicts of interest or just the appearance of possible impropriety

lie in wait.

And in a City Hall that has suffered repeated blows to its

reputation as first one mayor, Dave Garofalo, pleaded guilty to a

felony charge involving council votes, and then a second, Pam Julien

Houchen, resigned while being investigated by the city, the FBI and

the U.S. Attorney General’s Office, any further black marks are

terribly damaging.

This era of questionable city government must end.

The group most responsible for making this essential change is the

voters.

The voters in this city need to accept their culpability in the

string of City Hall problems.

Yes there seem always to be an unwieldy crowd of contenders that

makes a tough choice about whom to support even harder.

But it is critical that the voters make informed decisions on such

basic things as who is best to lead the city.

Next up on the responsibility list are the present council

members. They simply have to be squeaky clean during the remainder of

their tenures and avoid all conflicts real or perceived.

Finally, those residents waiting for a chance to run for office

also need to be ready to accept responsibility.

While we don’t begrudge Coerper’s settlement (though the fact that

he worked several years at a desk job at the end of his police work

clouds the question of how serious his injuries are), others like him

who may have clear conflicts of interest, whether because they worked

for the city or for other reasons, need to give serious thought to

whether they should run for office.

But at the end of the day, it won’t matter who the candidates are

if the voters don’t start making better decisions.

Because an uninformed electorate is doomed to get councils it

really doesn’t deserve.