A special election preview : coastal : irvine voters to rule on direct election of mayor

Irvine voters will decide Tuesday whether to directly elect their mayor, while residents in Costa Mesa choose between receiving property tax rebates that would average $66 each and letting

the city keep the money for street and road improvements. School board races are also on the ballot in Huntington Beach and Irvine. Voters in Newport Beach will decide whether residents of

the 72-home Beacon Bay colony--who live on city-owned tidelands--can double the length of their 25-year leases, making it easier to obtain home-improvement loans. Voters in Costa Mesa and

western Newport Beach will select two new board members in the Mesa Consolidated Water District, which serves 22,000 customers. Irvine will become the sixth city in Orange County in which

voters elect the mayor directly if Measure E is approved Tuesday. Led by Mayor Larry Agran, proponents say that would make the office of mayor one of the most visible and powerful posts in

the city, directly accountable to the electorate. “It is an American tradition to elect your own leaders,” said Agran, who believes the measure will eliminate the “back-room wheeling and

dealing” that occurs now when council members pick the mayor. Opponents argue that separating the mayor’s office from the rest of the council on the ballot will lead to a full-time, salaried

mayor. The mayor now receives $600 a month, as do the other council members. The opponents also say it would violate the spirit of the two-term limit on council members to allow an

individual to serve on the council, then be elected mayor and then run again for the council. Councilwoman Sally Anne Miller said residents adopted the two-term limit to reduce incumbents’

reelection advantage and ensure that new people have a chance to win council seats. Those opposed to Measure E have raised more than $14,530 in contributions, much of it from out-of-town

developers, for the campaign to defeat it. Proponents have raised about $4,062, including a $2,021 loan from Agran. If the city’s 47,931 registered voters approve Measure E, the first

mayoral election will be in June, 1988. Measure C on the ballot in Costa Mesa is the first attempt by an Orange County city to override the so-called Gann limit on government spending. The

Gann limit restricts the amounts both state and local governments can spend. It has resulted in a $2.1-million surplus in Costa Mesa because tax revenue there has grown faster than the Gann

limit allows spending to increase. Voters must now decide whether the city should give a rebate to property owners or use the money on road improvements. The issue has generated little

debate in the city, although City Council members Dave Wheeler and Mary Hornbuckle oppose the ballot measure, saying property owners should get the money. If voters agree, the rebates would

appear as credits on 1988 property tax bills. School board races in Irvine and Huntington Beach have centered on spending issues and how to stretch dollars to raise teachers’ salaries and

maintain school property. One seat is being contested in the Coast Community College District, which serves the Newport Beach-Costa Mesa-Huntington Beach area. In Trustee Area 4, incumbent

Conrad Nordquist has two challengers: Hal Roach of Huntington Beach, a college administrator in Los Angeles, and Paul G. Berger of Costa Mesa, a businessman who formerly was principal at

Marina High School in Huntington Beach. COAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT _ Trustee Area 4, Governing Board, Elect One_ Hal Roach College Administrator Conrad Nordquist Incumbent Paul G.

Berger Businessman/Educator HUNTINGTON BEACH UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT _ Governing Board, Elect Two_ Joan J. Hoffman Parent, Teacher Janine Asai School Business Consultant Linda Moulton

School Board Member Charmayne Bohman Psychologist, University Professor HUNTINGTON BEACH CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT _ Governing Board (Full Term), Elect Two_ Karen O’Bric Governing Board Member

Gary W. Nelson Incumbent Merle Moshiri Parent/Community Volunteer Thomas E. McKnight Businessman Sara Derrick Borzcik Parent, Scout Leader _ Governing Board (Short Term), Elect One_ Robert

J. Mann Educator, Parent, Homeowner Jerry A. Matney School Administrator IRVINE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT _ Governing Board, Elect Three_ Gordon G. Getchel Incumbent Mary Ellen Hadley

Incumbent Chris King Community Services Commissioner Tom C. Wilson University Administrator, Educator Helen T. Cameron Incumbent MESA CONSOLIDATED WATER DISTRICT _ Division 2, Director,

Elect One_ Harry S. Green Businessman H. Jack Hall Incumbent _ Division 3, Director, Elect One_ Charles L. Ropp Customer Service Supervisor Trudy Ohlig HMO Coordinator Mike McLaughlin Lawyer

COSTA MESA MEASURE _ Appropriations Limit Increase, Measure C_ To provide more safety for the public, to improve the condition of the city streets, curbs, gutters, parkways and sidewalks,

and to fund the construction of new sidewalks for pedestrian safety and community improvement, shall the appropriations limit of the City of Costa Mesa be increased to the amount of the

actual proceeds of taxes received in each year for the four fiscal years starting with the Fiscal Year 1985-86? IRVINE BALLOT MEASURES _ Direct Election of Mayor, Measure E_ Shall the

Charter of the City of Irvine be amended to provide for the direct election of Mayor? _ Limiting Campaign Contributions, Measure F_ Shall the ordinance establishing a $150 basic limitation

on campaign contributions be adopted? NEWPORT BEACH MEASURE _ Beacon Bay Leases, Measure N_ Shall the City Council of the City of Newport Beach be authorized to enter into leases having a

term not to exceed fifty (50) years and a return to the city based on fair market rent with periodic adjustments of residentially developed properties in Beacon Bay? MORE TO READ