Local Elections : Growth Seen as Key Issue in Orange’s Council Race

In a city that prizes its small-town character, coping with future explosive growth has emerged as a dominant campaign issue in the city of Orange, where 14 candidates are vying for three seats on the City Council.

Four candidates, including one incumbent councilman and a former mayor, are competing for the job of outgoing Mayor Jim Beam, who is running for a seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

Jess Perez, 50, an architect who has served 18 years on the council, says he believes that he has a chance on Nov. 4 to become mayor despite a strong showing by former mayor Robert D. Hoyt, who left the council in 1980 after 14 years. Hoyt, 63, is resurrecting his political career, largely with the help of Beam and Beam’s son, Craig, who is Hoyt’s campaign manager.

Both men say they are the best candidates to lead this city of 102,000 people, which is on the verge of explosive growth.

But Carrie Bedord, a longtime resident who works as a development officer for the City of Riverside, and Juan Pablo Serrano-Nieblas, a self-proclaimed Juaneno Indian medicine man, think they are equally suited for the job.

Faced With Growth

For years, development in Orange was something printed in brochures by the city’s two more aggressively expanding neighbors, Anaheim and Santa Ana. Now, the picturesque community is faced with growth that threatens its small-town image.

Residents, civic leaders and candidates alike cite traffic as the No. 1 problem. New homes and office buildings have spawned increased traffic along the city’s narrow streets. Yet, looming over the hill on Chapman Avenue lies an 18,500-acre development bonanza owned by the Irvine Co., which is planned for annexation. It would almost double the city’s size.

“It’s got us flatlanders worried,” said council candidate Lois M. Wells, a widow who has spent 33 years living in Orange, and one of 10 candidates running for two at-large council seats. “I’m concerned about our hometown atmosphere,” Wells said.

A retired businesswoman, Wells, 55, said she was spurred to run out of concern about growth and traffic congestion. She wants slow controlled growth. “I don’t intend to see us swallowed up in a sea of concrete buildings and freeways.”

Council candidate Michael S. Carona, 31, a lieutenant in the county marshal’s office, said he believes it’s time for new blood on a council that should be held accountable for its decisions.

“There is no real or competent or dynamic leadership for the future of Orange,” charged Carona. He is one of the top fund-raisers in the race and has spent about $22,000.

Sees Election as Crucial

Defeated in 1984 for a council seat, Carona said he believes the Nov. 4 election is crucial to the course of the city’s rapid development.

Incumbent Don E. Smith, 65, a semi-retired real estate businessman with 20 years on the council, defended its past decisions. And in the case of traffic congestion, “there’s no quick-fix solutions,” he insisted.

Smith angrily lashed out at critics who point to his real estate background as a reason why he has favored development projects in the past. “Hey, I’m not saying anything about the damn critics; it’s politics. They should attend the council meetings. Most have never attended any council meetings. I never see them there,” he said.

He said he’s running again because “Orange has been good to me and I feel I have still something to give.” He is endorsed by state Sen. John Seymour (R-Anaheim), Sheriff Brad Gates, Mayor Beam and six of the seven Orange Unified School District Board members.

Even development on the campus of the 125-year-old Chapman College has become something of an election issue this year, especially now that its president has threatened to move the college out of town unless it wins approval to build a learning center.

Based in Orange since 1954, the private religious college had hoped to break ground on the $10-million proposed facility last January. It was delayed because some residents protested that the center would create parking congestion in residential neighborhoods. They also argued that its modern, four-story design would obscure the area’s historic old homes.

While college officials deny any involvement in the city election, campaign signs favoring Hoyt, who has gone on record supporting the college center, have begun to appear mysteriously on campus.

Last week, college President G. T. (Buck) Smith, in a letter to the editor of the student newspaper, clarified a statement attributed to him that “all of the planning commissioners”--who withdrew their earlier approval for the facility--put up signs favoring the mayoral bid of Jess Perez, who opposes the center.

Smith wrote that only “some” commissioners did, pointing out Perez’s position against the learning center but mentioning Hoyt’s support of the proposed project.

‘Clarify’ Positions

“We are not allowed to get involved in political campaigns,” explained Smith’s assistant, Thomas Beck. “But we can, for the sake of understanding, clarify the positions of the candidates.”

As for Hoyt’s signs, Beck said campus maintenance does take them down, but signs put up last Friday remained over the weekend.

Even though the city races are nonpartisan, a few local Republicans have endorsed a slate that includes Hoyt, who is a banker; Carona, and Shirley Ralston, a trustee on the Rancho Santiago Community College District Board.

Ralston, 50, a resident for 32 years, said she supports conversion of Loma Road to a two-lane thoroughfare with left-hand turnouts and seeks a well-coordinated approach to growth. She said she wants to ensure that transportation issues are properly addressed, and expressed support for Chapman College’s proposed center. She has been endorsed by Mayor Beam, Councilman Fred L. Barrera and GOP Assemblymen Dennis Brown (Long Beach), Gil Ferguson (Newport Beach), Nolan Frizzelle (Fountain Valley) and Ross Johnson (Fullerton).

Among other candidates seeking two four-year terms on the council at a salary of $600 a month are:

Scott Bales, 23, lifelong Orange resident. A lead cook at a restaurant, Bales didn’t list any civic group memberships because “I don’t see them as being necessary.” He said he wants to sit on the council because incumbents have been reluctant to deal with the city’s traffic problem. He said he believes that something should be done now with serious overcrowding of illegal aliens before it becomes a problem.

Joanne Coontz, 57, who once was removed from the Planning Commission by then-Mayor Hoyt. Since then, Coontz has served as president of the Orange Community Historical Society and on the steering committee for Orange schools. She said development in East Orange needs monitoring to help lessen impact on other parts of city. She has been endorsed by developer Roger Hobbs, school trustees Russell Barrios, Robert Elliott, Joe Cherry, Ruth Evans, and William Steiner, and Councilman Barrera.

William (Bill) Leming, 40, a Century 21 real estate broker. Leming has lived in Orange 14 years, is a Junior All-American football coach, Little League volunteer, and member of the Rotary Club. Leming said he has no endorsements because “I did not seek any.” Although he does not oppose actions of the council, he said he “doesn’t want to see the city dotted with high-rises.”

Robert E. Peterson, 30, a truck driver who lost a council bid in 1984. He has lived in Orange five years and said he is very concerned about increased taxes. He said he is running because “things haven’t changed, they’ve gotten worse.”

James (Jim) H. Silva, 50, a branch manager for an insurance firm, Chamber of Commerce vice president, volunteer for the United Way of Orange County and appointee to the Orange Centennial Commission. Silva said he wants to enhance the city’s image and would like to open a major eastern corridor thoroughfare as a shortcut between existing freeways. “If I get on there, it’s to stir things up and get the job done.”

Timothy F. Smith, 27, a military security analyst who lost a council bid in 1984. Smith has done volunteer work for the Orange Police Department and is concerned about public safety. He said he sought no endorsements because “that would influence my vote. I accept no donations or contributions from any organization or any individual.”

The mayor of Orange is a member of the City Council but is elected independently for a two-year term at a salary of $600 per month. Perez and Hoyt are considered the front-runners.

But Bedord, 42, and a resident of Orange for 19 years, claims that she has the best background for mayor because of her development job in Riverside. She blamed the loss of the Fashion Square development to neighboring Santa Ana as an example of failed leadership in the city.

“Not only are we going to lose the tax base and sales revenue, but we have to put up with all the traffic,” said Bedord, who advocates preserving the downtown area and favors a compromise solution on Chapman College.

Serrano-Nieblas, considered by many to be the town eccentric, has no telephone and could not be contacted for comment. He lost a bid for mayor in 1982 and for a seat on the council in 1984.