Council Meeting Falls Victim to Campaign

They were supposed to talk about new rules for downtown street vendors and hear an update on plans to expand MainPlace Mall, but the Santa Ana City Council did neither Monday. The meeting was canceled for lack of a quorum.

“The candidates are out there working,” Councilman Thomas E. Lutz said of his colleagues on Election Eve.

Four seats are to be decided: Mayor Miguel A. Pulido and Councilman Brett Franklin are seeking reelection, while Lutz and Councilman Ted R. Moreno, who was suspended Sept. 5 fraud and other convictions, are retiring because of term limits, leaving their slots open.

“The mayor and two council members are out there making phone calls and making contacts with people--that last-minute push before the Tuesday election,” said Lutz, whose wife, Nancy, is running against Claudia Alvarez for his seat in Ward 5.

The city’s charter requires the council to meet each first and third Monday. But a poor showing is not uncommon when that first Monday is the night before Election Day.

“The city staff has to go through the process of posting the meeting and setting the agenda,” Lutz said. “But depending on how close the race is and how everybody feels, there may not be enough people at the meeting to hold it. So the city clerk usually calls around to get an idea of how many people will show up.”

Lutz said he got his call Monday afternoon.

“I thought about going,” Lutz said, “but then when I heard how many people were going to be absent, I decided to stay home with my wife.”

The issues to have been considered will be back on the agenda for the Nov. 20 meeting, he said.