Wedaa Tries Comeback, Vows Civility

YORBA LINDA — Henry W. “Hank” Wedaa waited only two years before taking to heart former President Richard M. Nixon’s paraphrase of Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s famous speech to Congress.

“He told me that old politicians sometimes die, but they never fade away,” said Wedaa, a 72-year-old business consultant describing a conversation he had with the former president when Wedaa first considered leaving the City Council.

After sidelining himself in 1994, Wedaa, who served 24 years on the council, is trying to stage a political comeback, campaigning on the promise of restoring civil discourse to council meetings.

But his former council colleagues are surprised at Wedaa’s promise because they remember him as anything but civil-tongued while serving on the council.

He has publicly called Mayor John M. Gullixson a liar, Mayor Pro Tem Barbara Kiley “brainless” and Councilman Daniel T. Welch a “Gullixson clone.” Kiley and Welch are up for reelection. Gullixson is not.

This election year, Wedaa’s rivalry with his former colleagues is being played out around the city’s plan to make improvements to Imperial Highway--which calls for building medians, landscaping and expanding the 2 1/2-mile stretch between Yorba Linda Boulevard and Esperanza Road to two lanes in each direction.

He said the project amounts to building a freeway through the center of town, a move he believes will destroy the small-town feel of Yorba Linda.

Kiley and Welch, who support the plan along with Gullixson and Councilman Gene Wisner, say it will make the street safer and more beautiful.

At least one other candidate, Todd Tande, 37, who would vote only for drainage and safety improvements to Imperial Highway, has made it the centerpiece of his platform.

“I think there are enough people upset by this that we need to reach a compromise,” said Tande, a policy analyst for the county.

Tande’s and Wedaa’s candidacies are supported by a citizen group, Organization of Unified Concerned Homeowners, or OUCH, which circulated a petition to have residents vote on the project. They claim to have 5,500 signatures on their petition for a ballot initiative, but that number has not yet been verified by the registrar of voters.

Lifelong resident M. Christopher Hall, a 32-year-old attorney, is making his first run for the council, also campaigning on his opposition to the Imperial Highway project.

He is against changing anything north of Yorba Linda Boulevard but favors landscaping and widening the road south of the boulevard.

Councilman Mark Schwing, the third incumbent in the race for three seats, said that although he thinks the public should vote on the Imperial Highway project, he is primarily concerned with crime.

Schwing, a 56-year-old owner of a small business, said he believes the city, which contracts for police protection with the Brea Police Department, will need more police in the future.

“We will need extra cops as more retail comes into the city,” he said, fearing that the proliferation of retail stores will increase crime as more people come to shop in Yorba Linda.

Like Schwing, the other two incumbents, Kiley and Welch, are not making the Imperial Highway project the central point of their respective reelection campaigns.

Kiley, who earns a living as a government relations consultant, said if she is reelected she would push to complete public works projects that will ease traffic snarls around the railroad tracks.

“I’m really going to push to finish the Fairmont Boulevard overpass,” said Kiley, 49, “and I think it can be done in the next four years.” The overpass would connect Fairmont to La Palma Avenue and provide major relief to motorists, Kiley said.

Welch is also concerned with alleviating traffic in the southern part of the city, and with beefing up the police force, but as in his first run for council, he is mainly interested in making sure there are enough parks.

The 43-year-old attorney said that “3,500 more homes are coming to our city and the council is going to be directly involved in making sure there is an appropriate number of parks.”

Welch said he would lobby to push through plans to improve the playing fields at Bryant Ranch Intermediate School and to carry other proposed park plans to fruition.

Anaheim police officer Jack Parra wants to smooth the ruffled feathers of residents in the older parts of town. Parra, 48, said the older neighborhoods should get some improvements, including roads and more open greenery, so they look as nice as the newer housing tracts.

Robert “Bob” Meador, 62, is alone in making term limits the centerpiece of his platform.

“You have one candidate who is going for something like a 30-year term and another who said he would quit after two terms and is now going for a third,” said Meador, a dentist and former planning commissioner. “I think there is a certain amount of burnout and so you need new faces and new approaches.”

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Yorba Linda Council Candidates

Eight candidates, including three incumbents, are running for three City Council seats at stake in Yorba Linda. A quick look at all eight:

M. Christopher Hall

Age: 32

Occupation: Attorney

Background: Lifelong city resident

Major issue: Opposes making changes to Imperial Highway north of Yorba Linda Boulevard, but supports landscaping, adding medians and widening to two lanes in either direction between Yorba Linda Boulevard and Esperanza Road

Barbara W. Kiley

Age: 49

Occupation: Government relations/political consultant

Background: Four-year incumbent; works as a government consultant; 20 years’ experience as public speaker

Major issues: Continue to aggressively pursue funds to build Fairmont Boulevard overpass and wants to continue bringing new business to city

Robert “Bob” Meador

Age: 62

Occupation: Dentist

Background: Board of directors, Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace; former city planning commissioner; former president, Yorba Linda Chamber of Commerce

Major issues: Enact term limits for City Council members; supports council’s proposed changes to widening Imperial Highway

Jack Parra

Age: 48

Occupation: Anaheim police officer

Background: 16-year resident; 25 years of law enforcement experience; graduate degree in human resource management from Chapman University

Major issue: Make sure older neighborhoods get equal treatment from city

Mark Schwing

Age: 56

Occupation: Owns small business

Background: Incumbent since 1988

Major issue: Promote public safety by hiring more police

Todd P. Tande

Age: 37

Occupation: Policy analyst for Orange County

Background: MBA in management; six years experience as public policy analyst for Orange County

Major issue: Oust current council because is members don’t listen to concerns of citizens, particularly when it comes to Imperial Highway project

Henry W. “Hank” Wedaa

Age: 72

Occupation: Consultant

Background: Twenty-four years on City Council; former director, Southern California Air Quality Management District; former president, Southern California Assn. of Governments

Major issue: Opposes city’s plan to make Imperial Highway improvements because that will destroy semirural character of the city

Daniel T. Welch

Age: 43

Occupation: Attorney

Background: Four-year incumbent; 13-year member of Rotary Club; coach of Little League, soccer and baseball

Major issues: Maintain high level of police protection and ensure there are sufficient parks for future generations

Source: Individual candidates; Researched by HOPE HAMASHIGE / For The Times