Conlosh’s turn as mayor now in question

Torus Tammer

FOUNTAIN VALLEY -- With the political jousting finally over, and

incumbent Councilmen Larry Crandall and Chuck Conlosh reelected, the city

is ready to resume business as usual.

Or is it?

Many residents and city officials are concerned by what they say will

be imminent inner-council conflicts now that Conlosh has been reelected.

Mayor Guy Carrozzo said he fears the problems will continue for

Conlosh, who will soon find himself needing to win the votes of

colleagues whom he has alienated if he is to assume the mayoral

position.”The mayoral rotation is on Dec. 5, and we normally just rotate

the mayorship, but it does require a council vote,” Carrozzo said. “When

it comes to a mayoral vote, you have to get three out of five. Whether

that will happen or not, I don’t know. He has really irritated people to

the point that he may not get the votes.”Planning Commissioner and City

Council candidate Cheryl Brothers said that while the elections are over,

it does not mean that all is well. She added that Conlosh has proven that

he is far from capable or deserving of being elected mayor.

“The city deserves a dedicated mayor that would be able to take care

of both the business and social aspects of the job,” Brothers said.

“Being mayor involves more than attending meetings twice a month. The

city deserves more than an absentee mayor.”

Conlosh did not return phone calls seeking his comments.

Lourdes Peterson, founder of the Concerned Citizens of Fountain Valley

and a Conlosh supporter, said she was not surprised by the outcome of the

election.

She has been behind Conlosh and believed in him, she added. Peterson

said she also was pleased with Crandall, whom she said displayed an

interest in residents’ views and concerns.

“Friction and indifference is good for government,” Peterson said. “To

me, it doesn’t matter that Chuck doesn’t go to ribbon-cutting events.

It’s more important to me that he’s available and accessible to talk to

citizens about concerns that they have.”

Mark McCurdy, who also lost his first-time run for a seat on the City

Council last week, said Fountain Valley still has a lot of issues that

aren’t going to disappear.

He said he learned much during his campaign and thinks too many people

are uninformed on the issues.

“I was also not fully informed of many issues, either, before I

decided to run for office,” McCurdy said. “Like many that I have spoken

with, I too used to only be concerned about the issues that directly

affected my neighborhood.”

Gretchen Durby, who has lived in the city for 20 years, said she is

unhappy with and concerned about the election results.

“I was disappointed that Chuck Conlosh was reelected because I have

witnessed the disrespect with which he has treated his colleagues by his

unsubstantiated accusations at council meetings over the past few

months,” Durby said. “I think his negativity will have a detrimental

effect on city government.”

Peterson counters that challenging the system is healthy.

“I like the fact that there has been a little contradiction because it

makes the council think twice and not just rubber-stamp the issues,” she

said.

Rabbi Stephen Einstein of Congregation B’nai Tzedek in the city said

it is important to acknowledge that the public has spoken and that

bygones should be be bygones.

He added, though, that he has concerns that echo Carrozzo’s.

“My concerns go back to long before the last few months of

controversy,” Einstein said. “For many years, I’ve attended many

community functions and events, and I don’t recall ever seeing Mr.

Conlosh at any of them.”

Einstein’s concerns regard the dignity and respectability that he

believes is needed for anyone who wants to hold public office. He said he

believes strongly that the mayoral role requires diligence and dedication

to both the city and the community.

“I don’t feel confident that Mr. Conlosh would carry out the function

of mayor with the kind of diplomacy that the mayoral role requires,”

Einstein said. “The election for mayor is voted on by the City Council,

and if they didn’t elect him, then that would not be surprising.”