O.C. Council Member Can Vote on Tower

Councilwoman Claudia Alvarez has gotten clearance from the state attorney general’s office to cast what could be the deciding vote Monday on a 37-story Santa Ana office tower.

The state ruled Friday that a $3,200 donation to Alvarez’s failed Assembly campaign last year by the developer, Michael Harrah, didn’t constitute a conflict of interest under city law.

Harrah’s controversial $86-million One Broadway Plaza project was scheduled for a vote by the Santa Ana City Council two weeks ago, but Alvarez asked for a delay so the attorney general’s office could interpret Santa Ana’s ambiguous campaign ordinance.

City law prohibits council members from voting on projects within a year of receiving campaign contributions of $250 or more from the project sponsors.

The law does not state whether those donations are for any campaign or just City Council races, and City Atty. Joseph Fletcher interpreted it to refer only to City Council campaigns.

Among the seven council members, two others -- Brett Franklin and Mayor Miguel A. Pulido -- have recused themselves from the discussions involving the downtown project because of potential conflicts of interest, and a third said she was opposed to it. Three others have voiced support for the project, and Alvarez would provide the majority vote.