COUNCIL BLOCKING PARKS, SHE SAYS; MAYOR FRUSTRATED BY COLLEAGUES' ACTIONS.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Daily News Staff Writer

Mayor Linda Parks' effort to remove her own appointee to the Planning Commission was quashed by a split City Council vote - a move she cited as another example of her colleagues' attempts to undermine her ability to lead.

With Councilman Andy Fox abstaining, the council voted 2-2 on Tuesday on Parks' request to replace Commissioner Dave Anderson, who is in the midst of his four-year term, with Commissioner Marilyn Carpenter, whose term was expiring.

``Every step I've made I've been thwarted,'' Parks said Wednesday. ``I'm sad Marilyn's not in. She's the best person, in my mind.''

However, Councilmen Michael Markey and Dennis Gillette said they voted to retain Anderson in order to preserve the political independence of the commission, which they felt could be jeopardized by removing a member in midterm.

``My concern is the protection of the process and the Planning Commission, and keeping it apolitical,'' Gillette said Wednesday. ``If the commission is going to have the degree of independence the Planning Commission process needs, they need to be free from individual council members.''

Markey said he voted for Anderson, despite their philosophical differences on some planning issues.

``If my vote is going to be expressed on the Planning Commission, then we don't really need a Planning Commission,'' he said. ``They're willing to give four years of their time. Now we're telling them it may be six months or a year. It's unfair.

The vote centered on whether council members should be allowed to remove appointees, or whether such positions should be protected from political whims.

Anderson said he was being ousted from the commission as retaliation for running for City Council in November, and he called Parks' proposal an abuse of mayoral power that was kept in check by her colleagues. Parks, however, said she was simply changing appointments to find the best commissioner for the job and a way to retain Carpenter.

But Parks said the action was just another in a series of initiatives her colleagues have quashed since she took the helm. She also cited the council's refusal to approve her seating assignments and committee appointments.

``I'd like to have us be able to support each other,'' she said.

The two commissioners on Wednesday reflected the split sides of the issue, with Carpenter saying she appreciates Parks' ability to make what she called a tough political decision and Anderson saying he is glad to retain his seat.

Anderson added that he has withdrawn his plans to run for City Council in the next election after the debates of the past few days.

``This process . . . it's presented me with a new set of priorities,'' said Anderson, adding that he most likely would step down from the commission when his term expires.

Carpenter said she is hopeful that the council can move on from the incident, noting that when Parks made her first appointment to the Planning Commission four years ago, her nominee - Dan Del Campo, who is now a councilman - was not agreed to by the council.

``I am disappointed that the nomination of any council member is not honored,'' said Carpenter, a counselor at California Lutheran University. ``I hope the council will give her an opportunity to use her tremendous talents.''