MEET TOM TAIT

Tom Tait is ready to take his place on the City Council. But, few know what to expect once he does. "When you get to know me you'll realize that I don't like to say anything unless I've thought about it," Tait said. And most of what he's saying before he's sworn in on Tuesday is "ask me in 60 days." Tait's Jan. 24 appointment surprised many, after the council deadlocked on filling the vacancy at each meeting before then. Tait was appointed five days before the deadline for the council to either make an appointment or schedule a special election. '' The seat became open after Mayor Tom Daly won the city's first open election for a four-year terra as mayor. Until 1994, the mayor was elected by voters every two year from among the sitting council members. Tait, who was nominated by Councilman Bob Zemel, was appointed by a unanimous 4-0 vote. While Tait is mulling the issues before taking his place on the council, people are mulling about him. "I have no idea how he'll vote, because I don't know who he is," said Sharon Ericson, the president of the Anaheim Municipal Employees Association who was a council candidate in November's election. "1 do know that I've been trying to pull all the reports from Planning Commission meetings to see how he voted." Tait is president of Tait and Associates, Inc., an engineering firm in Orange that he took over from his father. He has a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of-Wyoming and a masters of business administration from Vanderbilt University.