Compton

Superior Court Judge Kurt J. Lewin has turned back an attempt to strip the Nov. 5 ballot of two propositions that will ask Compton voters to decide if the mayor’s job should be expanded from part time to full time. In a written decision issued Monday, Lewin denied the legal challenge filed by Fred Cressel, Darryl Hefflin, Janice Primmer and Willie Bobbit.

The four Compton residents had argued that the propositions were unfair because they also asked voters if incumbent Mayor Walter Tucker should be automatically appointed to the full-time position without having to seek election. Only last spring, Tucker won reelection to a second term as part-time mayor, and Bobbit was one of three unsuccessful challengers.

For weeks, Compton City Council members have been divided over the full-time mayor issue. Their decision to offer the propositions came on a 3-2 vote in which Tucker cast the deciding ballot. In a hearing last week, Judge Lewin questioned whether the propositions amounted to “a power grab,” but concluded that their placement on the ballot was not illegal.