About-Face: Redondo’s Treasurer Keeps Job

City Treasurer Alice DeLong, who two weeks ago submitted a letter of resignation to the City Council, this week changed her mind and asked to stay on as treasurer until the end of her term in March of 1987.

The council welcomed DeLong’s change of heart and agreed unanimously to ignore her original request. The council had not formally accepted the letter of resignation, voting Jan. 14 to delay action while urging DeLong to reconsider.

In her letter to the council Tuesday, DeLong, 51, said she decided to withdraw her resignation because “I do not believe that at this time a treasurer can be appointed without political interference.” DeLong has slightly more than a year to serve of her third four-year term to the elected office, which pays $38,000 a year.

DeLong said in a telephone interview Wednesday that she changed her mind primarily because she feared that former Mayor Dave Hayward, a longtime political foe, would be named by the council to complete her term. The council has the authority to appoint her replacement.

Hayward ‘Front-Runner’

“He was the front-runner in my opinion,” DeLong said. “If he was appointed, I think it would have given him an advantage in the election next March (1987). By not resigning, I am giving the people the opportunity to vote for whom they want.”

Hayward could not be reached for comment.

When she submitted her resignation, DeLong proposed that her replacement be chosen by a review board that would screen applicants based on their qualifications--thereby removing politics from the decision, she said. When the council did not pick up on that idea, she said, she began fearing that the job would become politicized.

Two weeks ago, DeLong said she was resigning because family responsibilities were demanding more of her time. She said Wednesday that she will try to budget her time so that she can take care of both her family and work.