Excitement Wanes in Race for Torrance City Council : Local Elections

A municipal election that held initial promise of some excitement has settled into a lackluster contest with eight candidates, including two incumbents, vying for three City Council seats.

The mayoral race had been expected to pit Councilwoman Katy Geissert against Councilman Bill Applegate in what was perceived as a battle between the interests of homeowners--presumably represented by Geissert--and those of the business community, with whom Applegate is associated. But Applegate in October decided instead to run for reelection to the council.

Some observers speculated that Applegate decided against running for mayor because he realized he could not beat Geissert. Applegate, however, said his decision was based on the fact that the mayor’s job would take time from other community activities that he wanted to pursue.

Another potentially hot race fizzled last summer when City Clerk Donna Babb, who is being investigated by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office in connection with allegations that Babb used city funds and city employees for personal and political purposes, announced that she would not seek reelection.

A month before Babb’s announcement, former City Councilman Donald E. Wilson said he would run for clerk. He cited the investigation, saying that he wanted to restore integrity to the office.

Surprisingly, there has been some excitement in the race for city treasurer, in which five-term incumbent Thomas C. Rupert, 52, is being challenged by 61-year-old Pauline Greer, an accountant in the city Finance Department.

At last week’s candidate’s forum held by the League of Women Voters, Greer accused Rupert of keeping poor records and of spending too much time in Sacramento as the city’s legislative lobbyist on financial matters.

Rupert responded that he only spends about 30% of his time lobbying, a duty that he said had been assigned to him by the City Council in the early 1970s because of his financial background and to supplement his income as treasurer.

Rupert, who is expected to win reelection, is paid about $43,000 a year. Nearly $23,000 of that is for his lobbying work.

The City Clerk is paid about $34,000 annually. The clerk and treasurer are the only full-time elected positions in the city.

The race for three council seats lost its chance for excitement when Applegate decided not to run for mayor. He and the other incumbent in that race, Councilman Mark Wirth, are expected to win reelection.

City Clerk Babb predicted that about 12% of the 69,130 registered voters would cast ballots at the polls, which will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Candidates have disagreed over little at a number of forums. In fact, as they took turns answering the same questions, most of them seemed to repeat each other’s positions.

Most seem to agree that the city is in good shape financially, that growth has been steady and that Torrance is generally headed in the right direction.

All have come out in favor of “balanced” development that provides a financial base for the city but does not infringe on the quality of life for homeowners. All agree that traffic is a problem and all say long-range plans need to be developed to ease creeping gridlock.

Following is a brief profile of the eight council candidates, in alphabetical order.

- Applegate, 42, seeking a third term on the council, owns a company that negotiates commercial and industrial real estate sales. He is chairman of the board of the Torrance-South Bay YMCA and is a board member of Harbor Developmental Disabilities Foundation. He has served on the city’s Water and Civil Service commissions and is also past president of the Torrance Jaycees. Applegate is married and has two sons in high school. He has been endorsed by outgoing Mayor Jim Armstrong and first-year Councilman George Nakano.

Applegate has defended his opposition to the civic center Fine Arts Complex project, saying that although he favors the idea, the city should not go $9 million into debt to pay off the bond. He said he is not necessarily pro-business, as some have charged. “I try to be fair with everyone,” he said. “I’m on the City Council because I live and work here and I want it to be the best city possible.”

Most of his campaign funds were raised between May and December of last year when he was considering running for mayor. His campaign statement--the most recent statements were filed last Friday for the period up to Feb. 15--showed that he had raised a total of $24,949, with more than $3,400 of it in 79 individual contributions of less than $100. Most of the remainder came from developers or development-related political action committees that have done business in the city.

Among those contributing were Karl D. Fechner ($500), who has built several industrial buildings in the city; Watt Pac Inc. ($1,500), a political action committee formed by developer Ray Watt, who built many of the housing tracts in the city; the Capellino Investment Co. ($500); developer Guilford Glazer ($200); Thomas Safran & Associates ($200), and Real Property Resources Inc. ($2,000). He also received $1,000 from Pioneer Theatres Inc.; $1000 from the Torrance Police Officers Assn.; and $250 from the Torrance Municipal Employees Assn., Local 1117 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents most of the craftsmen and laborers in the city.

- Eva (Eve) I. Bisou, 62, is a retail accounting and inventory clerk who has lived in Torrance since 1955. She has been involved in the PTA, scouting, youth programs and the development of neighborhood parks for the city. She has served on the Torrance Safety Council and was named the city’s woman of the year in 1959. She ran unsuccessfully for a council seat in 1960.

Bisou said she wants to serve the city and become part of Torrance’s “steady and well-guided” growth.

According to her campaign statement she has raised $2,000--$1,000 from the Torrance Municipal Employees Assn.

- Jesse D. (Dick) Cahill, 67, retired from the city in 1982 after 26 years. He starting his career as a mechanic in the bus department and worked his way up to equipment coordinator. He has served as president of the Western Public Transit Assn., an organization of public transit systems. He is vice chairman of the city Civil Service Commission and works as an industrial sales representative for the Vandaire Co. in Compton.

Cahill said he is opposed to the way the city took 26 acres through eminent domain to sell to American Honda Motor Co. for a new headquarters, to the slow redevelopment of Old Downtown Torrance and the protracted negotiations between the city and Thomas Safran & Associates over the construction of housing for the elderly.

He said he is also concerned about the needs of city workers.

Cahill says he is in this race to win.

“It’s not like I’m 35 years old, and if I don’t make it this time I can use my (posters) next time,” he said.

As of Feb. 15, he had raised $2,800, including a $500 loan from his family, $1,000 from the Torrance Municipal Employees Assn.; $500 from the Torrance Police Officers Assn.; $500 from Pioneer Theatres Inc.; $100 from the Torrance City Employees Assn., which represents secretaries and clerks; and $50 from the Democratic State Committee’s 51st District.

- Dee Hardison, 47, is a special education teacher at Calle Mayor Middle School and is the front-running challenger in the council race. She has been endorsed by four of the seven City Council members and all five board members of Torrance Unified School District. Last year she was appointed to the Planning Commission--traditionally a springboard to the City Council--after serving eight years on the Parks and Recreation Commission.

She is past president of the Southeast Torrance Homeowners Assn. and has been active in the PTA. She and her husband have lived in Torrance for 18 years, and their two sons graduated from Torrance schools.

She said she was approached to run for the council two years ago but, at that time, didn’t think that she was qualified. Having served on the two commissions, she now feels qualified to run, she said.

Her campaign statement said she had raised nearly $10,500, including $1,000 contributions from the campaign committees of Geissert and Nakano; $500 from Pioneer Theatres Inc.; $500 from Real Property Resources Inc.; $500 from the Torrance Police Officers Assn. and more than $3,300 in individual donations of less than $100.

- Carl Kludt, 66, is a retired educator and former chairman of the supervision division of the Public Administration Department at El Camino Community College. After his retirement, he started Seniors Unlimited, a nonprofit company that conducts motivational seminars for senior citizens. Married with five grown children, Kludt pledged to be responsible only to the people of Torrance and said that he wants to protect the city from “special-interest” influences such as developers and what he regards as liberal politicians.

According to his campaign statement, he raised $845.

- A.J. (Tony) Kriss, 58, a real estate agent, is on the board of directors of the California Assn. of Realtors and on the Torrance-Lomita-Carson Board of Realtors. A U.S. Navy veteran of World War II and Korea, he has been involved in fund-raising efforts for the Torrance YMCA and the South Bay United Way.

Kriss has been endorsed by Dave Sargent, president of the Torrance school board. He said he would work to keep residents informed about state and national issues that could affect them. He said he would also like to see the private sector more involved in community programs.

Campaign observers have noted that although Kriss was not well known in the city at the beginning of the race, his good looks and skilled oration have gained him attention during the televised forums and could bring him additional votes.

His campaign statement said that he had raised $8,500, including nearly $2,500 in personal loans. He received several contributions from Torrance real estate agents and $1,500 from the California Real Estate Political Action Committee.

- Don Lee, 29, is an insurance agent who grew up in Torrance and is considered a strong contender because of his involvement in the business community. He is a vice president in the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce, serves on the Parks and Recreation Commission and is a past president of the Torrance Jaycees.

He said he represents the next generation of Torrance residents. “I’m a resident first. I’m concerned about the town I grew up in,” he said, although much of his financial support has come from members of the business community.

Lee began raising money last year and had collected more than $11,000 as of Feb. 15, including more than $4,000 in individual contributions of less than $100 each. Among his larger contributors are attorney James M. Prestininzi ($500), David E. Buxton of Buxton Financial Corp. ($500), Happy Kelly of Bayco Financial Corp. ($500), Pioneer Theatres Inc. ($500) and Watt Political Action Committee ($350).

- Wirth, 35, seeking his second term on the council, is a business telephone installer and a former member of the Library Commission. He was involved in the community fight to save the Madrona Marsh, and is involved in transportation issues. Active in state Democratic affairs, he was his party’s candidate in an unsuccessful attempt for an Assembly seat in 1980. He is married and has two children.

He said he has voted against projects that would add to traffic congestion, and he takes some of the credit for council meetings being televised and the rerouting of a Unocal Oil (formerly Union Oil) pipeline away from residential areas.

Wirth defends his unsuccessful vote last fall seeking further study of a proposal to award a single contract for commercial refuse collection, saying that more information was needed. The proposal was killed after the business community and city staff recommended against it.

Wirth says he wants to be reelected because after four years he feels as though he has just begun the job.

Wirth started the campaign with a $7,800 war chest left over from earlier fund-raising efforts. He has raised almost $18,000 more, for a total of nearly $25,800. He received $2,200 in individual contributions of less than $100 each. He also received $1,200 from the Del Amo Fashion Center; $2,000 from Oxford Properties; $2,000 from Pioneer Theatres; and $1,000 from Watt Pac. Guilford Glazer, Norman La Caze and Real Property Resources each donated $200. Charles Martinez, president of Real Property Resources, and George Osepian of Western Waste Industries, each donated $500. Wirth also received $1,000 from the Torrance Firefighters Assn.; $1,250 from the Torrance Police Officers Assn.; $1,500 from the Torrance Municipal Employees Assn.; and $100 from Torrance City Employees Assn.