4-Way Race in L.B.’s District 3 Primary : Serles Tries Again to Oust Councilwoman Hall

Back in 1980, prominent local dentist Jim Serles was a supporter of Councilwoman Jan Hall, contributing $75 to Hall’s campaign war chest in August of that year.

But times changed. By 1982, Serles had grown disenchanted with Hall’s performance as the city’s District 3 representative and challenged the councilwoman in a bitter, knockdown election fight. The voters, however, sided with Hall, handing her victory by a narrow, 386-vote margin.

The two rivals are at it again this year. Hall, 43, and Serles, 45, will face each other on April 8 in a race that is sizing up as a political slugfest.

While they renew their battle, two other candidates have worked quietly to make inroads in the race. E. W. (Bud) Huber Jr., a telecommunications manager at Hughes Aircraft Co. in Long Beach, is running on a platform supporting Police Department reforms and stricter height limits for housing in shoreline areas. Louis (Lou) Mirabile, a downtown automobile dealer, says he would improve the district’s parking problems and battle rising municipal fees.

The four candidates will vie in the primary with the top two vote-getters squaring off in a June final election unless one person gets more than 50% of the vote.

Whatever the outcome, the race could set a record for campaign expenditures, largely because of the fund-raising efforts of Hall and Serles. According to campaign expense reports, Hall has raised about $64,000 and has spent about $55,000 through the last week of March. Serles has garnered about $63,000 in contributions, including $15,000 he loaned himself, and has spent about $20,000.

Signing Up Absentee Voters

Serles’ campaign workers have also done something that may be worth more than money, signing up about 2,000 district voters for absentee ballots. That ploy has worked successfully for candidates in several smaller cities in southeast Los Angeles County.

Huber and Mirabile, meanwhile, are running on more Spartan budgets. Huber, 41, has raised about $2,300 and spent all of it, campaign expense documents indicate. Mirabile, 71, had raised about $1,000 and spent about $500.

While Mirabile and Huber have run relatively sedate campaigns, the rivalry between Hall and Serles has generated political sparks.

Hall contends that 700 of her 1,000 campaign signs “have disappeared” in recent weeks. Hall refuses to publicly point to any culprit, but makes it clear she thinks one of her opponents is behind the thefts.

Serles, meanwhile, says that many of his own signs have been uprooted. Moreover, he charges that Hall’s forces have begun a “whisper campaign” to spread unfounded rumors about him.

Confronts Rumors

Serles said rumors have been spread suggesting that he is gay (Serles says he isn’t), that he supports rent control (Serles says he opposes it) and that he wants to see Belmont Shore become wall-to-wall bars (Serles says he would never stand for such a thing). Hall denies she or her allies have fueled any rumors, adding that “nobody is saying anything” except Serles.

Although Serles has blasted Hall for her performance as the District 3 representative, Hall proudly points to her record as proof that she has gotten the job done for residents of the well-heeled district that straddles Pacific Coast Highway from Atherton Street on the north to the ocean on the south and includes such upscale communities as Naples, Belmont Shore and the Peninsula.

Among other accomplishments, Hall notes that she has worked to increase the city’s police force by 100 officers since she was elected in 1978. She also cites her efforts to shepherd reconstruction last summer of the beach boardwalk along the Peninsula, to build a new fire station in the district and to have artificial seaweed planted along the beaches to curb erosion problems.

Serles, meanwhile, suggests that Hall has had many more “unkept promises” than accomplishments during her eight years in office.

While Hall has painted herself as tough on crime, Serles counters that the councilwoman has fallen far short of supplying the police manpower that is needed. The 625-member department needs to be expanded to at least 1,000 officers, something that could be done with surplus money in the city’s general fund budget, Serles said.

Serles also contends that Hall has done little to solve the area’s traffic and parking problems.

Parking Lot Bonds

“It’s been eight years of rhetoric, but nothing has been done,” Serles said. To improve traffic flow, he would like to see better use made of existing streets. Serles also would favor having the city sell bonds to finance construction of pay parking lots behind businesses in the busy 2nd Street commercial corridor in Belmont Shore.

Hall countered that she has taken steps to solve the Belmont Shore parking problem, pushing through a plan to divert meter fees to a fund that will be used to purchase land for new parking lots.

In addition, the councilwoman noted that she has worked hard to lobby state officials on various highway projects that will ease traffic along Pacific Coast Highway.

She said work is set to begin this year to extend Studebaker Road to Pacific Coast Highway, a project that will help relieve congestion at the intersection of 2nd Street and PCH. More importantly, money is in the state transportation budget to finance a $17-million “grade separation” tunnel allowing Pacific Coast Highway to run under 7th Street and Bellflower Boulevard, Hall said. Work on that project could begin by 1988, she said.

Serles also criticized Hall for failing to quickly handle problems with bay front erosion caused by tides swirling in and out of Alamitos Bay. That erosion, he said, is so extensive that homeowners are afraid their houses may begin to sink.

Hall acknowledged that erosion is a problem in Alamitos Bay, but said she has successfully pushed city public works and engineering officials to begin seeking a “long-term solution.”

While Hall and Serles have duked it out, the two other opponents have avoided the political fray.

Huber has focused on two key issues--residential height limits in shoreline areas of the district and the effectiveness of the city’s police force.

Supports 2-Story Limit

On the height issue, Huber supports a two-story limit, something he feels is necessary to halt construction of towering structures that dwarf the smaller, existing houses dotting the shoreline areas.

While the City Council approved a three-story limit, the California Coastal Commission earlier this month refused to accept that proposal and ordered the council to reconsider its decision. The council will likely take up the matter after the election.

For Huber, the issue is one of preserving the quality of life in the shoreline area. A lower height limit, he said, will restrict the region’s housing density and provide safeguards for residents who worry that new structures could block their ocean views, breezes and sunlight.

Nonetheless, Huber has been unable to gain much political ground with the issue, largely because Hall also supports the two-story height limit.

Huber has been out in front, however, on the issue of Police Department reform.

He proposes that the city’s Public Safety Advisory Commission be given “more teeth” so it can monitor the activities of the department, making police more accountable. Huber would also like to see the department provide training every few years for veteran officers to help reinforce priorities and operating practices that should be maintained on the beat.

To show that such actions are needed, Huber points to his own experiences and incidents he has witnessed. When his home was burglarized, Huber said officers “made me feel like I was the bad guy.” He has called police to report an abandoned vehicle in his neighborhood and had no response for days. He has seen officers harass indigents for no apparent reason.

“I do not view the bulk of the Police Department as the problem. There’s got to be something wrong on top,” he said.

Reduce Cost of Services

Mirabile, meanwhile, is interested in improving parking for Belmont Shore and reducing the costs of municipal services for residents.

Although he originally planned to run for the District 1 seat being vacated by Councilman Marc Wilder, Mirabile failed to move to the downtown district in time to qualify for the ballot and opted to instead run in District 3, where he has lived in recent years.

A Lotus automobile dealer who has been active in numerous civic groups and helped organize the Long Beach Grand Prix, Mirabile ran for the District 1 seat in 1972 but finished back in the pack.

If elected, Mirabile promises to push for the use of parking stickers that would allow only Belmont Shore residents to park along streets near their homes during evening hours. Such stickers are being used successfully in South Pasadena and Huntington Beach, he said.

To ease parking problems in the region’s business district, Mirabile proposes that the city establish a tram to shuttle employees and customers from parking lots that would be built behind the businesses that line 2nd Street.

Mirabile would use surplus money in the city’s general fund to reduce the cost of license fees, boat slip rentals and traffic tickets. “With the bankroll the city has, we need to reduce some of those costs,” he said.