4 Declare for Director Seat in Pasadena

Four civic leaders from southwest Pasadena have declared themselves candidates for the Board of City Directors to replace their district’s representative, who is resigning with five months remaining in his term.

The board agreed last week to appoint a representative from District 6 to step in for William Bogaard, despite critics’ charges that such a move would give the appointee to the shortened term the “advantage of incumbency” in April’s election.

Bogaard, executive vice president and general counsel for First Interstate Bancorp, is resigning effective Nov. 30 to devote more time to his firm’s pursuit of a $3.4-billion merger to acquire financially troubled BankAmerica Corp.

The candidates are two lawyers, William Cathey and Dorrie Braun Poole, an architect, Kathryn Nack, and a business consultant, Nina Cash.

At the regular meeting of the board last week, four directors said they opposed appointing a “caretaker” who would be committed to not running for reelection in April.

Bogaard excused himself from the discussion in observance of the rule that retiring board members not participate in the process of selecting a successor. Board member Rick Cole was absent.

Though no vote was taken, the board agreed by consensus to select a replacement, with all the rights and privileges of other board members, including the right to seek election to a full term.

Mayor John Crowley had proposed the caretaker idea in the belief that it would foster an “open field” election in April, with no board-appointed incumbent having an edge over other candidates.

But the other board members firmly disagreed with him.

“A caretaker would be basically a lame duck,” said Director Loretta Thompson-Glickman. “A caretaker has no power and would have no respect. No one would pay attention to that person.”

Director William Thomson added that appointing a caretaker would be “almost an insult to the voters of District 6.”

Monday at 5 p.m. was set as the deadline for applying for Bogaard’s seat. The board will interview applicants, who must be registered voters and residents of the district, in an open session on Dec. 4 at the Allendale School.

Candidate Profiles

The four declared candidates:

- Nina Cash, a management consultant and a doctoral candidate in American history at the Claremont Graduate School. A self-appointed civic watchdog, she attends all the meetings of the board, as well as committee and commission meetings. She serves as a member of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce’s charter study committee.

“I have a deep-down desire to contribute to my community,” she said. “I put in the hours already. I know what’s involved in the amount of time to do a good job.”

- William Cathey, a corporate lawyer and member of the city’s Community Development Committee. A long-time civic force, Cathey is a past chairman of that committee, as well as of Pasadena Heritage and of the Pasadena Educational Foundation.

Being a board member, he said, “would give me a much greater opportunity to influence what’s happening in the city. Everyone who runs for the board must be motivated in large part by a great love for Pasadena.”

- Kathryn Nack, an architect and a member of the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education. She is a former president of the school board and serves on a variety of other civic and community groups, including the Pasadena Recreation and Parks Foundation and the Pasadena Centennial Coordinating Committee.

“The job entails being an active part of a living city,” she said. “It’s something I’d like to do.”

- Dorrie Braun Poole, a lawyer and civic leader. She practices law as a volunteer for nonprofit institutions and has been active in the arts in Pasadena. She is a board member for the Pacific Asia Museum and of the Friends of the Huntington Library. She was vice-chairman of the arts and culture panel of the Strategic Planning Commission, a citizens’ task force to set long-term goals and priorities for the city, earlier this year.

“The pinnacle of community service in Pasadena is being a city director,” she said.

All of the candidates support the stands that Bogaard has taken on the board, and at least two of them have worked closely with him. Cathey co-chaired Bogaard’s reelection campaign in 1983. Poole was appointed through Bogaard’s influence to her voluntary position with the Strategic Planning Commission.

If none of the candidates can win the votes of four board members, the City Charter provides that the replacement be selected “by lot,” said City Clerk Pamela Swift. “The method is not spelled out,” she said.