Crowd Forms in Cerritos for Soon-Vacant Council Seats

It is indeed a joyous holiday season in this city if you are among the growing pack of hopefuls eyeing a City Council seat.

Voters last month delivered the best present possible to a host of challengers lining up for the next city election in April, 1988: a wide-open race. By virtue of a voter-approved initiative limiting incumbents to two consecutive four-year council terms, Mayor Don Knabe and Councilman Daniel K. Wong cannot seek reelection when their terms expire in 1988. That throws the door open for a slew of challengers.

Longtime residents and City Hall observers say the level of speculation over potential candidates so far in advance of an election is unprecedented in this city of 55,000 residents. Passage of Proposition H, the two-term limit, has ensured a race minus highly visible--and in recent years well-financed--incumbents, something few figured would ever happen here. It is viewed as a golden opportunity, one that will probably attract a big field, perhaps bigger than April’s council race in which 15 candidates scrambled for three seats.

‘A Cast of Thousands’

“Expect a cast of thousands,” quipped Al Francis, a city planning commissioner who said he may run in 1988.

Mike Wagner, a 10-year resident who said he may also enter the race, agreed that the field will be crowded. “So many people may go that some say if you’ve got 10 friends and run, you’ll win. . . . “

As many as 25 names have come up in conversations about potential candidates. In a series of interviews about the 1988 race with city officials, civic leaders and longtime residents, 12 people were singled out as the most likely to run. Among those mentioned were three planning commissioners--Francis, George Ray and Perry Barit. Two are former councilmen--Alex J. Beanum and Robert J. Witt. And the others have either run for the council in the past or are well-connected with key factions in the city.

It will be an important election because construction of the city’s $225-million Towne Center hotel, retail and office development will have been under way for less than a year, and new council members will undoubtedly play a role in shaping that project over the next decade. Also, Cerritos will be well into its fourth decade as a city, and the maintenance and upkeep of the city, an emerging issue already, could become the central theme in the election.

Carpenter’s Seat

There is a chance that 1 of the 12 prospects may wind up on the council long before the next election, should Knabe win a special election early next year to fill retiring state Sen. Paul Carpenter’s seat in the 33rd District. Carpenter (D-Cypress) is resigning on Jan. 5 after winning a seat on the state Board of Equalization, and Knabe formally announced last week that he will run for the vacancy. If he wins, the council could then appoint a successor or hold a special election.

The following is a closer look at the top candidates so far:

Planning Commissioners

Francis is the commission’s senior member, having been appointed by Wong in 1978. Ray has served almost as long, while Barit was just appointed to the commission in January to fill a vacancy created by Ann B. Joynt’s resignation.

In a city where outsiders have rarely reached the council without paying their civic dues, the Planning Commission has proved to be a valuable steppingstone. Joynt was a commissioner for seven years, and now Francis and Ray appear ready and willing to move up.

Both men opposed Proposition H, but both may eventually benefit from its passage.

Francis, 46, said he had not given a run for the council “much thought” until the two-term limit passed. But the Pacific Bell staff manager said his concern about the loss of continuity in city planning, especially the Towne Center development, and the fear of a “negative element” gaining control of the council, may push him into the race. He has close ties to Wong, who has nearly $30,000 in his campaign bank account.

‘Ready and Interested’

Ray, who is also 46, said he will run in 1988. Ray, an executive with a Santa Fe Springs aerospace parts manufacturer, said, “I am ready and interested when the time comes.” He agreed that that chance may come before 1988 if Knabe is elected to the state Senate and the council decides to hold a special election to fill his seat. “Anyone planning to run in 1988 would probably jump into the special election,” Ray said. No stranger to politics, Ray has twice guided successful reelection runs by Rabbitt as well as Knabe’s reelection campaign two years ago.

Barit, 48, also said he is “very interested” in a council seat. With Wong forced to the sidelines in 1988, Barit, a Filipino, sees himself as the heir apparent to the city’s sizeable Asian voting block. A fifth of the city’s residents are Asian, and Barit contends that many of those people have encouraged him to run. “This community is very diverse,” said Barit, an architect who has lived here for 10 years. “We need someone who understands those people and their needs.”

The Veterans

Both Beanum and Witt say they are undecided about running for council again. But the promise of a race without incumbents and crowded with unknowns, could give Witt and Beanum an edge. Both are widely known, and both would enter the race with many of an incumbent’s advantages, including experience.

Beanum, 51, narrowly missed winning a third term in April, finishing fourth behind Rabbitt. It was a bitter defeat because Beanum outspent his opponents by a wide margin, dropping nearly $32,000. Moreover, Beanum said, several candidates tried to “undermine his character” by talking about a pair of traffic accidents he was involved in, including one that left him a paraplegic in 1980.

A second accident two years ago led to a suit against him and the city. The suit, which is still pending, alleges that Beanum was driving under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident in January, 1984, in La Palma. He denies the accusation. Although no drunk driving charges were ever filed against Beanum, his supporters believe the accidents could again become election fodder should he run in 1988.

Beanum said two months ago that he had not decided whether to run again, and he was unavailable for comment this week because he was hospitalized with complications resulting from the 1980 accident. But George Medina, president of a local Democratic group, said, “Alex has a lot of support in this town, and you cannot count him out in ’88.”

Was Seeking 3rd Term

Witt was seeking a third term when Beanum, a newcomer, bumped him from office in 1978. Witt, 46, served two terms on the council and is one of those credited with wresting control of the city from the dairy farmers and positioning the city for its phenomenal growth. Since the late 1970s, Witt, a Los Angeles attorney, has kept a low profile in local politics.

But in a recent interview he said he might run again in 1988 if the field lacked experienced candidates. An opponent of Proposition H, Witt said that Cerritos residents will regret the two-term limit because the council needs “consistency and knowledge, not a revolving door where people are coming and going every two years.”

The Second Time Around

Paul Bowlen, Ravinder Mehta and Alan Ulrich ran for council for the first time in April and finished, in order, fifth, sixth and seventh. All three said their showing in the top half of the crowded field is reason enough to consider running again in 1988. Mehta, a deputy district attorney in Orange County, said that “more than likely” he will be a candidate, while Bowlen and Ulrich said they are giving it serious consideration.

Nine of the 15 candidates in April spent more than Bowlen. The Cerritos High School civics teacher spent only $1,594, and yet he finished a surprising fifth behind the three incumbents and former Planning Commissioner Joynt. A teacher in the city for nearly 15 years, Bowlen, 45, is well known around town. He said he made a tactical error in the April race by not delegating more responsibility in his campaign. “I was real naive . . . and thought I had to do everything myself. I spread myself too thin,” he said. “That won’t happen again, should I run.”

In sharp contrast to Bowlen, Mehta spent heavily in his maiden council campaign, more than $19,000. If nothing else, Mehta, 27, believes he bought some name recognition, which may pay dividends if the 1988 race is filled with unknowns. Would he spend that much again? “If I have to to win,” he replied.

Absence of Incumbents

Because no incumbents will be in the race, Mehta predicts that candidates will talk more about their own credentials and capabilities than the shortcomings of current council members. Besides his legal background, Mehta hopes to have another plus going for him--Knabe. The mayor has asked Mehta to work on his 33rd District Senate campaign next year. In return, many believe the popular Knabe may help Mehta. When asked about the arrangement, Mehta would only say, “Don Knabe has been good for Cerritos and his help would obviously be an asset.”

Ulrich, a customer service agent for United Parcel Service, said his decision to run will be based largely on who else enters the race. Pleased with his showing the first time out, Ulrich, 37, said he has a solid base in the city. “If things go as they have been . . . and the feedback from residents is still good, I’d probably run,” he said.

In the Wings

Cris Fuentes, Sandy Westbrook and Elizabeth Hutcheson said they are not interested in running in 1988, although all three are mentioned as likely candidates.

A member of a longtime, politically active family in the city, Fuentes helped engineer Proposition H to victory while becoming a well-known figure in town. Although he contends he has no interest in running, many speculate that his motive behind the initiative was to improve his chances of winning a council seat in 1988. “It is really hard to believe that Cris Fuentes won’t be running in two years,” Planning Commissioner Francis said. “He sure has taken an interest in things, which makes one wonder.” A political consultant, Fuentes, 25, is working on the state Senate campaign of Democrat Otto Lacayo, a former Cypress mayor.

Westbrook also ruled out a council run in 1988, although she hinted that she may be interested later. A mother of three young children, she said serving on the council would take time away from her family. “I’m kind of old fashioned,” she said, “but I think my family needs me more. . . .” But she did leave the door open. “Once my kids are older, who knows?” She is a member of the city’s new Parks and Recreation Commission and has been a key fixture in Councilwoman Needham’s campaigns.

‘No Intentions’

Hutcheson, surprised at the suggestion that she might run, said: “I have no intentions of seeking a (council) seat.” But as president of the ABC Unified School District, some say she has positioned herself for a try at the council. The school board recently voted to push its 1987 election back a year to consolidate with the November, 1988, general election, which means Hutcheson, 42, would be on the school board during the next council election. Hutcheson, however, said once her term is up she is retiring from public life. “When I ran for the school board nine years ago, I was committed to making the schools in this city better,” she said. “That’s still my one and only goal.”

Mike Wagner, the director of redevelopment in Norwalk, has another goal. The 38-year-old Cerritos resident said he wants to run for one of four open council seats in the next two elections. Besides the two seats in 1988, there will be two more in 1990, when Needham and Rabbitt will be forced to step down under the two-term restriction. Wagner, an unsuccessful candidate three years ago, said he is aiming at 1990, but added that could change depending on his job status. He doubts he could keep his Norwalk job and serve on the council in neighboring Cerritos. “I would probably have to leave the City of Norwalk,” he said.

The main reason, he said, is a potential conflict of interest. As redevelopment director, he is credited in Norwalk with luring away the lucrative Price Club from Cerritos. The membership discount store was one of the single largest sources of sales tax revenue for Cerritos. Some in Cerritos have said the Price Club deal could hurt Wagner at the polls. Wagner, a key figure in Needham’s big reelection win in April, disagrees: “I see it as a reflection of my ability to get things done.”