Control of City Hall Up for Grabs in Bitter Carson Race

Politics is the rage here and rage marks the city’s politics.

Eight candidates are running for the seat involuntarily vacated by former council member Walter J. (Jake) Egan, who was convicted in October of political corruption involving extortion and mail fraud.

One of the candidates is suing another for a campaign brochure from the last election that alleged he is mixed up with drug dealers--which he denies. Speeches commonly make reference to carpetbaggers, dupes, dirty politics, deceit, rubber stamps, laughingstocks and racial divisiveness.

The tone of the campaign itself has become an issue.

“When,” wondered candidate Al Castaneda publicly last week, “can we ever again be proud of Carson?”

Control of City Hall

The stakes are nothing less than control of City Hall, at least in the short term:

With bitterly opposed factions deadlocked 2-2 on key issues since June, the outcome of the March 3 election could tip the balance--if either side’s candidate is elected. Or it could lead to a prolonged seesaw between factions if an independent comes to power.

Whatever the result, a replay a year later is likely when that seat and two others come up.

On the council, ill will has reached such a point that members privately volunteer the opinion that their colleagues belong behind bars--along with the disgraced Egan. At council sessions, the two sides trade withering insults and at times appear to have great difficulty maintaining simple civility.

“I was stunned to see what was going on in the council meeting . . . ,” said candidate Carole Ellwood. “There was a lot of bickering and nit-picking and insulting.”

Council Exchange

For example, this exchange took place on Jan. 26, a few minutes after Mayor Sylvia Muise cut off council member Vera Robles DeWitt from further discussion of an agenda item:

“The snide remarks that go on in this council, meeting after meeting, are coming to the point of ridiculousness . . . ,” complained DeWitt.

“This evening, as it was (during the) last council meeting, was very stressful and distasteful in how we conduct ourselves and I am hoping, Madame Mayor, that you wield that gavel with a little more compassion and a little more decorum. It is important.”

Without missing a beat, Muise gave as good as she got.

“Councilwoman DeWitt,” she responded in measured tones, “I’m certain that you will heed your own comments.”

Appreciative snickers from the audience greeted this sally, but on the campaign trail, council conduct and the embittered relations between the two factions are not matters for levity.

A Common Issue

To be sure, crime, parks, pollution, mobile-home rents, street maintenance and other staples of municipal politics are important issues in the campaign, but achieving peace on the council has been cited by all of the candidates as the most important.

“This city in many eyes is the laughingstock of the South Bay,” candidate Michael I. Mitoma told a homeowners group last week.

In one way or another, all the candidates have their ideas on how to improve council conduct--and why their opponents will be unsuccessful.

- A victory for Mitoma or Aaron M. Carter would mean the formation of a three-member majority able to out-muscle the other side. Mitoma, president of Pacific Business Bank, is backed by DeWitt and Councilwoman Kay Calas. Carter, a Hughes Aircraft Co. engineer, is backed by Muise and Mayor Pro Tem Tom Mills. Both are running substantial campaigns.

- The two independents with the best-funded campaigns--Roye Love, a Los Angeles County administrator of employment programs, and Charles Peters, a retired medical clinic administrator--say they expect to be the swing vote on key issues.

- Among the other independents, all of whom are running more limited campaigns, retired IBM employee Harry Daigle says he will be a mediator; Ellwood, a newcomer to the city, says she will defuse factionalism by looking at issues from a fresh perspective; oil company blue-collar employee James Fritz promises “common sense,” and Castaneda, an international transportation consultant, says he will be impartial.

Castaneda summed up arguments against the endorsed candidates: “Carter will just be a yes-man to the Muise-Mills faction and Mitoma will be a yes-man to Calas and DeWitt.”

Carter demurs: “Throughout my life, I have never been a rubber stamp.”

Working Majority Promoted

Mitoma, who also avers independence, suggests that a working majority--with himself part of it--is preferable to an unsettled balance in which two equal factions vie for the approval of the one in the middle attempting to play power broker.

“Jake Egan was the master of this. He . . . worked one against the other,” Mitoma said.

The heated temper of this campaign for a job that pays $671.34 a month is nothing new for Carson.

Indeed, acrimony and scandal in Carson politics have a history as long as the city, incorporated in 1968, and have left a legacy of mistrust and suspicion in the political community, observers say.

Other Officials Jailed

Former Mayor John Junk and council member Rick Clark, two members of the original City Council, were sentenced to 90-day jail terms and fined $1,500 after pleading no contest on Sept. 7, 1971, to soliciting bribes from a trash disposal firm. Council member Dannie Spence was given a year in prison and a $2,000 fine on Nov. 22, 1971 for soliciting a bribe in connection with a zoning matter.

Although no other council member was convicted until Egan, John A. Marbut and Sak Yamamoto were ousted in a recall election in October, 1979, following charges that a trash contract was awarded without public comment to a company that had not submitted the lowest bid. Muise and Mills led the recall effort.

In addition to those fractures in the political community, observers and candidates say that major political fault lines lie in racial and ethnic divisions: The north end of Carson is populated largely by middle-class blacks; in the south are Anglos, Latinos and Asians--many of them less well off.

Muise, who is white, and Mills, who is black, find many supporters among blacks living in the north, according to candidates and other observers. DeWitt, a Latina, and Calas, who is Anglo, have more support among Anglos and Latinos in the south.

Several years ago, according to testimony at Egan’s trial, the former councilman targeted white areas of the city with racist innuendo about Muise and her black political allies.

Black Vote Conceded

In the 1986 election, said Mitoma, who is of Japanese ancestry, he followed the advice of his political advisers who urged him to concede the black vote to incumbents Mills and Muise and not waste time campaigning in the north. He came in third in that election.

Carter says he is going door-to-door throughout the city, starting from the center. Mitoma says he is dividing his time evenly between the two halves of the city. In the current election, while the racial and ethnic divisions are acknowledged as a political fact of life, the candidates are downplaying their significance. But a hangover of enmity between the two sides on the council and their allies lingers from the 1986 election:

Mitoma and Pacific Business Bank, the bank he founded 4 1/2 years ago, is suing Carter, as well as Muise, Mills and several of their political allies, for putting out a 1986 campaign brochure, that according to Mitoma’s complaint, was “artfully and purposely . . . organized as to mislead a reader to believe that Mitoma and Pacific were involved in drug money laundering and that they were the subject of criminal investigations and trial for drug-related activity.”

Mitoma said that while a depositor was indicted for money-laundering, the bank itself has never been the object of any investigation. He said he was willing to settle the lawsuit if Muise and Mills, who, he charged, were behind the brochure, issued personal apologies.

Defamation Denied

Carter, Muise and Mills declined to comment on the suit, referring all queries to their attorney, Patty Mortl. Mortl said the brochure “is not defamatory” and simply expresses the opinion of the defendants “as to Mike Mitoma’s fitness to hold the office that he seeks.

In the current campaign, the suit has been an unspoken issue: Effie Clarke, one of the defendants, rose to attack Mitoma last week at a homeowners meeting, demanding to know how he could represent her since he does not own property in the city.

Mitoma, who rents an apartment in the city, replied that he did own property--namely, the site where his bank is building a $1-million structure. But his answer did not mollify Clarke, who said she was talking about owning a home.

Neither mentioned that they were opposing each other in court.

Here is a look at the candidates and their positions.

Michael I. Mitoma, 43, promises to bring peace to the council, order to City Hall and his business savvy to boost what he sees as seriously undervalued residential real estate.

Supported by Calas

A graduate of California State University, Long Beach, with an MBA from UCLA, Mitoma, a short, intense man invariably dressed in a well-cut business suit, got his start in Carson politics in 1986 with the support of council member Kay Calas, who urged him to run against Mills and Muise.

“It would be political suicide running against two incumbents,” Mitoma said he told Calas. But with her endorsements and a campaign treasury of $50,000--most of it his own--Mitoma, who moved to Carson four months before the 1986 election, came in a credible third that some say gives him front-runner status in the current race.

“That was my first brush with insanity,” Mitoma said.

Apparently he developed a taste for it, although Mitoma said he is trying to make it a less expensive habit. In this election, Mitoma said, he will spend about $20,000.

“I shouldn’t have spent the amount of money I spent last time,” he said.

Among the issues Mitoma emphasizes are a soaring crime rate that he says may require additional funding for more sheriff’s deputies to patrol the city, and the need to attract residential and high-tech industrial development. He asserts that building regulations that are “constantly changed” by city officials have scared off developers.

City Hall ‘a Mess’

“There is no developer interested right now in building anything significant in the city. City Hall administratively is a mess,” he said.

A regular at City Council meetings, Mitoma was recently rebuffed by Muise during a session when he attempted to question city officials about details of a hotel development the city has been trying to nail down.

Muise told him to submit his questions in writing.

He said he also ran afoul of Muise on Dec. 11 at a senior citizens breakfast sponsored by the city when several people wanted the city photographer to take their picture with him. Mitoma said Muise barred the photographer from taking any pictures of Mitoma, stating that the photographer worked for the city.

“I’ll pay him,” Mitoma said he told Muise. But he said the mayor still refused to permit the snapshots.

Muise denied the incident took place.

Old Issues Raised

Mitoma’s opponents are raising several issues that date from the 1986 campaign.

Carter, Councilman Mills and others are accusing Mitoma of being a “carpetbagger,” pointing to a house he owns in Rosemead where they say he really lives. They cite as evidence a homestead exemption for the Rosemead house that Mitoma signed.

Mitoma said he rents out his house in Rosemead and has lived in an apartment in Carson near his bank for two years. He said he asked authorities to take off the exemption before the election in 1986 and assumes they did so.

Citing $5,000 in contributions to Mitoma during the 1986 election from mobile-home park owners, the Mobile Home Action Committee has come out against Mitoma and for Carter, according to co-chairman Harry J. McCarthy. The organization, whose newsletters reach almost 5,000 people in the city’s 28 mobile-home parks, will pump about $1,500 into the campaign, McCarthy said.

Mitoma denies the committee’s charge that he wants to alter the current structure of the city’s Mobile Home Rental Review Board in favor of the park owners. In a counterstroke, Mitoma said that McCarthy’s thinking is influenced by Egan, a Mitoma adversary. McCarthy, who acknowledged visiting Egan in prison several times, denied that Egan influences his political strategy.

In addition to DeWitt and Calas, Mitoma’s endorsements include the city’s employee union, the Torrance-Lomita-Carson Board of Realtors, U.S. Rep. Mervyn M. Dymally (D-Compton) and Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn.

‘No-Nonsense’ Attitude

Aaron M. Carter, 54, a senior project engineer with Hughes Aircraft Co., stresses a low-key, “no-nonsense” attitude to “pettiness” from other council members, a long-term status as a resident, and service on several city boards.

Although he has never run for public office, Carter, a graduate of the University of Missouri, is no newcomer to Carson politics, having assisted in Muise’s campaigns.

He traces his civic involvement to the late 1960s and early 1970s when he served as president of the Centerview Homeowners Assn. (now the Centerview-Glen Avalon Homeowners Assn.), an organization that served several candidates before him as a springboard to the council.

In campaign literature and statements, Carter emphasizes endorsements by Muise, Mills and former Carson Mayors Gil Smith and Clarence Bridgers. He points to service on a city commission involved in the design of the sheriff’s station near City Hall in the early 1970s and on the Planning Commission in the early 1980s as evidence of civic involvement.

He said a quiet approach in keeping with his personality will help smooth council relations. “Just my sitting there would tend to bring things around,” he said.

Against Mitoma

He said he decided to run because he did not want Mitoma, whom he called “a political opportunist” who hasn’t “paid his dues in this city,” to win.

One project he wants to tackle as council member is a review of the city’s general plan. “We have to revisit that to make sure we are still moving along,” he said.

Opponents say that he lacks the force of personality to be a leader and will always be a follower of Muise and Mills. Love, who like Carter is black and is making a determined campaign for the black vote, accuses him of being ineffective on city committees.

“Some people say that Carter is quiet,” the candidate conceded, referring to himself in the third person. “But all that grandstanding is not my style. If we have some substance (in an issue), we can deal with it.”

Another criticism centers on Carter’s recent switch from Republican to Democrat. Four and a half months ago, after a lifetime as a Republican, Carter changed parties.

Appeal to Blacks

Love accused Carter of making the switch to be more palatable as a candidate among blacks, who are mostly Democrats. “I don’t think there has been an instant conversion,” said Love.

Carter, however, denied that political expedience was behind his party switch, attributing his original registration as a Republican to “youthful rebellion.” He said he switched because he realized that he agreed with Democrats more than Republicans.

The Carter campaign will spend about $5,000, the candidate said. Explaining this comparatively meager budget, Carter said, “A first-time candidate doesn’t generate a lot of interest until people have seen a track record on City Council.” However, he acknowledged that the connections of Muise and Mills may aid fund-raising.

Carter said he expects to get out a mailing soon; his phone bank opened last weekend. The candidate said he hopes to cover the entire city in a door-to-door canvas and expects strong support from mobile-home parks.

Independent Candidate

An administrator of employment programs and operations for the Los Angeles County Department of Social Services, Roye Love, 51, is supported by neither council faction. He is banking on an anti-council vote to get in and is not shy about criticizing the entire council in forceful terms.

“The two factions are there just to blow each other away. They aren’t there to do anything for the city. . . . With them, it’s got to be, ‘My team has to win this one or we will take our marbles and walk off.’ . . . With me, they are going to have to have some merit to their arguments,” he said.

Love’s campaign strategy requires a strong lead in heavily black areas in the north, where he is concentrating his efforts. He expects that Mitoma will be robbed of a decisive lead in the south by the four other non-black candidates.

On issues other than council relations, Love says increases in drug arrests show that city officials should organize community efforts. He points to his recent involvement in anti-drug marches as evidence of commitment that he says the other candidates lack.

He charges that the council has been “deceitful” because the rate for garbage collection went up even though residents voted for a measure to decrease the fees. (City officials, however, say that after the vote, a scheduled fee increase was postponed a year and that subsequent increases were allowed under the existing contract.)

Critical of Carter

Love reserves his fiercest invective for his opponent Carter, whom he terms “a political hack,” and “a rubber stamp” for Muise and Mills.

To backers of Carter who say that Love could split the black vote and elect Mitoma, Love declares that Mitoma is “not invincible” and denies that he is a stalking horse for Mitoma.

Love originally planned to spend about $10,000 but has recently scaled down his campaign to about $7,000 to $8,000. He plans three mailings, is walking the city and has started a phone bank.

Love is endorsed by VOICE3 (Voters Organized to Impact Change in Economics, Employment and Education in the City of Carson), a mostly black civic organization.

Charles Peters, 53, a retired medical clinic administrator, says he should be elected because he is independent of council factions and is able to devote himself full time to council affairs.

‘Deciding Vote’

“By not being aligned with any one camp, the one sitting in the middle can analyze from an independent political perspective,” he said. “It would be up to them to consult me. . . . I have the deciding vote.

“I have 24 hours a day to do whatever is necessary. I could go to the library and read up on it and find out independently.”

Peters worked as a county weights and measures inspector until the early 1970s when he was injured in an automobile accident and went on disability.

After recovering, he went to college, graduating from California State University, Los Angeles, with a bachelor’s degree in 1978 and a master’s degree in 1986. He recently completed requirements for a law degree from Western State University.

While advancing his education, Peters went back to work as the administrator of the West Coast Medical Clinic, which closed last year.

Unsuccessful Races

If Peters is a latecomer to higher education, he arrived in politics earlier, running unsuccessfully for the Los Angeles City Council in 1964 and 1968. He moved to Carson four years ago.

Apart from smoothing council relations, issues that Peters emphasizes include speedy installation of sound walls and overpasses on Alameda Street, where train traffic is expected to increase soon; the transfer of Carson students in the Compton school district to Los Angeles schools, and an anti-drug education program.

He also cites a recent incident at a city-run preschool program, in which an employee permitted children to play with razors and bleach, as an example of things that are wrong in the city. City officials said the employee has been disciplined.

Peters is walking the city door-to-door. He said he expects to spend about $4,000, most of it his own money. The bulk of his funds will go to sending out three mailers, he said.

Political Newcomers

Four other candidates, none of whom has run for political office before, all say they expect to spend less than $500 and are working mainly by themselves, without the support or endorsement of any major organization. They are:

- Al Castaneda, 60, an international transportation consultant. He said he is running a lonely campaign with hand-made signs and little else. He said he is avoiding the north end of the city in his campaign canvassing because, as a non-black, he feels he will not get many votes up there.

“With three black candidates, not too many (votes) are left,” he said.

Issues he considers important, in addition to better relations on the council, are crime, the environment and balanced development.

- Harry Daigle, 52, a retired IBM specialist. He is running more against the City Council than against the other candidates in the race.

“We need an independent to try to draw them together with the sole purpose of what is good for the city of Carson,” said Daigle, a 27-year resident.

- Carole Ellwood, 43, sales and catering manager for the Manhattan Country Club in Manhattan Beach. She moved to the Carson Harbor Village Mobile Home Park four months ago and decided after seeing City Council sessions that she could do better.

“The only way we can correct that is for the average citizen like myself to get involved,” she said.

Her other issues are mobile home rents and crime.

- James Fritz, 30, a production operator at Thums Oil Co. in Long Beach and self-described average citizen.

He wants the city to do more about crime and parks and street maintenance and advocates more freeway sound walls. He opposes the proliferation of mini-malls as unneeded intrusions into neighborhoods.

Fritz said he aiming his campaign first at people “in my economic bracket--blue-collar-type workers.”

Candid about his meager chances for winning, Fritz said, “If I can get out and meet people and say some things they want to hear and they see I am sincere, they will vote for me instead of relying on a barrage of signs, stickers and flyers and telephone calls.”