Control of Inglewood Council, School Board at Stake on Tuesday : Longtime Foes Who Aren’t Even on Ballot Overshadow 2 Races

Neither is on the ballot, but Inglewood Mayor Edward Vincent and Councilman Anthony Scardenzan are throwing large shadows over Tuesday’s City Council election.

The two men are backing opposing candidates in the two contested council races. At stake is control of Inglewood’s five-member council.

Vincent has endorsed 3rd District Councilman Bruce U. Smith in his reelection bid and is literally walking 4th District candidate Ervin (Tony) Thomas around the district.

Scardenzan has given financial and endorsement support to Smith’s opponent, Ann A. Wilk, and to Garland L. Hardeman, who is running against Thomas.

Scardenzan said he is trying to end Vincent’s control over the council.

“Whatever he wants goes, whatever he doesn’t want doesn’t,” Scardenzan said of the mayor, who garners the support of three council members, in addition to his own vote, on most issues. “My conscience is telling me I’ve got to break this political bloc.

“All I am asking from the people I’m supporting is honest government, that they be themselves, that they be independent and not be a ‘yes man’ to anybody, including myself.”

Vincent was unavailable for comment.

Vincent and Scardenzan, who represents the 2nd District, long have feuded, with Scardenzan most recently opposing a proposition on the April primary ballot that would have increased the mayor’s salary from $10,800 to $49,621.

Proposition 1, as it was called, was considered the prime factor in a 17.1% voter turnout, one of the largest in recent Inglewood history. The proposed raise went down to defeat by an almost 2-1 margin, a setback for Vincent, who only six months earlier had won reelection with 80% of the vote.

While they were rejecting Proposition 1, the voters also forced both Vincent-backed council candidates--along with the treasurer candidate he supported--into runoffs.

Smith, who is seeking a third term in his northwest area district, had expected to win reelection by getting a majority of the vote in the primary. But he admitted making a mistake by refusing to take a stand before the primary on Proposition 1, and was held to 45.2% of the vote. Wilk made the runoff against Smith by getting 29.7%, thus beating out a third candidate, Claude Lataillade, who received 25.1%.

In the 4th District, Hardeman is battling Thomas for the seat being vacated by Virgle Benson. Hardeman came up just 40 votes short of getting a majority in the primary, receiving 48.2% of the vote to Thomas’ 29.6%. Two other candidates split the remaining 22.2%.

Council members, who run from individual districts, are paid salaries of $900 a month.

Treasurer candidate Wanda Marie Brown did the best of any Vincent-backed candidate, getting 48% of the vote against incumbent H. Stanley Jones’ 44.3%. Pamela S. Fisher finished third with 7.7%.

Smith, 67, owner of a metal-finishing shop, said he is running on his record and that he is not afraid of any backlash because of his silence on Proposition 1. Smith said he did not openly oppose the measure because he did not want to influence voters.

“But it was obvious to anyone who was watching that I was opposed to it,” Smith said. He said he told a block club meeting shortly after the proposition qualified for the ballot that he didn’t think it could pass. He noted that he also opposed raising the pay of council members.

“I am relying totally on the electorate,” Smith said. “They know whether I’ve done a good job or not.”

Savings Told

Smith said he has saved the city “hundreds of thousands of dollars” by calling for the purchase of less expensive insurance.

“I’m also the most accessible councilman in the history of the city,” Smith said. “I have never failed to return a phone call, whether it be a complaint or praise.”

Smith, like the mayor, has frequently clashed with Scardenzan. Smith opposes his fellow councilman’s call for the hiring of 30 additional police officers, arguing that the city should wait until the release of a police department study of its needs.

“I agree that we need additional police officers, but we need to find out how many we need first, before we spend $2 million,” Smith said.

A personal factor has also arisen in the rivalry. Scardenzan says he is offended by jokes Smith has made about his Italian accent.

In her campaign against Smith, Wilk has emphasized that Inglewood has not had a woman council member since 1963 and has sent letters to the women voters of her district asking for their support.

“If elected, I will represent the whole community,” Wilk said, “but if we are going to be a progressive community we need to move along with the times.”

Wilk called Smith “wishy-washy” for his stance on Proposition 1.

“He voted to put it on the ballot, then he starts telling people that he wasn’t for it,” Wilk said. “Whether it’s popular or not, you’ve got to take a stand and stand by your commitment.”

Wilk also accuses Smith of ignoring the problem of airplane noise. Much of the 3rd District is under the landing pattern of Los Angeles International Airport.

“The airport authority has been talking about increasing the annual passenger load from 45 million to 65 million,” Wilk said. “Yet, when I went to a hearing on the subject, nobody from the City Council was there.”

Wilk disagreed with Smith’s assessment of his accessibility, saying he is “burned out.”

“I’ve talked to people in the district who say that they asked Bruce two or three years ago to do something and he still hasn’t done what they asked him to do,” she said.

Smith reported raising $15,790, but only $825 between March 22 and May 31. “I decided we had enough money to carry us through,” he said.

Wilk, a 54-year-old housewife and former school board member, has raised $9,073--$2,000 of it from a group called Political Action Fund 1, about which Wilk refused to give any information.

Scardenzan’s $1,000 loans to Wilk and Hardeman were criticized by Smith.

“If Hardeman and Wilk get elected, Scardenzan is going to control three votes on the council,” Smith said.

But Wilk said Scardenzan “knows I’m an independent person. So does Bruce. Maybe Bruce is fearful that their machine will be broken.”

The mayor has been more active in the 4th District race, walking precincts with Thomas and directing several verbal shots at Hardeman. Both Vincent and Thomas have called Hardeman a carpetbagger, alleging that he has not lived in the district long enough to be a legal candidate.

But the city attorney’s office ruled that Hardeman, who moved into the 4th District from elsewhere in Inglewood in September, was eligible to run.

Hardeman, a 30-year-old Los Angles policeman, calls the carpetbagging accusation a smoke screen, and has questioned the mayor’s interest in the race.

“He can’t come after me because I’m a cop. He can’t come after me because I’m a Christian. He can’t say I haven’t been involved in the community. The only thing he can come after me for is that I haven’t lived in the district that long,” Hardeman said.

Housing Problem Cited

Hardeman complains that the mayor and his supporters have intimidated businessmen who have posted his campaign signs.

Hardeman said the main issues confronting the 4th District, located in the southeast corner of the city, are crime, drugs and economic development, which he said are interrelated.

The district needs an economic development task force to try to attract businesses other than “freight companies and light industry,” he said.

“The image of the district and the city isn’t what it should be,” Hardeman said. “There are a lot of poor people without adequate housing in the district. The city just received $3 million dollars from the (federal government) and the city is suppossed to match it. A lot of the money should be redirected” to the 4th District.

A reduction in crime and drugs will follow redevelopment of neighborhoods, he said.

“As I go down the streets, the people are telling me about the rock house that’s down the street or the prostitutes that are still on Prairie Avenue,” Hardeman said. “Redevelopment will help alleviate that.”

Hardeman said he would like to see the area around the Forum and Hollywood Park turned into an entertainment complex.

“I would like to see something like they have in Hollywood, with the Chinese Theater and the Walk of Fame. But instead of movie stars, we could have it honoring the jockeys, basketball players, hockey players and tennis players that play at the Forum,” he said.

Hardeman has raised more money than any other council candidate--$19,110, according to the latest filings with the city clerk’s office. This includes the largest single contribution of the campaign, $5,000 from Centinela Hospital Medical Staff Political Action Committee.

Juan Yukelson, a spokesman for the hospital, said that the donation was made because members of the existing council are not responsive to the needs of the hospital. Asked to explain, he said that the city imposed a fee on doctors who operate in the city’s hospitals but who do not maintain offices there. Hardeman said he needs the money to counteract Vincent’s support of Thomas.

Issue Criticized

“I guess I feel I’m running against the mayor,” Hardeman said. “If I was running against just another candidate, I wouldn’t have had to raise so much.”

Thomas, a 45-year-old administrator for 7-Up Bottling Co., criticizes Hardeman for making Vincent an issue.

“He’s been doing this to try to keep my name out of the media,” Thomas said.

But Thomas has made strong use of the mayor’s support, with pictures of the two very prominent in the campaign literature.

Thomas said his low-key style and his late entry into the race led to his second-place finish in April.

“During the primary, people who I’ve worked with in the community didn’t associate my name with who I am,” said Thomas. “But now that I’ve been getting out more, the people say, ‘You’re Tony Thomas.’ They didn’t remember my name, but they remember doing things we did together in the community.”

Thomas said his 16-year residency in the district would give him an advantage over Hardeman “because I know more people.”

If elected, Thomas said, he will stress communication with his constituents. He also calls for programs to clean up alleys and shopping centers to reduce crime.

“I will do more with the block captains because they are the most direct line of feedback with the community,” Thomas said.

Thomas’ campaign financial statement reported that he raised $4,575, including a $2,000 loan from himself. The mayor is not listed as a donor, but has mailed out literature on behalf of Thomas.

Jones is facing his toughest election in his 25-year career as treasurer. The treasurer oversees the collection and investment of the city’s tax revenue.

Jones, a 56-year-old accountant, has stressed his experience.

“I have 25 years’ experience directly related to managing government portfolios,” Jones said. “There is nothing in (Brown’s) background to indicate she has that type of experience. It’s not something you learn by trial and error. There is too much at risk.”

Brown, a 43-year-old financial consultant, has charecterized Jones as uncommunicative with his constituents.

“Although he has been in office for 24 years, most people don’t even know who he is,” Brown said. “Most people don’t know how their tax dollars are invested and they don’t know how their tax dollars are spent.”