Recall Vote May End Furor in Laguna Over Drug Arrest of Coach

A year ago today, a furor was triggered when police stopped an erratic driver on Laguna Canyon Road and discovered 5.5 grams of cocaine--and that the driver was Cedrick W. Hardman, Laguna Beach High School’s football coach.

That arrest--and the reaction of three members of the Laguna Beach school board--began a controversy that will reach its climax Tuesday when voters decide in a special election whether to oust the three.

At first, the school board majority voted to suspend Hardman. Then they decided to let him return as a coach, without pay, while he completed a drug rehabilitation program.

Critics of the board said it bent over backward to accommodate Hardman because he was a sports celebrity, a former All-Pro football player with the San Francisco 49ers, who was transforming the lackluster Laguna Beach High team from losers into winners.

Arrested Before

The arrest was not Hardman’s first. In 1985, he was arrested on suspicion of possessing less than an ounce of marijuana.

On Tuesday, voters in the Laguna Beach Unified School District will decide whether to recall incumbents Charlene Ragatz, Janet Vickers and Carl Schwarz.

The three contend that they are the victims of a witch hunt, a biased attempt to oust them for making what they steadfastly consider to be a good and courageous decision about how to help an employee with a drug problem.

But opponents say Hardman’s reinstatement after his second arrest was just one of many mistakes made by the board. They also say the board majority has hurt the school system by constantly second-guessing the school superintendent and his staff.

Coach Quit

Another issue in the recall is Ragatz’s membership in the high school football boosters club while she sat on the board. This spring, the California Interscholastic Federation, which governs high school football, criticized that club for paying Hardman directly for summer training work. Federation rules require that booster club money must go through a school board or student government before going to a coach.

But at the center of the recall is Hardman, who resigned last February.

“The community as a whole really feels enraged about what has happened,” said Harvey Triebwasser, a pediatrician who is running for Vickers’ seat.

On the other side are those who believe that by their action, Vickers, Ragatz and Schwarz not only supported Hardman in his rehabilitation efforts but established a guideline for future potential employee-drug problems.

“I think we should’ve gotten a certificate of achievement instead of a recall,” Schwarz said. “This really hurts.”

The controversy began on the night of Sept. 20, 1986.

Hardman had been driving erratically on Laguna Canyon Road, police said, when he was pulled over. He struggled with the officers, they said, and they subsequently found 5.5 grams of cocaine in his car.

Drug Treatment

The next month, Hardman volunteered to enter a drug rehabilitation program, and a judge suspended charges of felony possession of cocaine and misdemeanor resisting arrest. The issue then went before the school board, which was told by Hardman’s physician that his patient was willing to reform.

The board then voted 4 to 1 to allow Hardman to coach without pay for the remaining three weeks of the football season.

After the vote, a group of outraged parents formed Citizens United for Responsible Education (CURE) and successfully gathered 3,515 signatures to force a recall election for Ragatz, Vickers and Schwarz.

The parents failed to gather enough signatures to recall Trustee Sharon Mas, who had voted with the majority but later said she regretted her vote.

Each board member targeted for recall faces two challengers. And on Tuesday, voters may vote yes or no to recall each incumbent, and if they vote yes, they can pick a successor to that seat, who would assume the office if the recall succeeds.

Election Results

Successful challengers would take office after the Orange County registrar of voters officially recognizes the election results and would serve the remaining term of that incumbent.

Ragatz’s four-year term expires Nov. 27, and a successful challenger would have to run again in the regularly scheduled Nov. 3 election.

Another school board seat also will be available Nov. 3, because Trustee Harry Bithell--who cast the only no vote in the Hardman decision--is retiring. The terms of both Schwarz and Vickers expire in November, 1989.

To add to the confusion, one candidate for Ragatz’s seat, Clayton J. Vernon, has dropped out of the race, although his name still appears on the ballot.

The three incumbents contend their school board record is outstanding. Moreover, they say, the challengers have avoided discussion of broad school-related issues and have blown the Hardman issue out of proportion.

‘Second Thoughts’

During a candidates forum last week, Schwarz said he made the best decision he could have made at the time.

“Yes, I have had second thoughts,” he said. “Anybody sitting in elective office would be a fool or an ostrich not to learn from this.”

The board had to reach a compromise, he said, because “there was not a monolithic public opinion.” The board had to weigh the considerations of the players--most of whom supported Hardman--as well as those of parents, Schwarz said.

Ragatz and Vickers maintain that the board had to establish policy where there was no precedent.

“This was not a policy for Cedrick Hardman, it was a policy of support for any school district employee,” Ragatz said.

But the six challengers have said that they disagree with allowing an admitted drug user to interact with students.

“What we really have here is a referendum on the Cedrick Hardman issue,” said James C. Kreder, the owner of a small business who is running for Ragatz’s seat. After the recall election, he said, the matter should be put to rest.

Time for Other Matters

The other challenger for Ragatz’s seat also said it was time to move on.

“It’s time to put the dissension behind us,” said Kathleen Jones, assistant vice chancellor of communications at UC Irvine. She complained that educational priorities have been set aside because the district has been enmeshed in controversy.

A similar theme was sounded by Vickers, who said the challengers should be directing their energies at something that can help the district, not divide it.

“We have a difference of opinion, OK, but that doesn’t justify a recall,” Vickers said.

Candidate Triebwasser argues that Hardman had only been in a rehabilitation program for three weeks when the board allowed him to coach again. Triebwasser said many physicians believe it takes at least a year for a drug user to adhere to a world without drugs.

Coach Criticized

Vickers’ other challenger, Santa Ana school teacher John E. Bachman, said he believes Hardman should have completed his drug treatment and then reapplied for his job.

The challengers for Schwarz’s seat, Laguna Print owner Thomas R. Davis and business representative Philip J. Kams, also disagree with the current board’s stance on drug use.

“I think it’s a bad, terrible thing that has happened,” Kams said, referring to the board’s action on Hardman.

Davis said the public outcry demonstrates that Laguna Beach is ready for a new school board.

Members of CURE have decided not to endorse individual challenging candidates, CURE member Gay Pivaroff said.

Other Issues

“The group as a whole felt they’re all qualified,” she said. Instead, CURE has encouraged the electorate to vote yes on the recall, she said. Pivaroff is among the critics who have repeatedly said the election is not just about the Hardman issue. Pivaroff has charged that the challenged incumbents have hurt the school system by usurping the authority of school district Supt. Dennis Smith and other school system staff members.

Smith has tried to keep a low profile during the yearlong controversy. He has said that the most important thing is to keep the schools operating smoothly and productively. In a recent interview, he said the school system has functioned well despite the furor, and he credited both sides with keeping their dispute out of the schools.

“In the past year there have been differences of opinion, and people have taken different sides, so there’s been some discord,” Smith said. “But people have risen above that and have dealt with it on a political plane.”

He added, “We really see the air being completely clear after the (election). Then the divisiveness will be behind us.”

Times staff writer Bill Billiter contributed to this story.

LAGUNA SCHOOL ELECTION CANDIDATES Opponents of the Laguna Beach Unified School District trustees have targeted three of them for a recall vote on Tuesday. Voters may vote yes or no to recall each incumbent and then may opt for a successor to that seat, who would assume the office if the recall is successful. Newly elected trustees would serve a term of office depending on how much time the incumbent had left. INCUMBENTS Carl E. Schwarz, left, 51, 12-year Laguna Beach resident. Six years on school board. Teaches political science at Fullerton College. Married with five children. Involved in several educational committees at the college. Janet S. Vickers, center, 40, 23-year Laguna Beach resident. Married with one child. Six years on school board. Former director of a Laguna Beach preschool. Has taught private art classes. Charlene Ragatz, 44, school board president, 18-year Laguna Beach resident, married with two children. Is coordinator for Orange County “Pro for Kids,” a substance abuse prevention and education program for high schools. Trustee since 1983 and is up for reelection in November. SCHWARZ SEAT CANDIDATES Thomas R. (Tim) Davis, left, 45, a 30-year resident of Laguna Beach. Married with one child. Taught at Thurston School in Laguna Beach for 14 years. Now owns and operates Laguna Print. Philip J. Kams, 54, owner of a manufacturer’s representative company. Married with one child. Six-year resident. Recently formed a Chamber of Commerce job-finding committee to help high school students obtain jobs at local businesses. VICKERS SEAT CANDIDATES Harvey S. Triebwasser, left, 44, pediatrician specializing in adolescent medicine at Kaiser Perm- anente in Bellflower. Married with one child; 10-year resident of the city. Is working on an AIDS curriculum for the school district. John E. Bachman, 44, a schoolteacher in Santa Ana. Married with five children and 2-year resident of the city. Has been a lifeguard supervisor for 18 years in Laguna Beach and is the coach of the Sea Lions Swim Team. RAGATZ SEAT CANDIDATES Kathleen Jones, left, 45, assistant vice chancellor for communications at UC Irvine, where she has worked for seven years. Married with two children and 18-year Laguna Beach resident. James G. Kreder, 49, owner of Synergistic Planning Corp. of Laguna Beach and 16-year resident of the city. Married with two children. Has served on city committees and is on Chamber of Commerce board.