Local Elections : 89 Campaign for Seats on School, College Boards

Eighty-nine candidates, including 27 incumbents, are seeking election to seats on 16 Southeast Los Angeles County school and community college boards on Tuesday.

Issues range from the seemingly trivial--like the need for towels after gym class at one school--to more weighty problems of drug abuse, spending and fluctuating school enrollments.

In three districts--El Rancho Unified School District, Little Lake City School District and Lowell Joint School District--incumbents are not being challenged.

Here is a rundown of key races:

ABC Unified School District--Twelve candidates are competing for four board seats, including two vacated seats. Two longtime members of the ABC Board of Education, Elizabeth Hutcheson and Dianne Xitco, are not seeking reelection.

Homer Lewis, 56, is seeking his third four-year term on the seven-member board. Lewis, a project engineer with TRW in Redondo Beach, said he “will work to ensure that the superintendent has the staff and resources needed to be successful. I will also work to increase the awareness that ABC is a great district to live and work in.”

He said he will spend about $3,000, most of it his own.

Incumbent Richard Arthur, 59, is a teacher at Jefferson High School in Los Angeles and a part-time professor of education at Chapman College in Orange.

Arthur said he is running against candidates “who sound like they are anti-teacher. I’m pro-teacher.” He said he wants to raise salaries of ABC teachers. He criticized “people who want to be rubber stamps for the administration.”

He said he would spend about $2,000 in the campaign.

Carlos Navejas, 37, is endorsed by Arthur, who says Navejas would be independent of the district administration.

Navejas served as a city councilman in Hawaiian Gardens between 1976 and 1980. His wife, Kathleen Mello Navejas, is currently vice mayor of Hawaiian Gardens.

Navejas, a real estate broker, said he is concerned that no one from Hawaiian Gardens is on the board. He said if he is elected he will focus on having money spent by the district to upgrade the schools the Hawaiian Gardens.

The ABC Federation of Teachers has endorsed Navejas, who said he will spend about $2,500 on his campaign.

Julie Hanson, 43, a medical assistant for a Cerritos family physician, also was endorsed by the teacher’s union. She has been active in school affairs for 14 years, especially the district’s Parent-Teacher Organization. All of her children, now grown, attended ABC schools, Hanson said.

Combating drug and alcohol abuse among students is her No. 1 priority, Hanson said. She is president of the Cerritos chapter of ICAAN, which stands for Involved Community Against Alcohol and Narcotics.

Hanson said she probably will spend about $5,000 on her campaign.

Bob Hughlett, 40, director of programs for the disabled at Cerritos College, said he is calling for long-range planning for the ABC district.

John H. Moore, 39, said the most important issues are the threats of alcohol, drugs and gang activities.

“I’m not trying to alarm anyone. But I think a little preventive maintenance would help,” said Moore, an account manager with Oscar Mayer Food Co. in Los Angeles.

Moore is vice president of Involved Community Against Alcohol and Narcotics. He said if he is elected he would call for more campus security and increased patrols by the Sheriff’s Department. He said he expects to spend about $2,500.

Dixie Primosch, 42, is running for the school board for the first time after years of active involvement in district affairs. Primosch is a long-time critic of the district administration. She was a member of a group of parents--including candidates Jim Weisenberger and George Medina--who requested a county Grand Jury investigation last year into alleged mismangement in the district.

The Grand Jury turned up no evidence of wrongdoing but suggested the appropriate forum for such complaints about the district was the ballot box.

Primosch said her main issue is the district’s lack of a master plan. “There is no plan in fiscal, capital improvement or policy planning,” she said. “A five-year master plan would evaluate each school, look at the strengths and weaknesses.”

Primosch runs a home computer programming system with her husband, Tom. She has raised $4,186, according to the latest financial statements filed with the county registrar-recorder’s office.

George Medina, 50, is running for the board for the second time, after an unsuccessful attempt two years ago. Medina, president of his own audit and management consultant firm in Buena Park, is critical of the district for what he calls “a lack of accountability.”

He said “a responsible board would hold the administration accountable. There is a lack of leadership on the board.” Medina said he would call for a review of all fiscal policies to identify unnecessary expenditures and push to develop a system to measure the productivity of administrators. He said he also would allocate more money in the budget for textbooks and supplies.

Medina had raised more than $3,800, according to the latest campaign financial statements.

Jim Weisenberger, 39, said that although he has been linked with Primosch and Medina in criticizing the district’s management polices, he is not running on a slate of any kind.

“I’m running by myself. I intend to continue to do so,” said Weisenberger, who is supervisor of operations for the Southern California Edison Co. plant in El Segundo.

Weisenberger said he is calling for sound financial planning and management. He said a deficit had placed the district in a “precarious position.”

Weisenberger had raised more than $3,800, according to financial disclosure statements.

A. Cecy Groom, 41, a public accountant who owns a management consultant firm in Cerritos, said she is campaigning on accountability. The district, she said, has an obligation to let “taxpayers know how their money is being spent, to keep the budget simple so a lay person can understand” where the money is going.

According to the latest financial reports, Groom had raised more than $6,000.

Sally Morales Havice, 49, an English professor at Cerritos College, is making her second attempt at the board. She ran in 1979.

“We should educate the children through the schools on the dangers of drugs. If elected, I would investigate putting some type of hot line on campuses to allow students to call to get help and information,” Havice said.

Bertrand Dionne, 66, a long-time critic of the board, ran unsuccessfully for the board in 1985. He said he does not think he has a chance of winning.

“I attended board meetings for a year and a half. They ignored me. The board is essentially a rubber stamp and the hired hand. The superintendent runs the board,” said Dionne, an aerospace engineer for McDonnell Douglas in Long Beach.

Dionne said he is going door-to-door distributing leaflets left over from his last attempt at the board. He said he did not have money to run a campaign this time.

There are 42,711 registered voters in the ABC district, which covers all of Cerritos and portions of Artesia, Hawaiian Gardens, La Mirada, Lakewood, Long Beach, Norwalk and Santa Fe Springs.

Bellflower Unified School District--There are six candidates running for two seats. The district covers Bellflower and the northern section of Lakewood.

The candidates are John Heintzelman, 55; Phyllis John, 41; Dave Manuel, 20; Jay Gendreau, 29; Harvey Conn, 41; and Mike Lord, 41.

Gendreau, endorsed by the Bellflower Education Assn., a teacher union, is seeking his third term. He says that “for the first time I don’t see any burning issues in our district. Things are running pretty smoothly. There are no major budget problems. It’s kind of spooky it’s so quiet.”

Gendreau, the only incumbent, has endorsed John, saying she has been more active in the district than the others.

He took critical shots at three other challengers, however. Heintzelman, Gendreau said, will have to explain why his daughter attends Valley Christian High School, rather than a Bellflower district school. And he questioned Lord’s and Conn’s affiliations with the downtown Bellflower Hosanna Chapel.

Gendreau says that if Lord and Conn, who ran two years ago as members of a Hosanna Chapel slate, “took power I wouldn’t want my kids to go to school. I have a problem with people who express fundamentalist and narrow views about what education should be.”

Heintzelman, a business manager for TRW, whose wife Sandra is a teacher at Ramona Elementary, said he is running because it is time for a change. “I think the opening of the new Craig Williams (Elementary) School was terribly disjointed. It was opened prematurely. Also, the board has seen fit to ignore CAP scores at the third-grade level. They are far below the standard for Los Angeles County. The maintenance program has not been cost-effective.”

Heintzelman defends sending his daughter to a private school. “Both to myself and my daughter, getting a Christian education was an important thing. You can only get that in a private school,” he said. “If that implies that I’m not interested in public schools, well that’s blatantly ridiculous.”

Conn, who serves on the Bellflower Planning Commission, is Hosanna’s administrator. Lord once ran a bookstore affiliated with the church.

Both have denied being part of a fundamentalist slate, but neither candidate could be reached for further comment.

Manuel, 20, says his youth and strong ties to the district give him an edge because “students feel they can relate to me.” Manuel is a partner in New Century Projects Inc. in Anaheim, which organizes conventions, banquets and exhibits.

According to Manuel, the major issue is Gendreau’s “denial of any problems in the district. He thinks everything is hunky-dory. I don’t agree. I am a graduate of those schools. I spent 13 years there. I don’t feel I was properly prepared for the real world. That is a reflection of the policies of the school board. I’m doing well but no thanks to the schools.”

John, a homemaker, has been endorsed by the teacher’s union, the Bellflower Education Assn. She was PTA president for five years, serving on the district Budget Advisory Council and Financial Committees and on several other district-related organizations. “I know this district and how it works,” John said.

None of the candidates has reported raising more than $500.

The Bellflower Unified School District has an enrollment of 9,334 students.

Downey Unified School District--Only two of the four trustees up for reelection face challengers.

Incumbent D. Clayton Mayes is opposed by Mary Tesoriero, a substitute teacher, in a strongly contested race for the district’s Area 3 seat.

The race for the Area 4 seat pits incumbent Donald E. LaPlante, elected in 1979, against James M. Elsasser, a Downey police detective.

Mayes, 45, a Los Angeles Police Department captain, was first elected to the board in 1974. He counts as his accomplishments the district’s solid scores in California Assessment Program tests, and the introduction last year of an anti-drug education program in the district’s elementary schools. The program is called DARE--Drug Awareness Resistance Education.

(Except for sixth-grade scores in reading and math, district students tested as well or better than similar districts in the 1986-87 CAP, according to district reports.)

Mayes said one of his tasks if reelected will be to guide the district’s efforts to renovate aging school buildings.

As of Oct. 17, Mayes had raised $2,426 in contributions--all smaller than $100. He has spent $6,025, including $3,699 in unpaid bills.

Tesoriero, 40, has worked as a substitute teacher for Downey Unified for nine years. She said she also helps run a pair of family-owned restaurants in Downey and Norwalk.

If elected, Tesoriero said she will try to accelerate district efforts to renovate old school buildings. She also said she will attend board meetings without fail. Tesoriero has attacked Mayes for missing, being late at or leaving early from 14 of 25 board meetings between July, 1986, and June, 1987.

Mayes counters that he has attended 97% of about 100 school board meetings since he was last elected four years ago. He said he missed two meetings because he was out of the state on vacation and a third because of a birthday celebration. He said he has arrived late at board meetings because he is representing the district at civic functions.

Tesoriero has raised $8,605, and spent $7,909. Her contributions include $1,200 from the Downey Education Assn., the district’s teachers association.

In the Area 4 race, LaPlante also counts DARE as one of his accomplishments. And he said he is proud of proposing the district’s Project Success, an assistance program for students with academic problems.

LaPlante, 32, said he would work to improve academic achievement by all students, and to provide a drug-free environment for students.

LaPlante is mananger of a printing company. He has received $980 in donations, and spent $1,182. LaPlante’s contributions include $100 from Downey Trustee Margo Hoffer.

Elsasser, 41, said renovation of the district’s buildings would be one of his top priorities. He also said he would like to see the district provide more industrial arts classes for students who are not bound for college.

Elsasser has received $1,353 in campaign contributions and spent $538.

Hoffer, 48, is running unopposed in Trustee Area 2. She was elected to the board in 1979. Board member D. Mark Morris, 40, is the sole candidate in Trustee Area 6. He joined the board in 1982.

About 13,000 students are enrolled in the Downey unified district, which has 11 elementary schools, four middle schools, two high schools, and one continuation high school. The district serves Downey and small portions of South Gate, Bellflower and Bell Gardens. Trustees receive a monthly stipend of $400.

East Whittier City School District--Two seats are being contested by four candidates. One-term incumbent Carl Moore is not seeking reelection, but board member Fred Campbell is seeking a third term. Challengers are engineer Bob Atwood, businessman C. Randy King and customer service representative Mary Ann Wojtysiak, all of Whittier.

East Whittier teachers have been working without a contract since Aug. 31. Negotiations are deadlocked over salaries and whether to require all teachers to join the union. Cuts in state funding are forcing the district to phase out school buses and eliminate after-school sports.

The district has an enrollment of 6,400 students in kindergarten through the eighth grade.

Atwood, 48, said the district needs to improve working conditions and salaries for teachers, but did not specify how much of a pay increase he would support. Atwood is a former Parent-Teacher Assn. president, former president of a school site council that determines how school improvement money will be spent and has served on several school committees.

Campbell, 45, said he wants the district to continue its improvements in curriculum and test scores. He declined to comment on the teacher salary issue, saying it is still under negotiation. Campbell has served eight years on the East Whittier board. He is president of a security electronics business in Santa Fe Springs.

King, 40, wants the district to work with the YMCA to expand an existing after-school program to include more children and pay teachers extra for tutoring. He also said the City Council should provide a subsidy when the district cannot afford transportation for students and supports a 4% to 6% pay raise for teachers.

King, who designs and sells video and industrial broadcast equipment, is a member of the YMCA child care committee, an alternate member for a school site council and has served on an advisory committee for community college districts.

Wojtysiak, 41, criticized the school board for not setting aside money for teacher raises. She favors at least a 4% salary increase for teachers and supports making transportation available to all students who face safety hazards such as busy streets on their way to school. Wojtysiak is a former PTA president, president of the East Whittier Educational Foundation, former site council president and has served on several district committees.

Atwood, the only candidate to report spending more than $500 in the race, has received $1,700 in contributions and spent $1,575 through Oct. 17.

Montebello Unified School District--Five candidates are vying for two seats in the financially pressed Montebello district.

The Board of Education was forced to make $7.3 million in funding cuts before it approved the district’s $109.9-million budget for the current school year. Those cuts included increasing the student-teacher ratio in fifth- through eighth-grade classrooms from 31 students per teacher to about 32:1. The board also eliminated after-school recreation programs.

Incumbent Arthur M. Chavez, manager of a canned food distribution center, said he would like to see the student-teacher ratio lowered and the after-school programs restored if the district receives more state funding in the future. Chavez, 45, said he and other school board members must work harder to lobby the Legislature and governor for more money.

Chavez became a board member in 1978. He has reported raising $6,295 and spending $2,341. The contributions included $1,000 from the Montebello Teachers Assn. Chavez did not meet the filing deadline for the second reporting period, which ended Oct. 17, according to a spokesman for the county registrar-recorder’s office.

Board member Willard G. Yamaguchi was elected to the board in 1983 and is seeking reelection to his second term.

Yamaguchi, a former math and journalism teacher, is attending law school and works as a law clerk. He said getting more state funding is a top priority. Yamaguchi said he would like to see the district’s after-school recreation programs restored when there is enough money.

Yamaguchi, 30, has raised $2,250. His contributions include $1,000 from the Montebello Teachers Assn. Yamaguchi also did not file his second campaign statement.

Paul Lopez, a retired district teacher and administrator, said his years of experience would lend stability and expertise to the board. He said he would emphasize strong basic-education programs, as well as reducing classroom size.

Lopez, 62, reported raising $3,200. Lopez did not file a second-period campaign statement.

Bobbie Clark Odou, 59, said if she were elected she would like to see the district place more emphasis on the three R’s. Odou, a community volunteer, has raised $1,691 and spent $698.

Robert S. Preciado, a professional musician who also manages a family welding business, said he would want to lower the recently raised teacher-student ratio. Preciado, 37, has received $1,669 in loans and contributions. He has spent $2,134, including $467 in unpaid bills. Preciado loaned himself $1,375 to run for office.

The district has 27 elementary, intermediate and high schools with an enrollment of about 31,500. The district serves all or parts of Montebello, Bell Gardens, Commerce, Downey, Monterey Park, Pico Rivera and Rosemead, as well as unincorporated areas of South San Gabriel and East Los Angeles. Board members receive a $600 monthly stipend.

Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District--Eight candidates are competing for three seats. The candidates include two incumbents seeking their fourth terms. Two-term board member Marge Beckman chose not to run again.

Among the challengers are two retired district administrators who--if elected--could chip away at the board’s support of Supt. Bruce Newlin’s policies. Both contestants, former personnel director William M. Campbell and former associate superintendent Bruce B. Butler, have criticized programs they contend are more attention-getting than worthwhile. Both have picked up the support of the local teachers’ union, which is locked in a protracted salary dispute with the 18,000-student district.

Sal Ambriz, 30, of Norwalk has also been endorsed by the teacher’s association. A financial analyst for Hughes Aircraft, Ambriz says he has encountered considerable community interest in reviving middle schools for seventh and eighth graders. They were phased out in 1978, and Ambriz thinks the board should examine the feasibility of reopening them.

This is William J. Bodell’s second campaign for a board position. The 23-year-old insurance agent from La Mirada ran unsuccessfully two years ago. A graduate of local schools, Bodell contends the district does not place sufficient emphasis on college preparatory courses, steering students instead to vocational courses.

Butler, 67, of La Mirada, retired a year ago after 38 years as a business administrator for the district. He argues that the district needs to scrutinize the cost-effectiveness of new programs that only touch a portion of its students. While he refused to give specific examples, he also asserted that the board in recent years has improperly discussed matters in closed session that should have been aired in public, violating the state’s open-meeting law.

Campbell, 60, complained that the district wants “to be a flagship school district with all kinds of flashy programs” that benefit relatively few students. The La Mirada resident cited the PALS literacy program, which uses computers to instruct about 90 high school students. On another matter, he maintained that the school board lacks an overall spending plan for the money it is getting from the sale of surplus property. Campbell retired in July after 35 years with the district, the last 15 of them as personnel director.

Responding to some of her opponents’ criticisms, board president Lucille Colln, of Norwalk said programs such as PALS are funded by outside grants, costing the district little or nothing. “We’re really in the forefront” of innovative programming, declared Colln, 62. She added that she would like to continue to work for school programs combating truancy, and drug and alcohol abuse.

Sheila S. Gibbons, a 28-year-old Norwalk resident and first-grade teacher in Long Beach, said she would like to encourage smaller class sizes, as well as strengthen programs aimed at the average student. Moreover, she believes that as a working teacher, she could add a valuable perspective to the board.

Incumbent Nancy Jenkins, 55, of La Mirada defends the board’s record, maintaining that such district programs as the Writing to Read project are improving the quality of local education. Introduced to about two-thirds of the district’s elementary pupils, the program uses computers to teach youngsters to read.

A registered nurse who teaches nursing and health in Downey’s adult education program, Ruth I. Riley ran for the school board two years ago. Riley, 64, of Norwalk, says local students need more computer training and more health instruction. She also advocates extending the school day by 30 minutes.

South Whittier School District--Two incumbents and one challenger are running for two positions. Jesse A. Aguirre is seeking a second term and Octavio (Toby) Chavez is seeking his first full term after being elected to fill an unexpired term in 1985. The challenger is Cindy Mendoza, a Whittier homemaker.

South Whittier has 3,700 students in kindergarten through eighth grade and is more than 50% Latino.

Aguirre, 69, said he wants to see improved scores on student achievement tests and wants a higher level of state funding for bilingual education programs. He cited his experience as an accountant and stock broker as important in helping the district stay solvent. Aguirre has been a board member for three years.

Cindy Mendoza, 33, said the district has placed too much emphasis on bilingual education and neglected the needs of average and high-achieving children. She also wants the district to resume providing towels for physical education students who take showers at South Whittier Intermediate School.

Chavez could not be reached for comment.

All candidates reported spending less than $500 in the race.

Whittier Union High School District--Incumbent Harward A. Stearns and three others are campaigning for two seats. Board President A. Roy Salas is not seeking reelection after two terms.

Challengers are Joe A. Duardo, a retired laser engineer and member of the South Whittier School Board; El Rancho High School teacher Benjamin Rich and dental hygienist Cathy Warner, all of Whittier.

Faced with decreasing state funding due to anticipated declining enrollment, the Whittier Union district has engaged in deficit spending the last few years. In August, the board voted to cut $625,000 from the district’s annual budget, eliminating 19 classified employee positions. In addition, the earthquake left the district with $1.5 million in damages. The Whittier Union district includes six high schools and one adult education center in Whittier and Santa Fe Springs, with a total enrollment of 9,200.

Duardo, 56, said balancing the district’s budget would be his priority. He also wants the district to study college acceptance rates of its students and address the growing dropout problem. Duardo said his experience an an officer of the California School Boards Assn. has made him knowledgeable about how to increase revenue for the district at the state level.

Rich, 32, said the board has been ineffective in lobbying the Legislature and the public to support increased school funding. He suggests holding more public meetings and possibly using the area’s public access cable television station to broadcast information about the district. Rich, a teacher for six years, said he opposed the board’s $625,000 budget cut.

Stearns, 55, a Whittier lawyer, has served six years on the Whittier Union board. Stearns supports improving the curriculum for students not bound for college, along with increasing standards. He also would like better programs for students learning English as a second language. Stearns has 21 years of school board experience, including terms on the East Whittier and Lowell Joint school district boards.

Warner, 44, a mother of seven, said if elected she would be the only school board member with children attending school in the district. She emphasized the need for fiscal responsibility and supports developing programs to help lower-achieving students. Warner is past president of the East Whittier Educational Foundation, has been active in the PTA and is cultural arts commissioner for the city of Whittier.

Duardo and Stearns reported spending less than $500 on their campaigns. Rich reported contributions of $1,953 and expenses of $1,613 through Oct. 17. Warner has reported a $730 campaign loan, $1,121 in contributions and expenses of $1,888.

Whittier City School District--Two seats will be on the ballot, with incumbents Carolyn S. Estrada and Mary L. Boogrove being challenged by Ralph M. Cortinas and Charles (Bud) Hurley.

Whittier City has an enrollment of 5,700 students in grades kindergarten through eighth.

Boogrove said she is seeking a third term because of her continuing interest in the quality of schools, and supports maintaining a conservative budget. She is past president of the Whittier City board, and has been a PTA president.

Cortinas, 47, said he decided to run for the board after being disappointed in the education the district provided for his three children. Cortinas, a data management specialist, said he has no experience in education but could offer a “fresh approach” to policy making.

Estrada, 45, said board members need to be more active in lobbying the Legislature for increased funding. She supports the development of programs to identify potential dropouts at a younger age and increasing the accountability of the board, school administration, teachers and staff. Estrada, a high school teacher in the Montebello Unified School District, is seeking a third term after serving eight years on the East Whittier board.

Hurley, 38, said a teacher should be on the board because expertise in working with students and parents is often neglected in establishing policy. He said the board should work to reduce class size and improve bilingual education programs. Hurley also was an administrator of a private school for five years.

No candidate reported spending more than $500 in the race.

Cerritos Community College District--There are 10 candidates, including three incumbents, competing for four seats. One of the four seats is vacant because Dale Hardeman, president of the board, resigned in July.

Longtime board member Harold T. Tredway, 68, is taking his usual low-key approach to reelection. Tredway, who has been on the seven-member board for 22 years, said he will neither campaign nor seek endorsements.

“I haven’t spent one cent. I’ve got my message through at candidate forums. If my record doesn’t warrant me getting reelected, I will not,” said Tredway, who lives in Downey.

Tredway is an attorney who retired in 1984 from a Downey firm where he was a partner.

Like most of the candidates in the community college contest, Tredway said he is concerned about enrollment at the college. Enrollment is 18,060 for the fall semester, while several years ago it was over 23,000.

Tredway said enrollment declines are a statewide problem, but he said Cerritos College is vigorously recruiting minority students.

Incumbent Katie Norbak, 59, has been on the board for 17 years. Norbak is a supervisor in the county clerk’s office of Superior Court in Orange County. She lives in La Mirada.

“We have a good school. We are sound academically and financially,” Norbak said.

As a way of improving the enrollment picture, she said the college will consider starting the fall semester later in the year, in hopes of picking up more high school graduates and students who did not enter four-year colleges. Presently, the Cerritos College fall starting date is in August when potential students are attending other summer sessions, working or are still attempting to get into four-year colleges that start later. Those students who are not accepted at four-year colleges or are no longer employed could apply to Cerritos with a later fall date, Norbak said.

Incumbent Barbara J. Hayden, 47, of Downey has been on the board for two years. She filled the unexpired term of a board member who resigned. She manages a small family-owned business which manufactures casings for bullet cartridges.

Hayden said she also is pushing for the later fall enrollment plan that the board is expected to discuss soon. Hayden lives in Downey.

Hayden to date has spent $3,750 on her campaign. She said she intends to spend less than $5,000.

Dorothy L. Carfrae, 36, is a lawyer who practices and lives in Downey. To improve enrollment, Carfrae said the college should start an aggressive marketing program to bring students to the campus and keep them there through counseling.

Carfrae has spent nearly $1,500. She said she does not intend to spend more than $4,000.

Dan K. Fox, 30, a doctor of chiropractic with a practice in Downey, also lives in Downey. Fox said he intends to spend less than $500. Fox said he also supports a full-time marketing program “to keep the college’s name out front” before the public “to let people know about the college benefits and qualities.” He says the college’s part-time marketing program now is insufficient.

Ben Pendleton, 26, of Bellflower, is running for the board for the first time. He said he graduated from Cerritos College in 1985. He said he is working toward a bachelor of arts degree in industrial arts at California State University, Long Beach.

Pendleton said he would like the college to establish an associate of science degree “that would be more geared toward the science than liberal arts.”

Pendleton said he expects to spend less than $500.

Ruth Banda, 39, is coordinator of the early outreach program at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

She said she would like Cerritos College officials to become more involved in community affairs. “Networking with other agencies would better serve and promote college programs,” she said.

Banda lives in Bellflower. She has raised more money than any of the candidates, $7,260. She has spent $5,939.

Ralph C. Kephart, 44, is a land title engineer with Chicago Title Insurance Co. in Pasadena. He lives in Bellflower.

“I’m committed to community college education. I grew up in a small town in Florida and the four-year college system was out of reach for me, both academically and financially,” Kephart said. After attending a community college, he went on to a university.

Kephart said he also would push for a more aggressive marketing program for the college.

He said he expects to spend about $3,600 on his campaign.

Stewart Luce, 48, manager of composites program planning at Northrop Advanced Systems Division in Pico Rivera, ran unsuccessfully in a special election four years ago.

Luce, who lives in Bellflower, said he would push for more vocational training at Cerritos College.

“I think there should be a 50-50 emphasis, a balance, between vocational and academic training,” Luce said.

Luce said he expects to spend less than $500.

Richard S. Bukowiecki, a sergeant with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department assigned to the Norwalk substation, could not be reached for comment.

A spokesman for the department said Bukowiecki was vacationing outside the country.

There are 164,269 registered voters in the Cerritos Community College District, which covers Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Downey, portions of East Compton, East Whittier, Hawaiian Gardens, Lakewood, Long Beach, Norwalk, Santa Fe Springs and South Gate.

Rio Hondo Community College District--Four candidates are seeking election to the Area 4 seat vacated by incumbent Julio Fuentes who resigned after one term. The candidates are Angel Gabriel Obregon of Santa Fe Springs and Edward Ortell, Ralph Pacheco and Manuel R. Magana, all of Whittier.

Obregon said he would donate his $10,000 trustee salary to create a community scholarship fund. He wants to reassess the college’s counseling program, conduct further evaluations of student and faculty performance, and reform administrative policies to ensure accountability. Obregon, who works for Los Angeles City Atty. Jim Hahn and has worked for the California Court of Appeal.

Ortell, a research scientist, wants the college to focus on basic education as well as emerging technologies. Ortell said he supports drug-free schools and strong classroom discipline.

Pacheco said the college should improve its access to the community through the development of a stronger curriculum. He is the founder and president of a management consulting and training company, and has been a member of the state school superintendent’s advisory council. Pacheco also is a former city commissioner in Norwalk and has been on the executive board of the United Way’s Helpline youth counseling.

The Rio Hondo College Faculty Assn. has endorsed Pacheco and contributed $5,000 to his campaign.

Obregon reported a campaign loan of $1,000 and donations of $820, with expenses of $2,600 and $1,000 in unpaid bills. Magana has filed no financial disclosure forms. He could not be reached for comment.

Times staff writers Bettina Boxall, Mary Lou Fulton, Richard Holguin and Rita Pyrillis contributed to this report.