3 Challengers Enter Torrance Race; Growth Is Major Issue

Three challengers will square off against three incumbent Torrance City Council members in a municipal election next March that will be dominated by debate about development and its impact on the community.

A last-minute rush of activity Thursday afternoon just before the New Year’s Eve filing deadline set the stage for the March 8 showdown at the polls.

Opposition to the three incumbents--George Nakano, Tim Mock and Dan Walker--surfaced Wednesday when Brian Hannon, 23, entered the race.

Hannon, assistant editor of the South Bay New Times, a biweekly community newspaper published in Torrance, said he was concerned that otherwise there would be no election.

“I didn’t like the comments made in the paper that nobody is running because everything is OK,” Hannon said in an interview. “I’m concerned with the traffic, overdevelopment, the airport, what’s left of the Madrona Marsh,” he said. “I think I’ll be a new face and bring some new ideas to the city and the council.”

Concerned About Growth

Late Thursday afternoon, another candidate, Suzanne Fermano, 34, entered the race. A human resources manager for Tandem Computers in Culver City and wife of a Torrance police officer, Fermano said she, too, is concerned about growth.

“I believe our city is reaching the point where there is just no more room for growth,” Fermano said. “If we do, in fact, continue with that, we have to analyze if it is completely necessary.”

Only minutes before the 5 p.m. filing deadline, Tony Kriss, director of the Torrance-Lomita-Carson Board of Realtors and an unsuccessful candidate in the 1986 council election, also filed the required 20 signatures and paid the $300 fee to seek a council seat.

An outspoken advocate of property owner rights, Kriss, 60, led opposition to the council’s decision in December to tighten controls on development of small apartment and condominium projects on certain residential lots throughout the city.

He said his candidacy was motivated by “my concern for property rights, the traffic problems created by planning practices, the housing shortage and housing cost in the city.”

“The citizens have an opportunity and should take the time to think about whether they are pleased with what the council has done,” he said.

All of the incumbents said they intend to defend their records in office.

Nakano, 52, is seeking reelection to a second four-year council term. An assistant principal of an Inglewood elementary school, he was the first resident of Japanese descent to be elected to the Torrance council.

Part of Majority Bloc

Mock, 33, a paralegal for a Long Beach law firm, also is running for a second term. Both Nakano and Mock are part of the majority bloc on the council that usually has been sympathetic to neighborhood concerns about growth and traffic.

Walker, 48, a Torrance public relations consultant and 10-year council veteran, is seeking his fourth term.

A former Democrat who became a Republican three years ago, Walker has made no secret of his interest in running for the state Assembly seat now held by Assemblyman Gerald N. Felando (R-San Pedro). Felando is expected to run for Congress this year if Rep. Daniel E. Lungren (R-Long Beach) wins confirmation by the Legislature as state treasurer.

Walker, who has been more supportive of development interests, has amassed a substantial campaign war chest for his expected legislative race this spring, although he says reelection to the City Council is his first priority.

Holding the election will cost Torrance taxpayers an estimated $103,000. Candidates run at large and the top three vote-getters win. The council meets weekly and members are paid $100 a month.