Candidates, Issues Set for April Elections

While it may not have the allure of the New Hampshire primary, Election Day in the San Gabriel Valley will allow voters to determine the fate of mayors, council members and several ballot issues.

Most communities will have at least a city council election on April 12. Here are capsule looks at the elections. Ages and occupations of candidates are listed unless they were not available from information filed with city clerks.

Arcadia

City Council incumbents Mary Young and Charles Gilb face two challengers for two seats. They are being opposed by Johanna A. M. Hofer, an environmentalist, and Charles Chivetta, an urban planning consultant. Both have been unsuccessful council candidates in previous elections.

Interest has centered on the race for city clerk, a position held for the last 32 years by Christine Van Maanen, who is retiring. Vying for the post, which pays $3,000 a month, are Stella Ross, a United Parcel Service employee; Joyce McCartney, who works for the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce; Deborah McLoughlin, a savings and loan manager, and June Alford, an employee in the Arcadia city clerk’s office.

Azusa

The race for mayor pits longtime rivals Eugene Moses, the 54-year-old incumbent, against Bruce Latta, a 37-year-old councilman who sponsored a resolution curtailing the mayor’s powers and banning Moses from the employee refrigerator at City Hall. The resolution has since been rescinded.

Latta will retain his council seat if his bid for mayor fails.

Incumbents James Cook, 35, and Lucio Cruz, 64, are seeking reelection to the City Council. Challengers for the two seats are Harry Stemrich, 57, a construction photographer; Tony Narajo, 28, a businessman; Conrad Bituin, 53, a businessman; Mike Falletta, 37, a planning commissioner and gas company employee, and Todd Baker, 23, a businessman.

City Clerk Adolf Solis, 57, and City Treasurer Robert Talley, 65, are unopposed.

Six months after voters rejected a development proposal and city buyout plan for the Azusa Greens Country Club, a related zoning measure is on the ballot. The proposal would prohibit anything but recreational uses for the golf course, which could further frustrate developer Johnny E. Johnson’s bid to sell or develop the property.

A second ballot measure would increase a tax the city charges private companies for the extraction and processing of rock. The tax would be increased from 6 to 8.8 cents per ton. The tax was first approved by the City Council in 1986, but a statewide proposition passed later that year requires that such taxes be approved by city residents.

“What has happened is we have to submit this to the voters, although it has already been in effect,” said Finance Director Geoff Craig. “The voters are totally unaffected by the tax.”

The City Council increased the tax to make it equal to what Irwindale charges, Craig said.

Baldwin Park

Mayor Leo W. King, 59, a retired county safety engineer, is being challenged by Councilman Jack D. White, 54, a law enforcement administrator, and Frank Mamone, a retired Defense Department employee who is making his fourth run for the office.

Both King and White, the city’s first elected mayor, were ousted from office in a March, 1987, recall election. They were returned to the council four months later by winning different offices: King successfully ran for mayor, and White won a seat on the council.

Candidates for the three City Council seats are incumbent Richard T. Gibson; Bette Lowes, 55, a homemaker who unsuccessfully ran for mayor in July; George T. Archibeque, 49, a steel industry superintendent; Eddie J. Brady, 58, a retiree who was previously self-employed, and Herchel Keyser, 56, a retired city employee.

Treasurer Ana Montenegro, 57, is unopposed. City Clerk Linda Gair is being challenged by Benita Romero, a general office clerk in private industry.

Bradbury

Two candidates are seeking the seat vacated in December by Jeff Alkana.

In Bradbury, council members are elected by district. Seeking to serve the remaining two years of Alkana’s term in the District 3 seat are Thomas Melbourn, an investigator for the district attorney’s office, and Ronald Cooney, a rancher.

Incumbents John Richards of District 1 and Audrey Hon of District 2 are unopposed. In District 4, Bill Dillard, the incumbent, has decided not to run. Candidate David Chamberlain, a member of the Planning Commission, is unopposed.

Claremont

No election will be held because no candidates are challenging Mayor Judy Wright and Councilman Bill McCready.

Covina

Two of the incumbents, Mayor Larry Straight and Councilman Jerry Edgar, have stepped down, leaving Charles Colver, 67, a U. S. Forest Service manager, the only incumbent in the race.

Other candidates for the three seats are Gary Coffey, 41, a county firefighter; Hugh F. Jenings, retired; Chris Lancaster, an administrative assistant; Chris Limahelu, 36, a businessman; John A. Rose, an administrator, and Thomas O’Leary, an attorney.

City Clerk Frieda C. Richardson and City Treasurer Alburt F. Braggins are unopposed.

El Monte

Mayor Don McMillen, 65, is being challenged by Art Platten, 56, a businessman and unsuccessful candidate for the 30th Congressional District in 1980.

Council incumbents D. L. (Dan) Morgan, 35, and Jack T. Crippen, 64, are being challenged for two seats by Robert (Mickey) Bojorquez; Patricia Wallach, 50, an educator, and Jim Marin, 35.

City Clerk Kathleen Kaplan and Treasurer Charles Roybal are unopposed.

Glendora

Four candidates are seeking two City Council seats.

The candidates are Councilman John Gordon, a businessman; Larry Glenn, a businessman and member of the city Planning Commission; David S. Bodley, a health claims manager, and Diane Vivian, a medical assistant.

Bodley has been endorsed by Glendora Pride, a new organization that seeks controlled growth in the midst of Glendora’s current development boom.

Councilman Kenneth Prestesater is not seeking reelection.

Industry

Mayor John Ferrero, 76, a farmer, and Councilman Dean M. Winn, 31, a barn and grounds manager at the Industry Hills Equestrian Center, are unopposed for two seats on the City Council. Winn was appointed to the council one year ago to fill a vacancy.

Irwindale

Four candidates, including two incumbents, are seeking two seats on the City Council.

The candidates are Councilman Arthur Tapia, 66, a retired barber; Councilman Jose Sal Castellanos, 53, a teacher at Rincon Junior High School; Salvador Hernandez, 49, co-owner of Utility Disposal in Irwindale; and Richard Chico, 47, general manager of Arciero Companies in Anaheim.

La Puente

Seven candidates, including incumbent Charles Storing, are running for two seats on the City Council.

Other candidates are Joe Alderete, head of the maintenance department for the Hacienda-La Puente Unified School District; Louis Perez, a sales engineer; William Campbell, a salesman; Manuel Garcia, a truck driver; Robert Stotelmeyer, a retired county employee, and Edward Castner, a member of the Planning Commission. Perez, Stotelmeyer and Castner have all run unsuccessfully for the council before.

Incumbent Gerald Singer is not seeking reelection.

La Verne

Mayor Jon Blickenstaff, 43, a school principal, is being challenged by Councilman Patrick J. Gatti, 45, owner of La Verne Florist.

Since his council term does not expire for two more years, Gatti would not have to leave office if he does not become mayor.

Councilmen Thomas R. Harvey, 41, a consultant, and Craig Walters, 32, a television producer, are both seeking reelection. Challenging them for the two council seats are Betty Jo Gillespie, a community volunteer, Douglas W. Grobecker, 66, a waste management engineer, and Randy Swaydan, 38, owner of Swaydan’s Jewelers in Glendora.

Monrovia

Interest is expected to focus on the race for mayor.

Incumbent Paul Stuart is not seeking reelection. The mayor’s position is being sought by Councilman Robert Bartlett, Andre Hindoyan, the owner of Le Papillon restaurant, and Don Trowbridge, a public relations consultant.

Bartlett, who has served on the council since 1974, has been one of the major forces behind Monrovia’s extensive redevelopment efforts on Huntington Drive and Myrtle Avenue. Bartlett has two years remaining on his council term, and if he wins the mayoral race, his council seat will be filled by appointment or special election.

Hindoyan, who is running for public office for the first time, contends that commercial development has created a lack of housing and that the emphasis should be on residential development.

Trowbridge, a political newcomer, could not be reached for comment. Incumbents Mary Wilcox and William Card are seeking reelection to the City Council. Opposing them are Patrick Hauk, a college student who has run unsuccessfully in every council election since 1982, and Lara Blakely, a social service administrator.

City Treasurer Louis Bernabo is being challenged by Louis Rab, a business manager, for the part-time position.

Monterey Park

After serving 12 years on the City Council, G. Monty Manibog has decided to seek the part-time position of city treasurer rather than run for reelection.

The only other candidate for treasurer is Louise Davis, a former mayor and a community volunteer worker. George Ige, treasurer since 1980, is not seeking reelection.

Eight candidates, including Councilman Cam Briglio, are running for two council seats.

The other candidates are Frank J. Arcuri, newsletter publisher; Betty Couch, a member of the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission; Judy Chu, a member of the Garvey School Board; Marie T. Purvis, a businesswoman; George Ristic, a retired school administrator and a member of the city’s Planning Commission; Victoria Tan Wu, an acupuncturist, and Alfred Balderrama, a businessman.

Four men filed for the part-time city clerk’s position now held on an interim basis by Warren K. Funk, the city’s support services manager. Former City Clerk Pauline Lemire resigned last year, complaining that she was overworked and had received insufficient support from the council.

Clerk candidates are Raul Barbosa, a consultant; David M. Barron, a communications representative; William D. Feliz, a businessman, and John R. Gerlach, a retired engineer.

Rosemead

Incumbents Pat Cleveland, Robert Bruesch and Jay Imperial are seeking reelection to the City Council. Others seeking the three seats are Jack Clair, owner of a small business; Robert De Cocker, a school administrator, and Louise Edens, a business education consultant.

De Cocker and Clair were unsuccessful candidates in a special City Council election last March. De Cocker finished second and Clair finished fourth in a field of eight candidates.

San Dimas

Councilmen Terry Dipple, 35, and Sandy McHenry, 39, and teacher Crescentia Bracci will be vying to succeed retiring Mayor Don Haefer. Since his council seat does not expire for two more years, McHenry will remain on the council if he does not win the mayor’s position.

Two council seats, those of Dipple and Curt Morris, will also be up for grabs. Morris, a 51-year-old attorney, is running for reelection against teacher Denis Bertone, 46, and marketing manager Ed Jones.

San Gabriel

The City Council election promises to be one of the hottest in the area.

Incumbents Jeanne Parrish, Edward Lara and Michael Falabrino are seeking reelection. Four of the five challengers for the three seats are backed by Citizens for Responsible Development, the grass-roots slow-growth group that has brought frequent turmoil to recent council meetings.

John Tapp, a certified public accountant; Frank Blaszcak, a public information officer for the county; James Castaneda, an engineer, and Ted Anderson, a human services adminstrator, are members of the citizens group. The fifth challenger is Arthur Almaguer, who describes himself as a company president and an educator.

This is the election that the citizens group has been itching for.

Flushed with the landslide success of its December ballot initiative, which has forced the city to adopt a one-year moratorium on most development, the group hopes to take control of the council with a three-man majority.

The only significant issue is expected to be development. The incumbents argue that they have maintained the fiscal integrity of the city by permitting measured growth. The challengers say that growth is out of control.

In the city’s other contested election, attorney John Janocic is challenging Treasurer Helen Achilles.

San Marino

Ben Austin, 70, a crusader against local tax increases, and two candidates he asked to join him on a slate are seeking the three City Council seats being contested.

Austin, a frequent critic of the council, successfully led opposition to two ballot measures that would have raised taxes for schools.

His running mates are John Duling, 72, an administrator at East Los Angeles College, and I. Leslie Cordell, 82, an accountant. Both men said that they share Austin’s conservative philosophy of restricting government spending and that he asked them run for office with him.

Other candidates are Mayor Rosemary Simmons, 56, a homemaker; W. Michael Johnson, 45, a business lawyer, and Eugene H. Dryden, 54, program manager for a major aerospace company.

Incumbents Andrew Hallum and Ben Hammon are not seeking reelection.

Sierra Madre

Mayor Andrew Roy Buchan and Councilman Sam D. Simpson will face four challengers when they seek reelection to the City Council.

The challengers are Helen Hernandez Snoddy, who does public relations work; James C. Hester, an attorney; George Maurer, a printing plant foreman, and Louise Irene Steele, a restaurant manager.

City Clerk Nancy Sue Shollenberger and Treasurer Douglas Berkshire are unopposed.

South El Monte

Mayor Albert Perez, 56, an engineer, is being challenged by John D. Gonzales, 53, a graphic arts finisher and former mayor.

City Councilmen Stanley Quintana, and Arthur Olmos, 53, are being challenged by Joe Jauregui, 47, a Valle Lindo school board member and employee of Crown City Plating; Carmella Montano Hopper, 64, a retired county employee, and Robert M. Rose, 61, a businessman and retired contractor. Two council seats are up for grabs.

South Pasadena

The withdrawal of Councilmen Robert Wagner and Lee Prentiss, the two most controversial members of the council, has left what promises to be a less colorful race.

The candidates for the two seats are Joseph Crosby, a retired businessman and banker; Evelyn Fierro, a journalist; Frank Novarro, a retired contractor who has served as a city planning commissioner, and Donald Jay Williams, an office worker.

Also on the South Pasadena ballot will be a utility tax initiative, which, unlike a previous one, has the unanimous support of all five members of the council.

The council agreed to place on the ballot a scaled-down version of the 4% utility tax that was defeated last month. The earlier version, a three-year measure with no cap on the amount of revenue it could have raised, was opposed by 55% of the voters.

The measure on the April 12 ballot has a two-year limit and would place a $1.2-million cap on the amount of revenue that could be raised.

Temple City

Incumbent Patrick Froehle is seeking one of two City Council seats in Temple City. Incumbent William Dennis has decided not to seek reelection.

Other candidates are Tom Desy, a printer; Robert Pitts, an acquisition agent, and Tom Breazeal, a management consultant. Pitts and Breazeal have previously run unsuccessfully for the council.

Walnut

City Councilwoman Bert Ashley is the only incumbent seeking reelection.

Councilmen Harvey Holden and Joe Hahn have decided to step down. In addition to Ashley, candidates for the three seats are Felipe Aguilar, an electrician and former member of the Baldwin Park City Council; Thomas Sykes, director of personnel for the City of Commerce; Ray Watson, a deputy sheriff who has run unsuccessfully for the council twice before; June Wentworth, a personnel commissioner, and Walter Doctor, an insurance broker.

West Covina

City Council members Kenneth I. Chappell and Nancy Manners are being challenged by five candidates seeking three seats. Other candidates are William (Bill) Tarozzi, 54, a retired businessman; George Castro, 37, a county Department of Children’s Services worker; Brad McFadden, 32, an attorney; James Schoonover, a city planning commissioner, and Severo Villamon Bantolo, 40, an instructor at Pacific Coast College in Whittier. Councilman Forest Tennant is not seeking reelection.

Staff writers Sue Avery, Mary Barber, Ashley Dunn, Berkley Hudson, Jeffrey Miller, Edmund Newton and Craig Quintana contributed to this story.