Elsewhere in the Valley : 1 Incumbent in 3 Loses as Electorate Favors Change

More than one-third of the incumbents running for reelection to city councils in the San Gabriel Valley were defeated Tuesday as voters repeatedly chose new faces over experienced office-holders.

Voters rejected all three incumbents running in San Gabriel, two in Azusa and Irwindale, and one each in Covina, Glendora, Monterey Park, Rosemead, Sierra Madre and West Covina.

In some cities, such as San Gabriel, it was clearly a case of slow-growth candidates defeating pro-development incumbents. But in other cities, the results were mixed, with voters electing candidates of differing philosophies.

Sierra Madre Mayor Andrew Roy Buchan, who won reelection to his second four-year term, said the problems encountered by incumbents may reflect a new attitude he detected among voters in this election.

“It was a lot different than four years ago,” Buchan said. “There’s a lot of things bothering people today--too much traffic and growth.”

He said voters were in a mood to take a chance on newcomers who would promise to deal with those problems, even though it seems to him that “you can’t stop civilization” or halt population growth.

In his own city, Buchan said, an incumbent who “had worked hard got killed by a guy with no record.”

Following are brief sketches on races in which incumbents were defeated or unusual circumstances marked the election.

West Covina

Longtime council member and current Mayor Kenneth I. Chappell was defeated as another incumbent and two challengers made successful bids for three seats on the City Council.

Chappell, who had been on the council for 20 years, finished fifth in a field of seven candidates.

Challenger William (Bill) Tarozzi, who rankled the incumbents by stressing the need for more fiscal responsibility, led the field with 3,500 votes, or 21.5%. Councilwoman Nancy Manners, who finished second with 3,126 votes, or 19.1%, will become the city’s first woman mayor. The mayor’s position is rotated among the five council members each year.

The third council seat went to Bradley J. McFadden, who garnered 3,035 votes, or 18.6%.

James E. Schoonover, a city planning commissioner, finished fourth with 2,944 votes, or 18%, followed by Chappell with 1,972, or 12.1%, George Castro with 1,173, or 7.2%, and Severo Villamon Bantolo with 607, or 3.7%.

City Treasurer Charlene Jung fended off challenger Maria Alvarez. Jung received 3,030 votes, or 56.9%, to Alvarez’s 2,299 votes, or 43.1%.

Rosemead

Councilman G. H. (Pat) Cleveland, who has served on the council for six years, was defeated in his bid for reelection.

The three seats were won by incumbents Robert Bruesch and Jay Imperial and challenger Robert De Cocker.

Cleveland, 80, said his age defeated him.

“I lost because my opponents used my age against me, telling people I am too old,” he said.

Bruesch was the top vote-getter, with 1,735 votes, or 23.1%, followed by De Cocker with 1,610, or 21.4%; Imperial with 1,394, or 18.6%; Cleveland with 1,214, or 16.2%; Jack Clair with 868, or 11.5%, and Louise Edens with 688, or 9.2%.

Sierra Madre

Voters retained Councilman Andrew Roy Buchan but replaced another incumbent, Sam D. Simpson, with George Maurer, a 65-year-old printing plant foreman who ran an aggressive campaign.

In fact, Simpson charged, Maurer’s campaign “was the dirtiest Sierra Madre has ever had.”

Simpson attributed his defeat to a four-page mailer Maurer sent to voters, headlined “Simpson’s vicious attacks,” after a sharp exchange between Maurer and Simpson at a candidates’ forum two weeks ago.

Maurer, who operated the city ambulance as a unpaid emergency medical technician for 14 years and served on the volunteer Fire Department for 19 years, said he had tried at the forum to explain why he had resigned from the Fire Department. Maurer said Simpson asked him: “Why don’t you tell the truth? You were eighty-sixed (fired) from the department.”

Maurer said he did not have time to reply to Simpson at the forum and decided to mail his side of the story to residents. Although he has had differences with others on the Fire Department, Maurer said, his resignation was voluntary.

Simpson said the exchange at the forum and Maurer’s subsequent mailer had a decisive effect on the election. “I lost the race because I popped off and told him (he) didn’t voluntarily resign,” Simpson said.

Simpson said the truth was that Maurer “was against everything the Fire Department did. They didn’t want him around.”

Buchan, who is serving as mayor and won his second term on the council, said he was surprised by Simpson’s defeat. He said Simpson had worked hard, “and I’m a little amazed at (his) getting turned down.”

In the election for two seats on the council, Maurer gained 1,015 votes, or 24.5%, to lead all candidates. Buchan received 943 votes, or 22.8%, and Simpson 774, or 18.7%. Trailing were the other candidates: James C. Hester, with 767 votes, or 18.5%; Helen Hernandez Snoddy with 507, or 12.2%, and Louise Irene Steele with 133, or 3.2%. Write-in candidate Jack Grotewiel got 36 votes.

San Dimas

Terry Dipple was elected mayor after 12 years on the City Council, receiving 2,160 votes, or 51.5%. It wasn’t easy, however, as Dipple had to overcome an aggressive campaign by Councilman Sandy McHenry.

McHenry questioned whether Dipple, who is a consultant to developers, would have conflicts of interest as mayor. Dipple repeatedly denied the charge, saying he had never had as a client any developer with a project in San Dimas.

McHenry placed second with 1,890 votes, or 45.1%. Having won the mayoral contest, Dipple said he now wants to mend fences with McHenry.

“I’d like to extend a hand in friendship to Sandy,” Dipple said. “He’s still on the council, and we’ll have to work together to solve the problems that face the City of San Dimas and I’m going to need his help.” McHenry still has two years remaining on his four-year council term.

San Marino

A slate of three challengers was beaten by more than 4 to 1 in a San Marino election that saw an exceptionally high voter turnout.

None of the challengers, Ben Austin, John Duling and Irven Leslie Cordell, got more than 750 votes.

Eugene H. Dryden got the most votes with 3,079, or 27.8%, followed by W. Michael Johnson with 3,061, or 27.7%; Mayor Rosemary Simmons with 2,997, or 27.1%; Austin with 711, or 6.4%; Duling with 623, or 5.6%, and Cordell with 589, or 5.3%.

“I think the slate had the effect of having us organize things a little better than we would have if we had been unopposed,” said Dryden, who added that he, Simmons and Johnson are aligned philosophically but ran independent campaigns.

Duling attributed the voter turnout of 46%--almost double the 26% who voted in the 1986 election--to “high interest in city government and people wanting to continue the traditional conservative approach.”

Bradbury

The lowest vote totals--and the highest turnout--of the day were recorded in a race for the District 3 City Council seat in Bradbury.

Fifty-two percent of the eligible voters turned out in the only contested election in the city. Ronald Cooney edged Thomas Melbourn 34 to 26.

One of the new council’s first tasks will be to decide how to fill a vacancy created by the April 5 death of David Chamberlain, the only candidate seeking election in District 4. The new council will have 30 days after it is seated Tuesday to decide whether to fill the seat by appointment or hold a special election.

Covina

A 14-year City Council veteran failed to get enough votes to retain his seat as three challengers emerged victorious in Tuesday’s election.

Incumbent Charles G. Colver came in fourth in the voting, with 1343 votes, or 14.8% of the total.

Firefighter Gary L. Coffey, 41, came in first, with 2,021 votes, or 22.3% of the votes cast. Attorney Thomas O’Leary, 29, came in second, with 1,833 votes, or 20.2%, and Christopher W. Lancaster, 29, an aide to state Sen. William Campbell, finished third, with 1,577 votes, or 17.4%.

“I think the city is going to fare well under the new leadership,” said Lancaster, the son of Republican Assemblyman Bill Lancaster of Covina. It was the younger Lancaster’s first bid for public office.

O’Leary, who has run for the Covina council twice before, said the new council can work well together.

Neither Colver nor Coffey could be reached for comment.

Staff writers Sue Avery, Mary Barber, Jeffrey Miller, Craig Quintana and Eric Wilhelmus contributed to this story.