5 Compete for Vacant Inglewood Council Seat

The allure of a vacant seat has drawn five candidates into the race to replace the late Ann Wilk on the Inglewood City Council.

Wilk, a former school board member, died of a heart attack last December, 1 1/2 years after she surprised two-term incumbent Bruce Smith by beating him in a close runoff election in 1987.

The winner of Tuesday’s election will fill the remaining two years of Wilk’s term representing the 3rd District, which encompasses Inglewood’s downtown and west side. The candidates are:

* Smith, a 69-year-old businessman.

* Jose Fernandez, 29, an aide to state Sen. Cecil N. Green (D-Norwalk).

* Claude Lataillade, 37, a TRW engineer who ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 1987.

* Muhammad Nassardeen, 36, the former security director at Centinela Hospital Medical Center and owner of a consulting firm that works to strengthen black-owned businesses.

* Robert Sturms, an 18-year-old student at Inglewood High School.

As several candidates have pointed out, the 3rd District is perhaps the most diverse of the city’s four council districts. It has a large though largely politically dormant Latino population, a concentration of longtime white residents and a substantial black population.

That diversity is one of the reasons the race appears close. A June runoff among the top two finishers will be required if no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote.

Although campaign disclosure records show Smith with a fund-raising lead, Lataillade, Nassardeen and Fernandez are all potentially strong candidates. Nassardeen and Lataillade are black, Fernandez is Latino and Smith is white, but the candidates are seeking support across the ethnic spectrum.

Smith is styling himself a near-incumbent, arguing that his experience makes him the strongest candidate.

Fernandez, on the other hand, has been endorsed by the family and several close friends of Wilk, who capitalized on dissatisfaction with Smith to earn her underdog victory in 1987. And Nassardeen and Lataillade are assiduously pursuing that perceived anti-Smith vote.

Many district voters are senior citizens, either homeowners or residents of several housing complexes for seniors, and candidates are courting them:

Lataillade’s campaign literature features him shaking hands with supporter Amal Alexander, president of the Senior Citizens Association of the Inglewood Meadows housing complex near downtown.

Fernandez’s literature includes a handwritten letter from his grandmother urging votes for her grandson.

Nassardeen proposes programs in which Inglewood youth would assist seniors and seniors would work as teachers aides.

Smith emphasizes his longtime involvement in organizations such as the Centinela Valley YMCA and the Centinela Historical Society.

As of last week’s campaign spending disclosure deadline, Smith had raised $13,116; Lataillade, $8,255; Nassardeen, $6,850, and Fernandez, $3,360. Sturms filed a short form indicating he intended to raise less than $1,000.

Smith has not proposed many specific initiatives, focusing instead on his two council terms and the need to put a qualified representative in place quickly to work on issues such as crime and improving the city’s image.

“We need experience and stability on that council,” Smith said. “This is a wonderful town and it’s going to stay that way. This is the city of tomorrow. We have to collectively get together and change the image.”

Smith called for rejuvenating the district’s block clubs and involving young residents by establishing sports leagues among the clubs as an alternative to gangs. In addition, Smith said his opponents are looking to launch their political careers and said he has no such ambitions.

‘Not a Politician’

“I see myself as an elected official, not a politician,” he said.

While Smith plays up his experience, the other candidates say he was voted out because he was an unresponsive councilman. They say he lacks their vision for the future.

Lataillade, who backed Smith in 1987 after failing to make the runoff, said he will be more sensitive than Smith to the district’s diverse population and dealing with constituents’ requests for help.

Lataillade is active in area Republican politics and has worked for several years organizing science fairs in the Inglewood schools.

Lataillade said he supports increased anti-gang and anti-drug programs and cites his volunteer youth counseling and his co-founding of a drug rehabilitation center, Living Miracle Ranch. At the same time, Lataillade favors prosecution of parents who profit from their children’s gang activity and mandatory sentencing for gang-related crimes.

To rejuvenate downtown Inglewood, Lataillade said he wants to stop the proliferation of swap meets and discount stores.

“We have to attract the kind of businesses that can make Inglewood a major cultural center,” said Lataillade, who cited his management experience at TRW. “I have the skills necessary to work with the kind of retail problems that exist.”

Nassardeen also has an economic agenda. He wants to attract a Nordstrom department store to downtown Inglewood as part of an aggressive effort to revamp the city’s economy and its image.

Although Inglewood has lost several department stores over the last few years, Nassardeen said it is possible to lure the upscale retailer. “It’s not a pipe dream,” he said. “I don’t think we have to accept a substandard Inglewood. Inglewood needs an attitude adjustment.”

Nassardeen left his post as director of security at Centinela Hospital Medical Center last year to establish his own consulting business, Recycling Black Dollars. The firm works to strengthen black businesses by bringing them together, creating support networks and rotating capital within the black business community.

Jobs for Young People

Along with black economic self-reliance, Nassardeen emphasized his experience in anti-crime and disaster-preparedness efforts.

But he has also made a point of reaching out to longtime residents of his district. For example, he said his proposal to hire Inglewood youth to assist seniors would aid the elderly and create jobs for young people.

“This is a very diverse community,” he said. “We need to come together.”

Fernandez, meanwhile, speaks of his desire to make Inglewood “a model multi-ethnic community.”

If elected, Fernandez would be the first Latino councilman in a city with a 30% Latino population. The district has not had high Latino voter turnout, but Fernandez’s supporters, many of whom worked closely with Wilk, say he is striving to find and attract registered Latino voters.

Fernandez emphasizes his government experience with state Sen. Green, and the fact that he is a homeowner and self-employed businessman at age 29. He proposes police foot patrols downtown and allocating city revenue from the county transportation tax to expand the “I-Line Shuttle,” a downtown shuttle used by seniors.

Fernandez styles himself a good-government candidate, alluding to past council controversies, including a refuse contract awarded to Western Waste Industries without competitive bidding.

“I want the City Council to conduct the public’s business in an open, honest, ethical manner,” he said. “Public contracts should be awarded by public bidding . . . citizens should be treated courteously. . . . Unfortunately, the publicity created by some infractions of these principles has created an unfavorable reputation for Inglewood.”

As for Sturms, his youth and lack of funds and political experience make him a decided long shot. But the Inglewood High School senior and Red Cross volunteer appeared at a candidates forum last month and gamely sought support, saying “I am young. I am in touch with that youth section of the district.”