After Two Years in Courts, Inglewood Council Race Will Be Settled at Polls

The 1987 Inglewood City Council race will be decided at the polls by mid-October, as Councilman Ervin (Tony) Thomas and Garland Hardeman face off again to settle an election that was first annulled, then fought over all the way to the state Supreme Court.

The final judicial act in the case came May 24 when the state Supreme Court denied appeals filed by Thomas, the city and Hardeman and upheld the Superior Court decision that annulled Thomas’ victory and ordered the June, 1987, election rerun.

The city must hold the runoff election within 120 days after receiving official notification from the courts, said City Atty. Howard Rosten. The city has yet to receive word from the Superior Court, which has jurisdiction over the case.

Thomas has held onto his 4th District seat since the disputed election, while Hardeman, a Los Angeles police officer who accused Thomas supporters of illegal tactics at the polls, had urged the court to name him the winner.

The court case moved beyond one man’s campaign to erase an election defeat and became a lingering political issue and a debate on the judiciary’s role in mediating election disputes. The Supreme Court ruling is seen as a blow to Mayor Edward Vincent, a Thomas ally who was criticized by the Superior Court in 1987 for his involvement in the election.

Hardeman’s attorney, Mark Borenstein, declared victory Friday for Hardeman and the voters and called for the runoff election to be held as soon as possible.

“A bad election was discovered to be bad,” said Borenstein. “This is not a case where there were minor irregularities. This is an election that was filled with fraud, misrepresentation and intimidation. This went to the heart of whether the will of the people . . . actually determines the winner.”

But those representing the city argued Friday that interference by the courts in the election will encourage other losers to take disputes to the courtroom that should be handled at the ballot box.

“There isn’t any doubt that every election since George Washington has had some irregularities,” said Rosten. “I’m positive of that. But are those irregularities so egregious that the courts should get involved?”

Appellate specialist Edward Lascher, hired by the city, added: “The California Supreme Court can hear only a microscopic proportion of the cases brought before it. I’m disappointed but not surprised.”

Neither candidate could be reached Friday.

The dispute began when Hardeman objected to Thomas’ 16-vote election victory. He sued, and the Superior Court invalidated 31 votes, implicating Vincent and other Thomas supporters in Election Code violations.

Superior Court Judge Leon Savitch found that voters had been intimidated and that their right to ballot secrecy had been violated. The judge also said numerous ballots were illegally hand-delivered to the city clerk’s office. In two cases, voters told the court that Vincent punched their ballots for them. Vincent has repeatedly denied that he violated election procedures.

Although the judge called for a new election, Thomas remained in office through the appeals. Hardeman, who repeatedly called for Thomas’ resignation, attended council meetings and voted unofficially on city business.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office is still investigating possible Election Code violations in the election. In addition, the state Fair Political Practices Commission says it is looking into allegations that Vincent and Thomas failed to properly report Vincent’s contributions of money and resources to the Thomas campaign.