Inglewood Rivals Struggle With Voter Apathy in Race

When Terry Coleman went door-to-door one evening this month urging Inglewood residents to vote for Garland Hardeman in next Tuesday’s City Council election, he wore a bullet-proof vest and strapped a .357 Magnum to his chest.

In a drug-infested area on 102nd Street, Coleman said he found little concern for next week’s court-ordered special election in District 4 between Hardeman and Ervin (Tony) Thomas.

“Most of the people had no idea there was an election and probably didn’t care,” said Coleman, a community activist who is on disability as a police officer.

Affluent Forum

The campaign scene was a little different Tuesday night in Inglewood’s gated Carlton Square development, where the two candidates fielded questions from a plush clubhouse surrounded by palm trees, a sauna and swimming pool.

The candidates spoke before about 40 residents on airplane noise, faltering businesses and the troubled lives of prostitutes on Imperial Highway. But some of those at the meeting were disappointed that more of the about 600 registered voters in the development did not attend.

After fighting their battle through the legal system on and off for two years, Hardeman and Thomas have returned to the campaign trail. Both face a common obstacle as they hand out campaign literature at front doors, attend block parties and picnics, and decorate the community with signs: attracting voter interest in an election that has dragged on for years. Tuesday’s election originated 836 days ago today on June 16, 1987, when Hardeman had a 544-233 edge over Thomas at the polls. But absentee ballots gave Thomas a last-minute 626-610 victory.

Hardeman demanded a recount and then filed a lawsuit alleging that Thomas’ campaign workers intimidated voters and violated their right to ballot secrecy during a house-to-house absentee ballot campaign.

Thomas remained in office two years as the case was appealed up to the state Supreme Court, which upheld a lower court’s decision that overturned Thomas’ win. Thomas was forced to leave office this summer pending a new election.

‘Tiring’ Dispute

“It’s been very tiring,” Thomas said. “Every time I turned around there was another subpoena.”

Hardeman went back to Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday, claiming Thomas had distributed campaign literature that allegedly violated an injunction barring his portrayal as an incumbent. Judge Dzintra I. Janavs ordered Thomas to return to court at the end of this month to defend his latest campaign literature, which shows him sitting in the council chambers.

With the main legal battle over, the campaign between Thomas, 47, and Hardeman, 32, has returned to what it was originally: a race for a seat that represents a district with about 24,000 residents and 7,581 registered voters, about 17% of whom voted in the June, 1987, election.

With such a small target group, officials with both campaigns say voter turnout is the key as they work aggressively to firm commitments before Election Day.

As in past Inglewood elections, a sign war has developed. Workers for the two campaigns said Thomas is concentrating on large campaign signs on corners, while Hardeman has smaller signs in individual yards. Both campaigns contend that their signs have been removed by their opponents.

While on the campaign trail, Hardeman, an 11-year veteran officer with the Los Angeles Police Department, carries voter canvass forms he purchased from a data processing company. The computer sheets provide a block-by-block breakdown of registered voters and how often they voted in the last four elections.

Hardeman has launched an absentee ballot campaign, sending out hundreds of campaign brochures earlier this month that included absentee ballot request forms to send to the city clerk.

“As we get closer, we’ll be targeting all the people we identified as Hardeman supporters,” Hardeman said in an interview. “We’ll be checking in with them and making sure they get to the polls. It’s a real basic sort of thing.”

Hardeman, who is using the campaign slogan “Do the Right Thing,” said he plans to win back the more than 600 people who supported him in 1987 and add about 200 others who either supported Thomas or did not vote. “With 800 votes, I feel very comfortable,” Hardeman said.

Thomas, a manager with the 7-Up Bottling Corp., says he has not been stressing absentee ballots, because he says he has name recognition from serving on the council for two years.

Thomas’ treasurer, Ollie Salone, says Thomas has been seeking support by walking the district, while campaign workers work the phones. “We’re after the people who have lived here in Inglewood and know what kind of person Tony is,” Salone said. “Many people are tired of the whole legal deal.”

Thomas has distributed two sets of campaign literature, one that emphasizes the experience he gained on the council and another that attacks Hardeman for exaggerating his accomplishments in helping the community and for stirring up trouble where none exists.

Hardeman calls the attacks “a petty cheap shot by a desperate campaign.”

Thomas has downplayed his past support from Mayor Edward Vincent, one of those accused by Hardeman of intimidating voters in the 1987 election, although Hardeman maintains that Thomas’ campaign is still controlled by the mayor. Vincent says he supports Thomas but is not playing an active role in the campaign.

At a Vincent fund-raiser last month, the mayor introduced Thomas as one of the government officials who helped the city win the National Civic League’s All-America City Award this year. The mayor introduced Thomas again at a community dinner celebrating the award last Sunday before nearly 3,000 Inglewood residents in the Forum.

W. R. (Tony) Draper, a District 4 resident who voted for Hardeman in 1987 but is remaining neutral this time, said the much publicized election will be anticlimactic no matter who wins.

“People are so disenchanted with how long this has been going (on),” Draper said. “There are people who want to go down to the polls, drop their ballot in the box and punch nothing.”