ELECTION '89 : Money and Crime Are Key Issues in Hawthorne

By HUGO MARTIN

Nov. 2, 1989 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

The city’s fiscal problems, an increased crime rate and high density apartment construction are the main issues raised in the race for the mayor’s office and two seats on the Hawthorne City Council.

In the Tuesday election, Donald Harris, an insurance broker who has lived in the city for 22 years, is challenging Mayor Betty J. Ainsworth, who is seeking her third two-year mayoral term.

The incumbents in the council race are David M. York, a commercial and industrial property manager and former police lieutenant, and Charles (Chuck) Bookhammer, an insurance broker who has lived in the city for almost 17 years.

The challengers for the four-year council terms are Raymon Sulser, a development consultant and former Planning Commission member, and Barbara Workman, an administrative secretary at TRW and former Planning Commission member.

Bookhammer and York were elected in February, 1983, to unexpired terms after a recall election removed three council members. Nine months later, Bookhammer lost a bid for a full four-year term, but was appointed to the council to complete two years of a term left vacant when a council member was elected mayor. Both were then reelected in 1985.

In Hawthorne, council members do not run in districts. The top two vote-getters will be elected.

All the candidates agree that one of the main challenges facing the city is its tight financial situation.

In August, the City Council averted as many as 32 layoffs by increasing numerous municipal fees to offset an expected $2.5-million deficit in the city’s $44.6-million 1989-90 budget. The financial problems stemmed from an unexpected drop in revenue from sales taxes and paramedic fees, according to city officials.

Ainsworth, Bookhammer and York said the city’s financial future is more secure now because several large redevelopment projects--including the $200-million Cloverleaf Project at Rosecrans Avenue and the San Diego Freeway--will bring inabout $3 million in tax revenue when they are completed.

Harris and Sulser, on the other hand, said the city’s financial problems stem from the council’s poor leadership and lack of management.

Sulser, 63--a planning commissioner for a total of 11 years beginning in 1964 and ending in 1986--said the city’s sales tax revenues are down because the council has failed to keep several large businesses from leaving the city, including Hewlett-Packard, the Boston Store and Mattel.

Sulser said the city should make a better effort to keep such businesses and should redevelop Hawthorne Boulevard, which provides a large portion of the city’s tax base.

“We have vacancies all up and down (Hawthorne) Boulevard, and if we keep losing those people what are we going to end up with?” he asked.

Bookhammer, 41, responded that some of the large businesses that recently left the city wanted larger facilities.

In some cases “the deal was done before we knew about it,” he said.

Harris, 38--vice chairman of the Hawthorne Rent Mediation Board--said that if elected, he would stress accountability among the city staff and see that the city makes money.

“Running the city is no different than running a corporation,” he said.

Workman, 66--a planning commissioner for eight years before resigning in 1988--declined to join Sulser and Harris in criticizing the incumbents on financial issues because she said she does not know the full details behind some of those fiscal decisions.

Another issue raised by the candidates is the increased crime rate in the city.

Karen Carr, crime analyst for the Police Department, said that the number of crimes in the city during July, August and September is 26% higher than for the same period last year.

Carr said the crimes that are on the increase include murder, rape, robbery, assault and burglary.

Ainsworth, 63, a tax consultant who was elected in 1985 to be the city’s first woman mayor, said the high crime rate is not exclusive to Hawthorne, but has been caused throughout the area by the growing influence of drugs and gangs.

Although she supported last year’s unsuccessful ballot measure to hire more police officers, Ainsworth said she is not now sure that the city needs all 19 additional officers. But she added that she would like to see the federal government provide funding to pay for more judges and stronger drug abuse enforcement.

Bookhammer said crime is a problem and noted that the city has earmarked money from this year’s budget to hire five additional police officers this year. He said he would like the city to hire at least six more officers after that.

York, 52, who has lived in the city for 22 years and was a police officer for 15 years, said he supports increasing the force but said “putting a cop on every corner is not going to solve the problem.”

He said that crime connected to the growing influence of drugs is a problem that must be attacked on a larger scale by state and federal agencies, as well as local police agencies.

Both Harris and Sulser said the city should be adding more officers to deal with the increase in crime.

Workman said she is unsure whether more police is the answer and prefers to wait until new Police Chief Stephen Port gets acclimated and makes his recommendations.

Four of the candidates say that the city needs to deal with increasing density due to overdevelopment of apartments and condominiums.

Harris said that if elected he would propose a moratorium for apartment construction to write new building standards requiring more open space.

Workman, who has lived in the city for 25 years, said that she favors tighter controls on developers to force them to build higher-quality apartments and condominiums and require more parking and open space.

Ainsworth and Sulser said they would support a new set of building standards to reduce the density of multi-unit construction.

Although York and Bookhammer agree that apartment density is a problem in some parts of town, they said the city addressed the matter three years ago by approving new building guidelines that reduced the height limit on apartment buildings and required more open space. “I think it’s under control,” Bookhammer said.

Some of the other issues raised by candidates included Sulser’s criticism of a five-year contract extension for the firm that has hauled the city’s garbage since 1957.

Despite a 1984-85 recommendation by a Los Angeles County Grand Jury to open its municipal trash contract to competitive bids, the council voted 3-2 in March to extend its contract with H & C Disposal Co. It is worth about $25 million to the firm.

Sulser said a bidding process could have found a company that charged residents lower fees.

Bookhammer, York and Councilmen Steve Andersen voted for the extension. Ainsworth and Councilwoman Ginny Lambert voted against the contract extension.

Bookhammer said he has heard of no complaints from residents about the trash hauling service. He said the rates charged by H & C Disposal Co. are comparable to those of most other cities in the South Bay.

Part of Workman’s campaign theme is that she would like to create a friendlier and more open atmosphere at City Hall, which she said is run by an “old boys network.”

Workman said she would like to place more emphasis on social issues in the city, such as homelessness and the need for child care.

“We ought to recognize that the (social problems) do exist and we need to address them and help solve them,” she said.

In the race for campaign funds, Harris is ahead with $3,852, followed by Ainsworth with $2,599, Workman with $2,360, Bookhammer with $1,236, Sulser with $1,092 and York with $1,046, according to campaign statements filed last month.

The candidates will face off at a forum tonight at 7 p.m. at Richard Henry Dana Elementary School, 13500 Aviation Blvd., Hawthorne.

THE CANDIDATES Donald Harris

Mayoral challenger

Age: 38

Occupation: insurance broker

Betty Ainsworth

Incumbent mayor

Age: 63

Occupation: tax consultant

David M. York

Council incumbent

Age: 52