Lawndale Parks Commissioner Ousted Over Political Mailer

At the recommendation of Mayor Sarann Kruse, the Lawndale City Council voted to remove Ronald V. Maxwell from the Parks and Recreation Commission because of a mailer he sent, which some city officials have said was misleading.

Maxwell--who accused Kruse of exercising a personal vendetta against him--was removed from his appointed position on a 3-2 vote Thursday night.

Kruse, Councilwoman Carol Norman and Councilman Dan McKenzie voted to remove Maxwell, while Councilmen Harold E. Hofmann and Larry Rudolph opposed the action.

Kruse blasted Maxwell for sending a mailer that encouraged Lawndale residents to vote in last month’s municipal elections. She said that by including his title as commissioner in a mailer he paid for, Maxwell falsely led recipients to believe that he was speaking for the city or the whole commission.

The one-page mailer, which was sent to about 800 residents, included a picture of Maxwell with a headline that said “Commissioner Ron Maxwell Encourages You to Vote.” It described the issues on last month’s ballot and included space to request additional information on initiatives and school board candidates.

Maxwell was also criticized last month by his colleagues on the Parks and Recreation Commission, who voted unanimously to recommend that Maxwell be removed because the mailer was misleading. Maxwell did not attend that meeting.

Maxwell, who opposed Kruse in the 1988 mayoral campaign, defended his mailer Thursday night to the council, saying: “There was nothing legally wrong with my mailer.”

The 26-year-old aerospace worker prompted cheers from several supporters in the audience when he borrowed from a John F. Kennedy speech by saying: “I asked not what my community could do for me but what I could do for my community.”

Maxwell also came under fire in July, when Kruse unsuccessfully sought to dismiss him for a questionnaire he mailed to residents asking their opinion on city recreational facilities and needs.