5 in Running for Vacant Seat on South Coast Smog Board

The mayor of San Dimas and a Covina councilman face each other and three other opponents in a contest for a seat on the 12-member board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

The election was forced by the resignation of Baldwin Park Mayor Leo King on Dec. 1.

King represented the 61 cities of the board’s eastern region, which stretches from Long Beach to Pomona and as far north as Santa Clarita. A delegate from each of the cities will be allowed to cast one vote Jan. 4 during the election for King’s successor at the district’s headquarters in El Monte.

A complicated voting formula will determine the winner. To be elected, a candidate must receive votes from at least two-thirds, or 41, of the eastern region’s cities, whose combined populations must represent at least two-thirds of the residents of the area.

Covina Councilman Henry M. Morgan and San Dimas Mayor Terry Dipple are the two San Gabriel Valley candidates.

Morgan, 62, retired two years ago after a 35-year career in marketing and management with IBM. He has served on the council since 1978 and has been active in regional government affairs. In October, he became a member of the Los Angeles County Regional Water Quality Control Board.

“I’m not a zealot for the environment,” Morgan said, “but I certainly agree with everybody that the environment’s something we’ve got to nurture.

“Clean air. You’ve got to do it,” Morgan said.

Dipple, 36, was elected to the San Dimas council more than 13 years ago. He runs his own planning, development and real estate investment consulting firm.