Candidate on Slow-Growth Platform Unseats 3-Term Mayor in Riverside

Voters here launched a new era in city politics Tuesday, rejecting Mayor Ab Brown’s bid for a fourth term in office and handing the reins to City Councilwoman Teresa Frizzel.

Final unofficial returns from the 137 precincts in the runoff election showed Frizzel capturing 51.4% of the vote and Brown receiving 48.6%.

Frizzel, 62, is a former real estate agent elected to the council two years ago. She painted Brown as beholden to Riverside’s most influential residents and said she would “open City Hall to all of our people, not just the developers and the business community.”

While rejecting charges that she is “anti-business,” Frizzel promised to promote slow-growth policies that she called keys to alleviating traffic, reducing crime and improving municipal services in the city of nearly 200,000 residents.

Brown, 71, is the former owner of an engine rebuilding business who grew up in Riverside and has held the largely ceremonial post of mayor since 1978.

He describes himself as “a man of the people” whose favorite part of the mayor’s job is meeting and greeting residents at community functions. He pledged to work to attract new industry to Riverside if voters awarded him another four years in office.

“I don’t want Riverside to be a bedroom community,” Brown said. “I want our people working here. I want them off the freeways that take them to Orange County and L.A.”

The mayoral runoff became necessary after neither candidate garnered more than 50% of the vote in November’s general election. The registrar of voters said an estimated 20% of the city’s 104,913 registered voters cast ballots Tuesday.

Under Riverside’s City Charter, the mayor’s office has little formal power. Its duties are limited mostly to making appointments to advisory boards and representing the city in intergovernmental affairs. The mayor casts votes only to break a tie among City Council members, and lacks authority to hire or fire. The mayor can veto decisions of the seven-member council, but five council votes can override the action.

Still, some observers said an active mayor could wield considerable influence on an issue of perennial concern in this Inland Empire city--growth.

For example, Max Neiman, a professor of political science at UC Riverside, predicted that Frizzel could be counted on to veto any major departures from existing growth control policies. He added that Frizzel can propose programs of her own to the City Council and lobby for them around town.

Tom Brown, a leader of Riversiders for Reasonable Growth, noted that the city’s sphere of influence--a large swath of land on Riverside’s southern flank that is targeted for annexation--represents an important future battlefield for slow-growth forces and developers.

“We believe (Frizzel) will be more conscientious in planning that area because she has shown sensitivity to the problems of rapid growth and quality of life,” he said. “The current mayor has fought every citizen effort to pass growth-control measures.”

Brown’s supporters saw the issue in reverse, arguing that Frizzel would drive away the industry--and thus jobs--that they believe the city must attract to stay healthy.

“Mayor Brown is pro-business all the way,” said Art Pick, executive vice president of the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce.

Also Tuesday, voters picked successors for Councilman Sam Digati, who did not seek reelection, and Councilman Robert Bowers, who relinquished his seat to run for mayor in November.

In Ward 4 in the city’s southeastern corner, citrus farmer Robert Buster captured 50.2% of the vote to defeat Arthur Gage, who owns a personnel recruiting service. In Ward 6, covering Riverside’s southwestern portion, funeral home owner Dennis Johnson lost to Terri Thompson, who works for a pool supply business and received 58.5% of the vote.