L.B. Candidate List Is Marked by Extremes : Politics: Several are running for the full-time mayor’s job, but in two City Council districts there are no challengers.

This spring’s elections for city posts will be marked by extremes, with some candidates taking solitary walks into office, while a swarm of contestants jostle for the mayor’s seat.

Several candidates have declared their desire to run for the full-time mayor’s position, but not a single challenger has appeared to run against Councilmen Ray Grabinski in the 7th District and Warren Harwood in the 9th District, or against the incumbent city prosecutor, city auditor and city attorney.

Numerous as the mayoral candidates are, many of them are little known, lacking either the money or political base to match the efforts of the two primary contenders, incumbent Mayor Ernie Kell and Councilman Tom Clark.

Of the three council districts in which there are contests--the 1st, 3rd and 5th--interest is likely to center on campaigns in the affluent 3rd District, where the seat is up for grabs, and in the downtown 1st District, where challengers have surfaced against first-term incumbent Evan Anderson Braude.

With three former Long Beach police officers and a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy in the council races, crime and law enforcement are guaranteed a place high on the list of campaign themes.

In the 5th District, retired police Sgt. Max Baxter, a former board member of the Long Beach Police Officers Assn., is running against incumbent Les Robbins, a sheriff’s deputy who has earned the enmity of the police union for siding with city management during the continuing police contract squabble.

Elsewhere, retired deputy police Chief William F. Stovall is running against Braude, and retired police Cmdr. Douglas Drummond is among the three candidates competing for the 3rd District seat Councilwoman Jan Hall is leaving after three terms in office. Dentist and Planning Commissioner Jim Serles, who twice before mounted strong challenges to Hall, is hoping his third attempt will clinch the seat.

To avoid a June runoff, the top vote-getters in the mayor’s race and the 1st and 3rd districts will have to win at least 51% of the vote in the April 10 election.

The mayoral race so far has generated few fireworks, and political observers are not predicting many as the campaign season develops. Kell, a former councilman, was elected mayor by a strong margin only two years ago, has not made any huge mistakes in office and continues to have a golden touch at fund-raisers.

A veteran 4th District councilman who served for years with Kell, Clark has dubbed “leadership” the main campaign theme, claiming he has been more of a community activist than Kell and has taken the lead on a variety of city issues, ranging from airport noise to creation of the full-time mayor’s position.

But as far as some political observers are concerned, Clark has so far failed to mold a political identity that dramatically distinguishes him from Kell.

“I don’t see that there’s a real significant difference yet between those two candidates,” remarked Sid Solomon of Long Beach Area Citizens Involved, a liberal political group that does not plan to endorse either Kell or Clark.

While they have not gained citywide recognition as political figures, several of the mayoral candidates have navigated the campaign circuit before. Daniel Rosenberg, a community activist who is disliked by council members, has been a council candidate before. Others, such as Thomas (Ski) Demski, David E. Kaye and Lou Robillard, competed against Kell in the last election.

Demski, known for flying enormous flags above his home, sometimes sang and stood with a bird on his shoulder during campaign appearances.

Familiar names also have surfaced in the council races. Joy Melton, aide to former 1st District Councilman Marc Wilder, is again running against Braude. In the 3rd District, retired businessman Louis C. Mirabile is making another try for a spot on the council rim.

Last-minute contestants still have time to declare in the 3rd District. The Feb. 1 filing deadline for candidates has been extended for five days because the incumbent, Hall, is not running.

The cost of mounting a campaign against an incumbent was cited as one of the reasons why no challengers surfaced against first-term Councilman Grabinski and second-term incumbent Harwood.

Harwood, who spent his weekends last year walking his district, was nonetheless surprised at the lack of competition. “This is not to be expected at all, very unusual,” said Harwood, with a sigh of relief that he would not have to engage in the expense and effort of a campaign.