Monterey Park Candidates Tackle Issues : Campaign: The six in the City Council race are questioned on topics ranging from Garvey Reservoir to soaring legal costs.

Six candidates in the April 10 City Council race kicked off the campaign season last week at a discussion forum that touched on issues ranging from the fate of Garvey Reservoir to escalating legal costs.

Among the six vying for three seats in the election are Mayor Pat Reichenberger and Councilman Barry Hatch, each of whom is seeking a second four-year term. Councilman Chris Houseman is not running for reelection.

Challengers are David Barron, a public relations executive who is also city clerk; Marie Purvis, owner of an art gallery; Fred Balderrama, owner of a car and truck repair business; and Sam Kiang, an engineer and lawyer.

Reichenberger, 44, and Hatch, 53, were elected in 1986 on a slow-growth platform. Purvis, 49, and Balderrama, 38, ran in 1988 in an eight-way race for two council seats, which were won by Judy Chu and Betty Couch.

In that same race, Barron, 48, defeated three other candidates to win the part-time city clerk’s job. Kiang, 40, is the only political newcomer.

At Wednesday night’s forum, sponsored by the businesswomen’s group Soroptimist International of Monterey Park, moderator Margaret Roberts questioned candidates on topics her group had selected as major issues facing the community: the reservoir, limits on campaign contributions and child care.

Some of the candidates also zeroed in on the city’s rising legal fees, which City Manager Mark Lewis estimated would total $1 million by the end of the fiscal year this summer.

And when the candidates were asked about priorities, Balderrama was applauded for saying he wants to stop spraying against the Mediterranean fruit fly. “I can’t stand that anymore,” he said. “They can’t tell me that it’s safe.”

The forum opened with a debate over the future of Garvey Reservoir, where two leaks led to the flooding of about a dozen homes on Fulton Avenue last November. The Metropolitan Water District, owner of the reservoir, drained the reservoir and is investigating the leaks.

Hatch, who led a citizens rally last December to demand that the reservoir be closed permanently, reiterated that call before the audience of about 70 people.

“No way can it be opened again,” said Hatch, who invoked images of the 1963 Baldwin Hills Dam break, which dumped 290 million gallons of water and debris on nearby residents, killing five people and demolishing 64 homes.

Purvis and Balderrama also emphatically opposed reopening the reservoir. “The reservoir was designed badly and is unsafe,” said Purvis, adding that Metropolitan could not be trusted to ensure the reservoir’s safety.

Kiang believes the reservoir should be closed but said the city does not have the authority to decide. He joined Barron and Reichenberger in calling for a full investigation of the leaks and allowing the reservoir to reopen only if authorities can prove it would be safe.

On a proposal to limit campaign spending, all of the candidates supported a cap but debated over how to set it.

“If you set the limit too low, you favor the incumbents,” Kiang said. “If you set it too high, obviously it becomes meaningless.” In an interview after the forum, Balderrama agreed that a low spending ceiling would hurt challengers who must overcome incumbents’ name recognition.

Reichenberger said she has tried to pass ordinances limiting spending, but only the state can change such rules.

The issue of encouraging new child-care facilities in the city split the panel, with Hatch alone questioning the wisdom of creating child-care centers that he said may not be good for parent-child relationships.

“Why don’t we start a program as an incentive for one of those parents to stay at home during the child’s formative years?” Hatch proposed.

Without adequate child-care facilities, Purvis said, many non-professional working mothers would be forced to go on welfare. Both Barron and Reichenberger suggested that the city offer incentives, such as reduced permit or building fees, to developers and other businesses that add child-care facilities.

Throughout Wednesday’s forum, the city’s mounting legal fees kept popping up. Caught in a $1.2-million deficit last year, the city is expected to stay within its 1989-90 budget, thanks to cost cutting and increased fees, said City Manager Lewis.

Purvis and Kiang believe legal costs are getting out of control, and Kiang suggested that the city hire an in-house legal staff instead of using the Los Angeles firm Brown, Winfield and Canzoneri.

The firm, which handles about 95% of the city’s legal work, was paid $628,240 in fiscal year 1987-88, and $707,890 in 1988-89, for work it did for the council and redevelopment agency.

Hatch has proposed that the council invite other law firms to compete for the legal contract. Reichenberger, who voted to retain Brown a few months ago, said Thursday that a review during the last three weeks of the firm’s work has changed her mind.

Reichenberger said she is disappointed about the outcome of two recent suits and the resulting legal bills. She plans to ask the council to get proposals from other firms.