ELECTIONS / MONROVIA : 4 Campaign for 2 Council Seats as Mayor Runs for Supervisor

All five candidates for city office say no to local drug activity and yes to strict reviews of hillside developments.

The candidates outlined their views last week at a City Hall forum sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. The March 21 event attracted about 20 people, and was carried live on cable television.

Four candidates are running for two City Council seats, and Mayor Bob Bartlett is unopposed for a second two-year term as mayor.

Bartlett, 50, a lifetime resident, was first elected to the council in 1974 and became mayor in 1988. He is vice president of sales for P.I.E. Nationwide, a national transportation firm, and is also a candidate for 1st District county supervisor, a post held by Pete Schabarum, who is retiring. The county election is June 5, and Bartlett said he plans to resign as mayor if he is elected supervisor.

Despite his county aspirations, he pledges that he will be a good mayor to Monrovia if he remains in the post.

“I’ll be continuing to give Monrovians what they’re electing me for,” he said.

All candidates agree that the city must be cautious in approving future hillside building.

The hillsides are “our last frontier,” said Bartlett, who earlier this month voted with the rest of the council to approve a six-month moratorium on hillside development. Meanwhile, city staff members are reviewing 10-year-old building regulations to determine if they should be tightened.

Councilwoman Lara L. Blakely, 37, is seeking her first full four-year term on the council. She was appointed in 1988 to replace Bartlett when he was elected mayor. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Cal State L.A. and a master’s in social welfare administration from UCLA, and is a child-care program manager for the city of Pasadena.

A 15-year Monrovia resident, her priorities include programs for affordable housing, crime prevention and safe disposal of hazardous waste. She also believes that city officials should “work on putting a dent in the demand” for drugs in the community.

Councilman John Nobrega Jr., 57, is a 24-year resident and has served on the council for eight years. He owns a golf store in Arcadia, belongs to the Monrovia High Band Boosters and supports the Monrovia Historical Museum, which is scheduled to open this summer. He identified drug crimes, child care and affordable housing as key challenges facing the community.

Cory S. Adams, 36, a co-founder of the much-acclaimed neighborhood crime-watch group Monrovia Residents Against Pushers, promises to heighten community awareness of the drug problem and to encourage more citizen involvement in civic affairs. A three-year resident, he operates a recreational vehicle supply and repair business in the city.

All three incumbents agreed with Adams that community involvement is crucial in the drug battle and pointed to the drug-related loitering ban that the council adopted this month as an important step.

Another candidate, Byron L. Beck, said: “When you get right down to it, we need to change attitudes and appetites, and the council can provide leadership.”

Beck, 30, an attorney, is an adviser to another resident association, Monrovians for Sensible Hillside Development. The group is asking for stricter hillside development guidelines in response to a proposed development in the 356-acre Cloverleaf area, located in northwest Monrovia.

Beck has bachelor’s and law degrees from Brigham Young University. As a student intern, he helped draft a victims’ reparations bill while working with Utah’s Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice; the legislation became law in 1986. He lived for nine years in Canada and two in Japan. He has lived in Monrovia for two years.

He says he is concerned that city services have not kept pace with development. He described local paramedic services as inadequate, noting that Arcadia paramedics must frequently respond to calls in Monrovia.

Under a cooperative agreement between Monrovia and Arcadia, the cities’ fire departments help each other with calls for quicker response. According to Monrovia Fire Department records, Arcadia paramedics responded to calls in Monrovia 89 times last year; Monrovia paramedics rolled out on Arcadia calls only 11 times.

Monrovia Fire Chief Mark Foote said Arcadia needs less outside help because it has two paramedic squads; Monrovia has one. Foote said Monrovia’s paramedic service is adequate now but believes that the city should add a second squad in the next three years.