ELECTIONS : San Fernando : 8 Candidates Go Door to Door in Race for 3 Seats

In Tuesday’s election for three seats on the San Fernando City Council, there are no big spenders, and eight candidates are campaigning the old-fashioned way--by walking door to door.

As of March 24, the candidates had raised a combined total of less than $15,000 and only two candidates--Mayor Daniel Acuna and Councilman Doude Wysbeek--anticipated spending more than $5,000 each. Planning Commissioner Mary Jane Tuomy and write-in candidate Victoria Phillips said their campaign expenses would be less than $1,000.

“I think it’s silly to spend lots of money in a small town like ours,” said Tuomy, who estimated that her expenses will be about $265 for campaign flyers. “I’ve just been going door to door.”

Also running for seats on the 2.4-square-mile city’s governing body are Planning Commissioner Jose Hernandez, community activists Linda Jauron and Gabriel (Gabe) Rodriguez, and Robert Villafana, a city parks and recreation commissioner.

According to campaign statements filed with City Hall, Acuna has raised more than $5,673. Wysbeek was second in fund raising with $4,148. Hernandez reported $2,170 in contributions, including $250 from Councilman Jess Margarito. Rodriguez and Jauron had collected $1,475 and $1,343, respectively.

Tuomy, Phillips and Villafana did not file detailed financial statements because they said they had less than $1,000 in donations.

The candidates are conducting low-key campaigns using tried-and-true tactics--distributing flyers, putting up signs in supporters’ yards, sending out mailers and appearing at public forums.

All said they have personally contacted as many voters as possible. Nonetheless, city officials said, a 30% voter turnout Tuesday would be a high percentage for a City Council election in San Fernando.

About 70% of the city’s 22,000 people are Latino; more than 65% of its 5,763 registered voters are Democrats. However, the candidates agree on most issues, including the need to deal with graffiti, gangs, crowded and decaying housing, and parking. The campaign has been upbeat and free of racial or political labeling.

All want to attract new businesses while preserving the city’s small-town flavor.

“By walking and talking to people, I’ve found that they don’t want many major changes,” Hernandez said. “They like the city’s single-family residential character.”

Following are brief descriptions of the candidates and their views:

* Acuna, 49, a Sepulveda real estate agent, was elected four years ago to become part of the first Latino majority on the City Council. He said he wants to help continue programs the present council initiated, including the building of replacement housing in the city’s decaying neighborhoods and the creation of a strong economic base so that the city can remain independent.

Acuna said city leaders also have initiated a capital improvements program that includes a new police building and senior citizens center, both completed; the remodeling of City Hall, now under way, and the renovation of Las Palmas Park.

In the future, the City Council must, among other things, initiate water conservation and recycling programs, create opportunities for first-time buyers to purchase housing, expand parks and recreation programs and attract a better variety of businesses to the community, Acuna said.

* Hernandez, 59, a 20-year resident of San Fernando, is a professor of urban studies at Cal State Northridge. He has served on the city’s Planning Commission for 2 1/2 years. He said his work there provided practical experience for serving on the City Council.

The council should form a commission to deal with the city’s housing problems, Hernandez said.

“There are people living in garages here,” he said. “If the city enforced its codes to the maximum, these people could be thrown out in the streets. On the other hand, if something isn’t done about the problem, the neighborhood is disrupted. The problem should be studied.”

* A businesswoman and community activist, Jauron, 41, said child care, housing, parks and recycling are among her biggest concerns.

“When I talk about child care, I’m talking about children of all ages, any child under 18,” she said. “We need year-round, after-school parks and recreation programs, especially now that our schools are going year-round.

“The gang issue is something that’s becoming more prominent. Another student was killed last weekend. First we need to recognize that we have a gang problem. Then we have to take a real hard line about who’s responsible.”

* Phillips, 37, who entered the race as a write-in candidate three weeks ago, is president of the Mission Council PTA. She said gangs, drugs, housing and graffiti are problems facing the City Council.

“I’d like to bring back that city pride San Fernando used to have,” she said.

Phillips also would like the city to initiate recreation and school programs that would bring senior citizens and youths together.

* Rodriguez, 66, a native of San Fernando, described himself as a community activist. He said that housing and parking are the city’s biggest problems.

“I think it’s time to face reality,” he said. “I don’t see how we can keep all our single-family neighborhoods. I think future housing should be multifamily.”

Double-decked parking structures should be built to accommodate the city’s civic center and downtown business area, Rodriguez said.

* Tuomy, 68, a 40-year resident of the city, has been a planning commissioner for six years, two of those as chairman. She also was a parks and recreation commissioner for six years and is active as a volunteer with various community organizations.

Creating affordable housing heads Tuomy’s list of priorities.

“I’d like to see us get a senior retirement hotel,” she said. “Then, seniors would not be forced to move out of San Fernando. Something needs to be done about the aging housing. Some of it can be rehabilitated . . . I’d like to see this city become the little jewel it once was.”

* Villafana, 45, who calls himself an “idea person,” is a social worker and has served on the Parks and Recreation Commission for two years.

“I have the ability to conceptualize things, to come up with ideas to benefit people,” he said.

Villafana said he wants to improve the health, safety, education and quality of life of all San Fernando residents. If elected, he said, he would work toward initiating a “We Tip” program to help police fight crime and toward hiring a permanent city graffiti-removal coordinator.

* A former mayor, Wysbeek, 50, was first elected to the City Council in 1982 but was defeated in his bid for a second term in 1986. Last year, the council appointed him to complete the unexpired council term of Roy Richardson, who resigned.

Wysbeek, a small-business owner, said that during his tenure, the council has set up long-range programs that have made the city financially sound.

“It is now time to go forward on housing and the general appearance of the city,” he said. “We need to bring our parks and recreation programs back up to par.”

Wysbeek said all residents of the city must work together as “a total community” and not become separated by cultural differences.

“Now, we have a good cohesiveness,” he said. “We must maintain that atmosphere.”