Anderson Loss Puts Mitoma on the Spot : Election: Mayor had vowed to resign if voters elected a candidate supported by his council opponents. Winner McDonald pledges to work toward easing factionalism.

With the active backing of U.S. Rep. Mervyn M. Dymally, first-time candidate Juanita McDonald unseated Carson Councilman John Anderson Tuesday, breaking up a three-member council majority and putting Mayor Michael Mitoma on the spot.

Leading the council vote tally, Councilwoman Sylvia Muise, another Mitoma ally, was reelected. City Treasurer Mary Custer, whom Mitoma had opposed, was overwhelmingly re-elected, and City Clerk Helen Kawagoe ran unopposed.

Mitoma said that Anderson, who had been appointed to the council two years ago and was running in his first election, was hurt by accusations of sexual harassment filed against him last Friday by two city employees. Anderson has denied the charges.

In addition, a mystery mailer caricaturing Mitoma’s council alliance with Muise and Anderson was distributed to 10,000 Carson homes over the weekend. Mitoma said he was particularly outraged by what he said was the brochure’s “subliminal message”--a faintly visible pattern of type that declares: “Mike Mitoma is evil. Sylvia Muise is evil. John Anderson is evil. I want a new city council.”

Although the loss of Anderson robs Mitoma of a council majority, the mayor’s more immediate political predicament stems from his announcement four days before the election that he would resign if voters elected a candidate supported by his council opponents, Vera Robles DeWitt and Kay Calas, and power shifts to them. McDonald, who describes herself as an independent, was endorsed by both.

No sooner were the final vote totals announced early Wednesday than former city employee Victoria McKinney dashed up to Mitoma, who was trying to leave council chambers, shoved a pen and paper at him and demanded that he resign.

“We’ll see,” Mitoma said, turning away.

Lou Lusero, shop steward for the city employees union, which opposed Anderson and Muise, said Mitoma “put himself in a box.”

But Mitoma said that before making any decision, he wanted to meet with McDonald to determine if she would be “a puppet” of DeWitt and Calas or take an independent stance.

DeWitt, when informed of Mitoma’s statement, countered that he appeared to be saying that McDonald “can be a puppet of Mike’s, but not of Vera’s.”

Calas could not be reached for comment.

At her victory party, McDonald said she intended to be independent and to work to ease the intense factionalism that is a staple of Carson council politics.

She said she does not intend to push Mitoma to resign. “That is going to be Mike’s decision to make,” she said.

A number of factors worked in her favor during the campaign.

Dymally (D-Compton), who represents Carson, put his staff and political resources behind McDonald’s campaign.

“If we are going to endorse, we are going to work,” said Dymally’s chief of staff Ken Orduna, who coordinated McDonald’s campaign. “She has worked very closely with the congressman in our previous campaigns.”

Mitoma, who coordinated the Anderson campaign, said that the councilman, 72, was hurt in the final days of the campaign when longtime council secretary Grace Fouchald, 65, and Carson Community Center clerk Mamie Carter, 48, filed sexual harassment claims against the councilman.

Although Mitoma and Anderson immediately denounced the claims as politically motivated, the mayor acknowledged after the election that Anderson’s campaign had been damaged.

McDonald’s campaign received a boost when the free tabloid Carson News devoted almost its entire front page just before the election to a feature about her. The display included a large picture and the headline: “Juanita McDonald, ‘The People’s Choice.’ ”

The newspaper distributed 10,000 copies in Carson, and Jaime (Jim) Punsalan, the losing treasurer candidate, inadvertently gave McDonald’s campaign another lift with a special distribution of 10,000 copies of pages that included both the McDonald article and a back page advertisement attacking his opponent Custer.

“We thank him a great deal,” McDonald said.

McDonald, who is coordinator of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s program targeting pregnant students, was also aided by her lengthy and prominent involvement in the Democratic Party. McDonald is on the statewide party finance committee and is the chair of the Los Angeles County party’s legislative committee.

Voting patterns revealed a shift that helped McDonald, apparently at the expense of Muise.

In the Dominguez Hills precincts that she used to dominate, Muise, who is white, lost badly to McDonald, who is black.

“A lot of the blacks who voted for her (in the past) swung over to McDonald,” said union official Lusero. He said “the votes seemed to be saying” that McDonald has assumed Muise’s former role as foremost representative of black interests.

Muise said this year’s campaign, in which seven candidates were on the ballot for two council seats, included several attractive candidates. “A number of people had a difficult time deciding who to vote for,” she said.

Although the election is over, the “subliminal” mailer appears likely to remain an issue.

Mitoma said he intends to query the state Fair Political Practices Commission to see if the mailer complied with election law.

Who produced the mailer could not be determined.

On the brochure, the group that produced it is identified as United Citizens. No campaign statements from United Citizens have been filed with the city clerk. The return address listed on the brochure is the location of Roberts Postal Center. An employee there said the center has no client by that name.

At Masterpiece Mail in Lakewood, whose bulk mail permit was printed on the brochure, salesman Dave Thompson said Wednesday that he was aware that United Citizens had mailed out 10,000 copies of the brochure but said he knew little else about the group.

“I don’t even have a telephone number,” Thompson said. “We just mailed it. We didn’t do the printing. It was delivered by a messenger. The messenger didn’t even leave a receipt. There wasn’t any name on the truck.”

Thompson said the firm’s owner handled the financial arrangements and that he was not available.

Sandra Michioku, a spokeswoman for the Fair Political Practices Commission, said that any political committee that spends $1,000 is required by state law to file campaign organization and finance reports. Thompson estimated that postage and mailing costs for the brochure were at least $1,000.

Candidate Barbara Post, McDonald and DeWitt denied having anything to do with the mailing.

DeWitt said, however, that she liked it.

“I would like to shake the hand” of whoever produced it, she said. “I’m sure, at some point, someone will take credit for it. It was great.”

Muise, who vowed to find out who was behind the mailer, said: “I think it is sad when campaigns are based on untruths, innuendoes, smears and dirty tricks.”