LOCAL ELECTIONS / SANTA ANA CITY COUNCIL : Candidates for Council as Varied as City Itself : Election: Four incumbents face challengers who are breaking away from the image of traditional politicians.

It is fitting that residents of Santa Ana--the largest and most diverse city in Orange County--get to select from a varied group of challengers and incumbents in this year’s city election.

Consider:

An automotive engineer with a passion for music is running against the mayor.

In one council race, a two-time challenger for the U.S. Senate is taking on the youngest school board member ever elected in the city, as well as an incumbent who is a high school teacher.

A Latina with a Cinderella background is going against an up-and-coming attorney and the incumbent, a swap meet operator, in another council race.

In the third council race, a diminutive woman with a dramatic speaking style is walking neighborhoods to snare votes from the incumbent, a muffler shop employee who once fought City Hall.

“It’s a new breed of people who are not tied to any special interest groups,” said Rueben Martinez, former treasurer for the county’s Democratic Party and an observer of Santa Ana politics for 12 years. “They are knocking on doors and talking about the city they care about.”

There are three council seats and the mayor’s seat up for reelection on Nov. 6. Daniel H. Young faces one challenger for the two-year mayoral term, while three incumbent council members battle five candidates for their seats. In Ward 6, the southern portion of the city, Richards L. Norton has two challengers. In central Santa Ana--Ward 2, the oldest section of the city--incumbent Ron May has two opponents. And in Ward 4, the lower east side, Miguel Pulido has one challenger.

With two months before the election, challengers and incumbents are testing the political waters by finalizing campaign strategies and beginning their door-to-door neighborhood walks.

Mayoral candidate Richard G. Moser is best known at City Hall for throwing a birthday party for himself in August and inviting all the council members to attend. He knows his chances are slim to win against Young, one of the most visible politicians in Orange County. But Moser said he is trying, nevertheless, because he believes that the issues of crime, homelessness and eminent domain are not being addressed by the City Council. He has set a $1,000 spending limit, and in his statement, Moser posted his home phone number and asked voters to call him.

The usually outspoken Young is taking a kid glove approach to his challenger. Instead of knocking Moser, the mayor is concentrating on the need to revitalize the city.

“There’s no question that Santa Ana is going to have an opportunity to pick people who are very different from each other this year,” Young said. “They won’t have a problem in making distinctions.”

Incumbent Norton, a swap meet operator, likes the idea of diverse candidates, even though two of them are determined to take over his seat.

‘When I first ran, we always got the same kind of candidates from the Old Guard, very traditional and very bureaucratic,” Norton said. “Now everyone has a shot at being on the council.”

His challengers are Irene Martinez-Griffiths, president of the Mexican-American Women’s National Assn. of Orange County, and attorney Glenn Mondo, who specializes in real estate cases.

Mondo has asked the attorney general’s office to investigate whether Norton broke a state law prohibiting elected officials from accepting discounts from transportation companies. In July, Norton accepted an airline ticket upgrade from coach to first class. Norton said he got the upgrade because a ticket agent discovered that he and his wife were on their honeymoon trip.

Since taking office, Norton has found himself immersed in controversy. His own wedding became a political dart because he had to return several gifts that cost more than the $250 limit allowed by the city charter.

Mondo asserts that Norton has a “pattern” of saying he does not know he is violating the law.

“Yes, it is funny sometimes, and somehow it seems it can’t be all that harmful,” Mondo said. “But his actions show he is somebody who doesn’t understand the seriousness of public office, and that’s why I’m concerned with that kind of conduct.”

Norton shrugs off the charges.

“It’s rubbish,” Norton said. “All these charges come from political people and have no merit. They can charge me with anything they want, there’s no substance to it.”

In any case, Norton has hired political consultant Harvey Englander, whom he once called a “sleazy political consultant known for smear campaigns” in his 1988 political flyers. Englander handled Councilman Daniel E. Griest’s campaign against Norton.

Meanwhile, Martinez-Griffiths, a program coordinator for a nonprofit community organization, already has begun walking neighborhoods. Martinez-Griffiths, who married at age 14 and worked her way through night school as a teen-ager, said she hopes to win despite little name recognition.

“I’m taking the campaign to the people,” she said. She is following a strict strategy of meeting residents 3 1/2 hours every weekday and all day on weekends. “I’m not getting myself involved in the political talk. I’m making myself visible to the people and developing support instead.”

In another ward, May and his strongest challenger, Robert L. Richardson, have been bickering endlessly, even in their campaign statements. Richardson, a school board member, asserts in his statement that “the incumbent’s do-nothing attitude has contributed to the decline of the quality of life in Santa Ana.”

May, a Santa Ana High School history teacher, declared that Richardson has special interests as an assistant to Orange County Supervisor Roger R. Stanton. May wrote that his opponent “has serious conflicts of interest from his county job that could keep him from representing you.”

Robert Banuelos, a senior citizen counselor for the city, is the dark horse of the three. A former Pacific Bell employee, Banuelos ran for U.S. Senate in 1986 and 1988.

Banuelos is the only candidate who did not file a campaign statement, included in sample ballots mailed to registered voters, detailing where he stood on issues. He said he wanted to save the $700 statement fee so he could spend it on campaign mailers. In an interview, Banuelos said he wants to improve the city’s senior citizens’ food program and increase money for community services.

Coween Dickerson, a fiery business systems analyst, is incumbent Pulido’s sole challenger. In recent council meetings, Dickerson, who is 4-foot-8, has literally stepped onto a footstool to speak into the microphone and address the council on subjects such as the council’s rejection of a cable consultant contract.

She says she is not a “professional politician seeking higher office like the incumbent.”

In his campaign statement, Pulido declares he is proud of his four years in office.

“Each time I see a freshly painted, non-graffiti-filled wall, I am proud. And I wholeheartedly accept and embrace my reputation as someone who is stingy with taxpayer dollars,” Pulido said in his statement.

As for Dickerson’s assertion that he has done little for the city, Pulido replied in an interview, “I think I’ve done a pretty good job.”

SANTA ANA ELECTIONS MAYOR: Daniel H. Young Age: 39. Occupation: Incumbent mayor, developer. Background: Mayor since 1986. Elected to council in 1983. Chief of staff for then Rep. Jerry M. Patterson for three years. Switched to Republican Party in 1988. Graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a bachelor’s degree in history. Obtained master’s degree in public administration from USC in 1976. Issues: Believes that progress begins with neighborhood groups. Quality of life in neighborhoods must be improved. Richard G. Moser Age: 50. Occupation: Automotive engineer and musician. Background: Graduated from Georgia Tech with a bachelor of science in engineer mechanics. Received a master’s degree in automotive engineering in 1962. Served on the Bristol Street Redevelopment citizen advisory committee. Issues: Believes that the city should have more fiscal responsibility. Does not like sports arena plan and the use of eminent domain for redevelopment. City Council--Ward II: Ron May Age: 51. Occupation: Incumbent councilman, Santa Ana High School history teacher. Background: Elected to the City Council in 1986. Ran and lost against County Supervisor Roger R. Stanton in 1988. Issues: Getting rid of special interests on the council. Robert L. Richardson. Age: 29. Occupation: Executive assistant to County Supervisor Roger R. Stanton and Santa Ana school board member. Background: Graduated from UCLA with honors. Elected to Santa Ana Unified School District board in 1987. Chairman of Taxpayers Against Crime/No on Measure A, the initiative to place a jail in Santa Ana. Issues: Believes that the council needs more leadership to combat overcrowding and crime. Robert Banuelos Age: 38. Occupation: City employee at Southwest Senior Citizen Center. Background: Ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1986 and 1988. Had been an employee at Pacific Bell for 15 years before his last Senate race. Issues: Wants to improve living conditions for senior citizens in the city and increase money to community services. City Council--Ward IV: Miguel A. Pulido Jr. Age: 34. Occupation: Incumbent councilman, employed in a family-owned business, ACE muffler shop. Background: Won a council seat in 1986. Gained public support after family battled City Hall when redevelopment threatened to take over location of the muffler shop. Graduated from Cal State Fullerton with an engineering degree. Issues: Believes in responsible government, support of neighborhood groups and helping residents fight against crime. Coween Dickerson Age: 42. Occupation: Self-employed business systems analyst. Background: Graduated from University of Arizona with a degree in political science. Appointed to cable board in 1988. A member of city’s cable television advisory committee. Previously served on the city’s charter review committee. Issues: Wants safer neighborhoods through increased number of police officers. Wants to eliminate high-density apartments to prevent overcrowding. City Council--Ward VI: Richards L. Norton Age: 40. Occupation: Incumbent councilman, swap meet operator. Background: Elected to the City Council in a special election in April, 1989. Unsuccessfully ran against Councilman Daniel E. Griset in 1988 election. Issues: Improving public safety services and quality of life in the neighborhoods. Supports increasing the number of police and fire personnel. Opposes special arrangements with development companies that would increase traffic in the city. Irene Martinez-Griffiths Age: 35. Occupation: Program coordinator for Orange County Community Consortium Inc. Background: President of the Mexican American Women’s National Assn. of Orange County; Community relations chairwoman of the Girl Scouts Council of Orange County. Issues: Wants to improve accessibility, accountability and representation in the city. Glenn Mondo Age: 31. Occupation: Attorney, specializing in real estate. Background: Graduated from Loyola Law School in 1984. Editor of Loyola’s Law Review. Member of the city’s charter review committee and the mayor’s task force on transportation. Issues: Wants to maintain quality of life in neighborhoods by enhancing and preserving them. Wants to propose a recycling program for Santa Ana and make it a model program for Orange County cities.