Council Divided on Replacing Compton Mayor

Can this city do without a mayor for several months?

That is one of the questions being asked after the death last week of Mayor Walter R. Tucker, whose chair in the council chambers could remain empty until after next year’s municipal elections.

Tucker’s death leaves a council so divided that many officials said they think that the remaining four members will not be able to agree on a replacement until the election. Even Councilwoman Patricia A. Moore, considered by many to be a likely candidate for the position, said she doubts that the remaining council members can agree on a successor. She said she will not discuss her plans.

When the council splits on key issues, council members Bernice Woods and Jane Robbins generally line up on one side, with Moore and Maxcy D. Filer on the other.

If the council cannot decide on an appointee, the city charter calls for a special election date to be set “forthwith.” But City Clerk Charles Davis said the financially strapped city cannot afford to hold a special election, which would cost $15,000 to $20,000.

Davis said he believes the council could delay the mayoral election until the city general election in April, when two of the other four council seats will be on the ballot. Even if there is a special election before April, the victorious mayoral candidate would have to run again in April to fill out the remaining two years of Tucker’s term, Davis said.

If no mayoral candidate receives a majority of the vote in April, the top two vote-getters would be forced into a runoff election in June, and a new mayor would not take the oath of office until July 1--nine months after Tucker’s death.

“I don’t believe they can do without a mayor that long,” said Chuck Esters, who ran unsuccessfully against Tucker last year and is being mentioned as a possible mayoral candidate. Esters, who says he is establishing a commodities trading business in Los Angeles, forced Tucker into a June runoff.

Esters, Moore and others interviewed said they were reluctant to discuss the situation so soon after Tucker’s death. The mayor died Monday of cancer at age 66. His funeral was Saturday.

Esters would not say whether he will run for mayor. “I just think that we need to have a mourning period for the mayor and to think about the end of an era,” he said.

Tucker held elective office in the city for almost two decades. He was mayor for nine years after serving as a councilman and a school district trustee.

“It’s like a death in the family,” Esters said.

Moore said she and her council colleagues have not discussed the vacancy. “Out of respect” for Tucker, she said, “we have not said a word to one another about it. I have to readjust after the funeral, look at everything and say what’s best for the city and hope the council can come to a collective decision.”

Woods would not discuss her plans, either. Two sources, who asked to remain unnamed, said Woods is asking people for support for a mayoral bid. Woods denied that.

Filer has said he does not plan to seek reelection when his council term is up in April. He declined to talk about a Tucker replacement.

Robbins’ council seat will also be on the April ballot.

Moore said council members might want to consider appointing someone other than a council member to be mayor until an election is held.

The appointee would have to promise not to run for election, Moore said, so city business could continue and the new person would not heighten rivalry among council members.

Last year’s general election changed the makeup of the City Council, as two incumbents were defeated by Woods and Moore. But the councilwomen rarely line up on the same side of an issue.

Tucker usually voted with Robbins and Woods on controversial issues, such as redevelopment policy. When illness forced the mayor to stop attending council meetings in September, some city business stalled. For example, the council kept postponing a vote on whether to raise residential garbage rates.

On Tuesday, the day after Tucker’s death, the issue was on the council agenda again. Council members Moore and Filer adamantly opposed a rate increase and voted no. Robbins and Woods abstained, leaving the issue unresolved.

As Esters and others pointed out, however, there are some inescapable issues facing the city, including the budget. Cities must adopt budgets by the end of the fiscal year, June 30. If the mayoral candidates are forced into a June runoff, a new mayor would not be sworn until July 1, 1991.

“The city is essentially bankrupt, and the council is essentially leaderless,” Esters said.

The city has been struggling to balance its budget. In 1989 it had to lay off about 80 employees. Redevelopment projects on which the city pinned its hopes have failed to meet projected revenue expectations.

At one point after his reelection last year, Tucker suggested that the city consider disbanding its police and fire departments and contract with county sheriff’s and fire departments to help balance the budget.

The suggestion generated such heavy criticism, however, that Tucker stopped talking about it.