2 Races Slapped With Surprises as Campaigns Hit Home Stretch : Inglewood: One of four challengers bows out of the race to unseat Mayor Vincent. He backs Virgle Benson.

And then there were three.

The campaign to unseat Inglewood Mayor Edward Vincent lost one of its four challengers this week when long-shot candidate Carl McGill announced he will withdraw to throw his support behind former Councilman Virgle Benson.

Besides Vincent and Benson, that leaves as active candidates two-term Councilman Anthony Scardenzan and John Murphy, a political neophyte with no campaign fund who early on had said he is in the race only to help define the campaign debate.

Vincent’s three remaining challengers say they have no illusions about winning next week’s campaign outright against the well-funded and formidable Vincent organization. Each wants to be the survivor who faces the two-term mayor in a runoff election. If enough votes are drawn from Vincent to keep him under the 50% mark, the top two vote-getters will meet head-to-head to see who will serve as the city’s part-time mayor for the next four years.

With less than a week until Election Day, veterans of Inglewood’s fractious politics say the campaign has been remarkably low-key. Vincent has yet to appear with his challengers at organized debates, and campaign literature contains few outright attacks on Vincent.

Vincent says he takes his opposition seriously but fully expects to return to office. Although Vincent reported $87,264 in his campaign fund as of Oct. 20--more than double his four challengers combined--he continues to solicit funds.

Vincent, 56, a county probation officer, has drawn fire throughout the campaign for avoiding the other candidates.

“Vincent is staying away from candidates forums so he won’t have to face hard questions from the people in the community,” Benson said. “He thinks he doesn’t have to meet with the citizens because he can afford to send out slick campaign brochures.”

Benson, 48, who has emerged as the most vociferous Vincent critic, said his job as a real estate appraiser and his experience representing District 4 on the council from 1983 to 1988 would enable him to boost commercial development in Inglewood.

Benson criticizes Vincent for not setting the proper example during his two terms as mayor. He cites the fines Vincent has paid to settle allegations by the state attorney general’s office and the Fair Political Practices Commission that he misused more than $20,000 in campaign funds. The agencies alleged he spent campaign funds on personal expenses during his first term and failed to report donations to other Inglewood political campaigns in 1987.

Vincent downplays the fines as technical violations of complicated financing laws. In his campaign, Vincent has touted the “All America City” award Inglewood won last year from the National Civic League for its fights against drugs and crime. He contends that Inglewood has prospered since he became the city’s first black mayor in 1981 and that residents have a better image of their city.

He does not attend the candidate forums, Vincent said, because he is running on his record and it is there for the voters to see.

Also running on his record as a city official for the past decade is Scardenzan, 61, a tool-and-die maker who is serving his third term on the council. Scardenzan is critical of Vincent for what he calls a lack of integrity and leadership. He nonetheless criticized as mudslinging a Benson campaign brochure featuring newspaper stories on Vincent’s fines.

Scardenzan, who began his political career in 1974 as a member of the council’s advisory board, set up Inglewood’s sister city relationship with his hometown of Pedavena, Italy, in 1982.

Scardenzan said he has shown during his nine years on the council that he works for all segments of the community. He said he is proud of his early support of the police tax passed by voters in 1988 to hire 20 more police officers. He was reelected last year to a four-year term representing District 2 on the council.

Scardenzan agrees with Vincent that there have been improvements in the city, but he disputes that the mayor should claim credit. “Any program or project the city entered into is approved by the full council, not just the mayor,” Scardenzan said.

October was not a lucrative fund-raising month for Scardenzan, who increased his total campaign chest just $825 during the first 20 days of the month to a total of $29,636. He raised an additional $1,000 on Oct. 24 after the reporting period closed. Well behind Scardenzan in fund-raising is Benson, who doubled his campaign fund to $11,075 during October.

Murphy, who filed a form saying he had raised less than $1,000, is in his first campaign for public office. Murphy, 33, an engineering technician at Hughes Aircraft Corp., has lived in Inglewood for nine years. He has no campaign organization and has limited his campaigning to candidate forums, where he has challenged the effectiveness of the current political leadership.

Murphy said his chances of winning are slim, but running for mayor has allowed him to make sure that the candidates discuss issues that are important to the average resident. Murphy received applause at several campaign forums when he insisted on discussing problems such as prostitution, street violence and the lack of major department stores or hotels in Inglewood.

McGill’s name will appear on the ballot despite his intention announced Wednesday to support Benson. McGill, who has known Benson for about 15 years, said the former councilman has demonstrated that he is community-minded and is popular enough to challenge Vincent.

McGill, a 31-year-old Los Angeles police officer, ran an unsuccessful campaign last year to replace the late Assemblyman Curtis Tucker in a special election. He has won acclaim for his anti-gang work in the community. He was a “Person of the Week” on “ABC World News Tonight” in 1988 and was profiled in Newsweek magazine in 1989 as one of California’s top five “problem solvers.”

Calling Inglewood a “big city with a small-town mentality,” McGill said the city needs new leadership and must attack the gang problem by committing more money for both law enforcement and prevention programs.

INGLEWOOD MAYORAL CANDIDATES Virgle Benson

Challenger

Age: 48

Occupation: Real estate appraiser

John Murphy

Challenger

Age: 33

Occupation: Engineering technician

Anthony Scardenzan

Challenger

Age: 61

Occupation: Tool-and-die maker

Edward Vincent

Incumbent

Age: 56

Occupation: County probation officer