Santa Ana : Stanton’s Aide Beats Council Incumbent

The city’s voters ousted one incumbent and reelected two others after one of Santa Ana’s most bitter campaigns.

Challenger Robert L. Richardson, an aide to county Supervisor Roger R. Stanton, decisively defeated one-term incumbent Ron May, a Santa Ana High School teacher.

May said Richardson’s campaign was Stanton’s “vendetta” against him. May had challenged Stanton in the 1988 supervisor’s race and lost.

“I was fighting more than one man in this race. It was too tough,” May said.

Richardson, who is also a member of the Santa Ana school board, said his campaign had nothing to do with his employment at Stanton’s office. Richardson polled 44.4% of the votes to May’s 37.1%.

“The campaign had more to do with people who wanted leaders in Santa Ana to do something to improve the city,” he said.

Richardson, who will give up his school board seat, will take his oath for a four-year term on Nov. 26.

Incumbent Miguel A. Pulido Jr. survived a brutal race against challenger Coween Dickerson, whose barrage of weekend mailers accused him of criminally misusing campaign funds and alleged that he had drug connections.

Pulido has filed a $250,000 libel and slander suit against Dickerson. “It was one of the most deceitful campaigns run in the history of the city,” Pulido said. “It was impossible for me to reply to all those allegations and charges that were brought about in the weekend.”

Dickerson said on election night that she will pursue complaints she has filed with the state Fair Political Practices Commission against Pulido, who polled 52.9% of the votes to Dickerson’s 46.5%.

Incumbent Richards L. Norton narrowly defeated challenger Glenn Mondo, a lawyer at one of the county’s most prestigious law firms, by 787 votes.

Norton said he plans to file a complaint against Mondo, whose mailers described the councilman as “the Puppet Master of Santa Ana.”

Mondo said the close count indicates that residents want another representative: “Given that I am a relatively unknown candidate, perhaps residents are thinking that Mr. Norton is not showing concern with issues that are important for the people who live here.”

Mayor Daniel H. Young easily won over automotive engineer Richard Moser, with 69% of the vote.