ELECTIONS / INGLEWOOD : Two Serving Short Terms Battle to Go Full Time

By MARC LACEY

March 29, 1991 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Two Inglewood councilmen elected to partial terms two years ago are battling to win full four-year terms in next Tuesday’s election as a handful of opponents challenge their records in office.

In the largely black and Latino District 4 in Inglewood’s southwest, Councilman Garland Hardeman won his seat in October, 1989, after a judge forced Ervin (Tony) Thomas from office because of absentee ballot irregularities by the Thomas campaign. Thomas is now attempting to win back the seat, and two other candidates are also in the running.

Councilman Jose Fernandez, who represents the ethnically diverse District 3 covering Inglewood’s downtown and west side, won his seat in June, 1989, after Councilwoman Ann Wilk died in office. He is facing one challenger, first-time candidate E. David Lawrence.

The District 4 race has attracted the most heat because of Hardeman’s confrontational style on the council. Hardeman and Councilman Daniel Tabor have frequently clashed with their council colleagues as they have pushed aggressively for affirmative action in hiring and the awarding of city contracts. The pair has also questioned whether the predominantly white city administration adequately represents a population that is 50% black and 38% Latino.

Hardeman, 34, a Los Angeles police officer, was edged by Thomas by 16 votes when the two met at the polls in 1987. But Hardeman contested the election in court, accusing Thomas campaigners, including Mayor Edward Vincent, of pressuring voters to cast absentee ballots for Thomas.

While the lawsuit progressed in the courts, Thomas served two years on the council, and Hardeman declared himself the “de facto councilman” at meetings and cast symbolic votes from the audience.

Ultimately, a Superior Court judge ruled in Hardeman’s favor, and an appeals court upheld the decision. Thomas was forced to step down and face Hardeman in a special election. Hardeman won that contest in October, 1989, by a 2-1 margin.

Thomas, 49, a manager for the 7-Up Bottling Co., is downplaying the court rulings and lashing out at Hardeman in his attempt to win back the seat.

Also challenging Hardeman is Virgle Benson, 48, a real estate appraiser who served one term as a councilman representing District 4 from 1983 to ’87 and ran unsuccessfully for mayor against Vincent last November.

The other challenger is William McKown, 62, who held numerous city and county administrative positions before retiring in 1988. He was a school trustee in the Inglewood Unified School District from 1968 to ’69 and has held positions as acting city manager in Inglewood and director of redevelopment for Los Angeles County. He retired when his contract as Carson’s acting city administrator was not renewed in 1988.

Both Benson and McKown say their experience in government would enable them to hit the ground running and address the needs of their constituents.

Hardeman says he has organized additional block clubs in his district and introduced resolutions to establish a reward system for crime victims and to curb the proliferation of small motels along Century Boulevard.

Hardeman’s opponents acknowledge that he worked hard to win the seat from Thomas but say that his antagonistic nature has made it impossible for him to win a consensus on the council on many critical issues.

Thomas and McKown also criticize Hardeman’s attendance and travel records. They say Hardeman has taken frequent out-of-town trips on city business and has been absent or late to council meetings more than 50% of the time.

Hardeman says his travel record is comparable to those of other council members. He says he did miss council sessions when he was working the day shift as a police officer. He says his colleagues refused to consider moving the meetings to the evening to accommodate his schedule and those of other working people. Since beginning the night shift last fall, Hardeman said, he has not missed a meeting.

Hardeman’s police work was an issue in another attack from Thomas.

Last weekend, Hardeman shot and wounded an unarmed man in an abandoned house while on patrol. Police say the man lunged at Hardeman’s partner and suddenly withdrew his hands from his pockets. The shooting is under routine investigation, but Thomas said at Tuesday’s council meeting that it clearly demonstrates Hardeman’s lack of judgment.

Hardeman calls Thomas’ comments “a cheap shot,” and Benson distanced himself from Thomas. “Throw mud, and some sticks on your hand,” Benson said.

Tabor has also come to his colleague’s aid, endorsing Hardeman and calling him “an independent voice who is an alternative conscience for the council.” Vincent and Fernandez have not endorsed any candidates in the race, and Councilman Anthony Scardenzan, a Hardeman critic, says he favors anybody except Hardeman.

In the District 3 race, Fernandez is highlighting programs that the council has approved during the past two years to aid senior citizens, combat drug dealing and control development.

Fernandez says he was instrumental in pushing the remodeling of the Senior Citizen’s Center on Locust Street, installing one-way pay telephones on Inglewood streets to discourage drug dealers from using them and imposing a building moratorium on multiunit developments.

Fernandez says another term would give him time to address the struggling downtown area, which has lost many of its major businesses and is now lined with discount stores.

“Downtown Inglewood has followed the same decline as many other downtowns with the coming of the mall age,” Fernandez said.

He says he expects to work with city staff and come up with a plan for redeveloping downtown in the next year. One development that will help the district, he says, is a K mart planned for Hillcrest and La Cienega boulevards.

Lawrence, 34, a real estate agent, says Fernandez does not adequately gauge the views of his constituents. He criticizes Fernandez for voting in favor of keeping three daytime council meetings and one night meeting per month. More night meetings would help working people participate in government, Lawrence says.

Fernandez defends his vote in favor of a combination of night and day meetings. Senior citizens favor the daytime sessions, he says, whereas the night session gives those who work during the day the opportunity to express their views.

Lawrence also proposes establishing a police review board in the city to monitor citizen complaints. He says the board would help to prevent an incident such as the recent beating of Rodney G. King by Los Angeles police from happening in Inglewood.

Fernandez, who won endorsements from the police and fire unions, says the city is forming a committee to look into departmental oversight in general. Fernandez says he will wait for recommendations from that body before considering a police review board or any other changes to the governmental structure.

Both candidates say they hope to encourage the city’s growing Latino population to participate in city government.

Fernandez, the first Latino elected to the council, says Latinos from inside and outside his district frequently consult him on city business. A voter registration drive is needed to encourage the Latino community’s participation in politics, he says.

Lawrence suggests inviting high school students to council meetings to interest them in city government. He also proposes hiring a Spanish translator for City Council meetings and putting up bilingual signs in City Hall.

THE CANDIDATES Jose Fernandez

* District 3 incumbent

* Age: 31

* Occupation: Insurance and real estate broker E. David Lawrence

* District 3 challenger

* Age: 34

* Occupation: Real estate agent Garland Hardeman

* District 4 incumbent

* Age: 34

* Occupation: Los Angeles police officer Virgle Benson

* District 4 challenger

* Age: 48