7 With Varied Job Backgrounds Seek Appointment to Council : Applicants: Council members have the option of selecting 1 of the 7, soliciting more applications or calling a special election.

A diverse field of seven candidates is seeking appointment to the District 2 City Council seat vacated by Councilman Roy L. Paul, who resigned in July to become a Municipal Court commissioner.

The candidates--a real estate broker, a lawyer, two salesmen, a retiree, a substitute teacher and a district attorney’s investigator--will be interviewed by the council this week. The appointee would serve until city elections in June.

None of the seven candidates are high-profile community leaders, but city officials said that they generally appear to be qualified.

The candidates are Lawerence (Larry) Chaney, Josephine A. Grzebyk, Robert H. Hausken, Meredith Perkins, Edwin P. Ratcliffe, Barbara Jean Riley and Robert Udoff.

“They’re not people who are headline grabbers, but from reading the resumes, they all have some services they’ve given to the community,” Mayor Barbara J. Hayden said. “They have a lot of qualities to offer.”

The council is not obligated to appoint one of the seven if it is dissatisfied after the interviews on Tuesday and Thursday. It could seek more applicants for appointment or hold an election.

City officials said the number of applicants is fairly high for a district that has generated few candidates in recent years. Paul was the only challenger against former Councilman Bob Davila in 1986, and no one ran against Paul in 1990.

Redevelopment, crime and police relations are the key issues, the candidates said.

Perkins, an industrial products salesman, said he supports the city’s redevelopment program to bring more business into Downey. That, in turn, will generate more tax revenue to pay for improved recreational programs and services for seniors, he said.

“It will allow us to be able to better service the community,” Perkins said.

Perkins, 54, is a member of Downey’s General Plan Committee, which is reviewing the city’s development guidelines and recommending revisions to the city.

Udoff, 57, who sells draperies and other window coverings, also said he supports city redevelopment efforts to bring more stores, restaurants and a movie theater into Downey.

“We have people who leave the city to go to dinner, to go the movies,” said Udoff, a longtime member of the Downey Masonic Lodge. “We have people who leave the city for everything, and it’s a shame,” he said.

Hausken, 44, said he also supports growth, but is wary of over-development.

“The encroachment of major development is the thing I would be concerned about,” said Hausken, who investigates organized crime for the county district attorney’s office. “We have to grow, but I’d like to keep our growth at a moderate level and maintain the small-town charm.”

Grzebyk, 61, said crime is her biggest concern. If appointed, Grzebyk said she would carefully review proposals to build new apartment buildings in the city. She said she fears such housing attracts the wrong type of people to the city.

“There’s a decline in the city of Downey,” said Grzebyk, who retired from her job as an office planner in 1990. “There’s graffiti on walls. That indicates there’s an undesirable element coming into Downey.”

Riley, 60, a substitute teacher and a member of the city’s Library Advisory Board, said she also worries about crime.

“On our street there was a car stolen a couple of nights ago, and we need as much police protection as possible,” said Riley, 60.

Chaney, a real estate agent who has belonged to various civic organizations, said he would try to mend relations between Police Chief D. Clayton Mayes and his rank and file. Last April, the Downey Police Officers Assn. hit Mayes with a vote of no confidence and called for him to be fired. Among other things, the disgruntled officers accused Mayes of favoritism in his promotions.

Mayes, who has the support of the City Council, said the officers were unhappy with his disciplined management style.

An uneasy truce holds, but the police union has not reversed its position.

“I’d like to help see that that gets resolved,” Chaney said.

Ratcliffe, a Downey lawyer, said he would like to ensure that the city maintains its financial health to support the current level of services. Ratcliffe has participated in various civic activities, among them serving on the board of directors of the Southeast Council on Alcoholism & Drug Problems.

“I’d try to maintain a level of status quo for our community,” Ratcliffe said. “It’s a neat city. I don’t have any big game plans.”

Interviews of the seven candidates will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday in the council chamber at Downey City Hall, 11111 S. Brookshire Ave.