ELECTIONS : They Held a Vote and Some Came--But Not Too Many : Numbers: Local contests drew more voters than usual, but the biggest winner of the day was apathy.

It seemed the public-spirited thing to do. Hoping to boost voter turnout in Tuesday’s elections, Hermosa Beach firefighters offered residents free rides to the polls.

There wasn’t much spirit in the public’s response.

“We had guys standing by in shifts all day, but no one called,” said Michael Lines, president of the Hermosa Beach Firefighters’ Assn. “It’s just another sign of voter apathy.”

With well under a third of its registered voters casting ballots, Hermosa Beach did not shatter turnout records. Nor did the four other South Bay communities that had city council races, according to unofficial figures from the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder’s office.

Turnout was generally stronger than in many past council elections, but that’s not saying much. Rolling Hills Estates had the highest turnout with 35.7%, followed by El Segundo, 35.1%; Rancho Palos Verdes, 32.9%; Hermosa Beach, 27.5%, and Hawthorne, 21.9%.

Those figures do not reflect the generally lower turnout in cities having only school board contests on the ballot, or the number--believed to be high--of voting-age citizens in the South Bay who failed to register.

Even in Rolling Hills Estates, where turnout was higher than usual, the ballot count was not cause for celebration.

“For a local election, it was very high, but I’m still disappointed by the voter apathy,” said Rolling Hills Estates Councilman Peter Weber, who won a fifth term. “Most people couldn’t care less who gets in office.”

Such concerns go beyond the South Bay.

“People across the country are just not interested any more in the election process,” said Sheldon Kamieniecki, associate professor of political science at USC. “This is very troubling, because in some parts of the world people have been giving their lives to be able to vote. It’s a sad state of affairs.”

Although election officials say turnout in local races has generally declined over the years, some cities have higher voter participation than others.

Palos Verdes Peninsula cities and some small South Bay communities such as Avalon and El Segundo often register heavier turnout in local elections than larger cities such as Torrance.

El Segundo Mayor Carl Jacobson said voter participation in his city is bolstered by a small-town atmosphere in which many residents track local politics.

In Rancho Palos Verdes, Councilman John McTaggart cited factors ranging from public concern about protecting the affluent peninsula’s property values to the educational level of peninsula voters.

“We have a high educational level here,” said McTaggart, who won reelection. “That’s not an elitist view. That’s just a fact.”

In Torrance, it’s a different turnout story.

The city’s 1990 City Council race drew more voters than usual because the ballot also included a controversial proposal aimed at guarding against a catastrophic chemical spill at the Mobil oil refinery.

Even so, only 28% of registered voters showed up at the polls. The turnouts in Torrance’s five council elections during the ‘80s were 15% in 1988, 14% in ‘86, 18% in ‘84, 20% in ’82 and 12% in ’80.

Mayor Katy Geissert offered several explanations, among them an increase in the number of apartment-dwellers without a long-term stake in the community and a lack of strong candidates.

The low turnout, Geissert said, leaves elected officials feeling adrift: “It leaves a person in elected office wondering whether they reflect the true feeling of the community.”

Officials in virtually all South Bay communities express disappointment that turnout for local elections is generally so much lower than in statewide and presidential elections.

In recent interviews, South Bay residents gave a number of reasons for the disparity.

Some, such as Chris Adams of El Segundo, have developed a general dislike and distrust for politicians.

“I used to be a strong voter, but now I vote as infrequently as possible,” said Adams, 39, an engineer. “I know where politicians are coming from. They are scum, just like other groups like lawyers and doctors.”

Edward Edholm, a Hermosa Beach resident, said voting would be pointless because he has no time to learn about the candidates. By day, Edholm works as a store clerk. At night, he takes business courses at El Camino Community College.

“Everything I do I try to do to the best of my ability,” said Edholm, 34. “If I voted, I would be doing it half-cocked.”

The view is shared by Donald Owens, a 40 year-old security guard from Hawthorne. And Owens said he would rather defer to those who vote.

“I figure there are enough people voting,” Owens said. “Whoever they pick, I’ll go along with that person.”

Other residents prefer to have their say come Election Day.

Neal Von Flue, stopped on the sidewalk in El Segundo several days before Tuesday’s election, said he had registered to vote and was excited about casting a ballot because he recently turned 18.

“Practically all my friends vote,” the art student said. “I don’t know if we’re a weird cult group or what.”

In Inglewood, which had no local election, bilingual teacher Velma Lewis said she plans to vote in the city’s municipal election next fall. Those who do not, she said, will have only themselves to blame for problems such as crime and dilapidated housing.

“It’s ignorance,” said Lewis, 28. “Many people don’t even watch the news. They just don’t know what’s going on.”

Theories abound on how to boost turnout in local elections. Some political experts recommend wider use of local cable television to air candidate debates. Others urge public financing of campaigns to remove the public perception, and sometimes reality, that large contributions by business interests unduly influence elections.

Kamieniecki of USC said a key challenge is improving high school civics instruction.

“High school does a terrible job of teaching civics, of teaching how once kids turn 18 they will be able to exercise this incredible right to vote,” he said. “The main factor is education.”

South Bay Voter Turnout

Chart compares turnout in the 1988 presidential race to turnout in the latest contested city council elections.

City 1988 presidential Latest municipal Avalon 57.3% 54.2% (4/90) Rolling Hills 68.3% 45.9% (4/90) Rolling Hills Estates * 83.4% 35.7% (11/91) El Segundo * 70.8% 35.1% (11/91) Rancho Palos Verdes * 69.3% 32.9% (11/91) Torrance 78.9% 28.0% (3/90) Hermosa Beach * 76.8% 27.5% (11/91) Palos Verdes Estates 68.9% 26.0% (4/90) Carson 63.0% 22.3% (4/90) Hawthorne * 67.7% 21.9% (11/91) Gardena 63.2% 21.5% (4/90) Lawndale 60.2% 20.9% (4/90) Manhattan Beach 72.4% 20.8% (4/90) Los Angeles ** 58.7% 20.6% (4/89) Redondo Beach 70.6% 19.0% (5/91) Lomita 67.5% 17.0% (4/90) Inglewood 65.7% 12.1% (4/91)

* Held elections last week; municipal figures based on unofficial results.

** Los Angeles City Council District 15, which includes San Pedro, Wilmington, Harbor City and Harbor Gateway. Figures slightly lower due to exclusion of absentee ballots.

SOURCE: Los Angeles County registrar-recorder’s office and South Bay city clerks.