ELECTIONS : Missing Millions, Flood of Bad News Turn Up the Heat in Torrance Races

City Council elections in Torrance have traditionally been tame affairs, the candidates typically polite and the issues revolving around stop signs, traffic control and preserving the city’s suburban flavor.

But this year’s race is anything but staid--or polite.

Candidate forums have turned into scrappy affairs, with contenders engaging in bitter exchanges. After a forum last week at Anza Elementary School, candidates Maureen O’Donnell and Burton Fletcher apparently continued the debate in a Hawthorne Boulevard parking lot; it ended with O’Donnell telling police that Fletcher threatened her.

Fletcher vehemently denies it and claims that O’Donnell is merely trying to get media attention.

Whatever happened, City Hall is abuzz with rumors.

And so it goes in this year’s raucous, high-spirited campaign as 10 candidates vie for three at-large seats on the City Council.

“Gentility has gone by the board,” said Mayor Katy Geissert, who is not up for reelection this year.

Newcomer Mark Hamblett, 35, a city computer operations technician, attributes the spirited races and crowded field to recent events in City Hall, including the mid-December disclosure that millions of dollars in city funds may have been lost in an investment scandal.

“It’s because of the things that have happened,” Hamblett said. “The thing that got me going is--$6 million. Gone.”

But Councilman Timothy Mock, who along with Councilman George Nakano is seeking reelection, says that as he campaigns, most voters are not asking about the $6 million.

Instead, he says, “They’ve been asking me questions like, ‘When am I going to get my recycling bin?’ ‘Can you do anything about trucks on Anza?’ ‘What can you do about airport noise?’ ”

In addition to incumbents Mock and Nakano and challenger Hamblett, others running include Michael S. Botello, 41, law instructor and attorney; William A. Cook, 49, transportation manager; Ronald Ellis, 43, attorney; Donald N. Pyles, 36, grocery checker; Don Lee, 35, insurance broker; Fletcher, 41, business administration instructor and attorney, and O’Donnell, 50, high school teacher.

So far, the election seems to be shaping up as a fundamental test of how Torrance voters perceive local government.

The incumbents claim to be confident that when residents cast their ballots, they will be guided not by recent headlines but by the city’s well-stocked libraries, its tree-lined streets and its new, $13-million Cultural Arts Center.

But many of the challengers are counting on a groundswell of voter discontent, prompted by the investment scandal, increased pensions awarded to two longtime officials and multimillion-dollar lawsuits that have plagued the city.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

Just two months ago, city officials were anticipating a low-key election. Incumbents could point to a new automated trash pickup system, a city recycling plan and the glistening Cultural Arts Center.

Then came the bad news.

On Dec. 20, Torrance officials confirmed that $6 million in city money had disappeared in a scandal involving Steven D. Wymer, an Irvine-based investment adviser hired by Torrance and other cities. Wymer has pleaded not guilty to 30 counts of securities fraud and other charges; the money remains missing.

The following week, the state controller’s office issued a blistering critique of the hefty raises the City Council granted two longtime officials shortly before they retired. The raises, 15% for former Police Chief Donald E. Nash and 34% for former City Atty. Stanley Remelmeyer, boosted their retirement pensions.

Coming just days before the Dec. 31 filing date for council candidates, the developments were credited with bringing in new candidates.

“Two issues fell into their laps,” Geissert said.

To worsen matters, the Wymer scandal and the raises may have undermined public confidence in city fiscal policies in the midst of a recession, when many aerospace workers and other South Bay residents are counting pennies and fearing for their jobs.

The City Council has rushed to deflect any criticism, approving massive investment reforms that diminish the power of City Treasurer Thomas C. Rupert and set up a system of checks and balances.

But the challengers are not satisfied. At forums Sunday and Monday, many of them pointed to the missing $6 million and the raises.

“Our city has been beset by scandals. We need a new direction,” O’Donnell said.

On Monday, O’Donnell and Pyles called on Rupert, an elected official who had wide investment authority, to resign.

Hamblett suggested the City Council should have known about the questionable holdings.

“The council sees these investment reports, and they said nothing. And that makes me angry,” he said.

Ellis described the new reforms as “window dressing” and Fletcher called on the audience to ask the City Council for a finance committee with citizen representation.

Botello, referring to the Nash and Remelmeyer raises, pointed out that the increased pensions were paid from a state pension fund.

“The council was not giving Torrance dollars away. The council was giving away money that belongs to state workers,” he said.

Mock and Nakano and Don Lee, a city planning commissioner who is running for the council, countered by emphasizing the city’s accomplishments and their own records of community service.

“Politicians and candidates have a habit of telling us what is wrong,” Lee said. “If you believe, as I do, that Torrance is a good place to live, vote for me.”

Nakano cited traffic signs installed on nearby residential streets, his support of senior citizen housing and his efforts to start a graffiti-abatement program. Nakano also went on the offensive, challenging Fletcher--a Torrance attorney--to reveal how many cities he has sued. Fletcher calls Nakano’s comment “not worthy of response.”

But Fletcher is willing to predict some surprises on March 3.

“I’m predicting flat-out that we’re going to unseat the incumbents,” he said Friday.

Mock disagrees.

“The neighborhood issues that George (Nakano) and I have dealt with are the things that people are concerned about,” he said. “As we progress in the campaign, the (challengers) will be more and more frustrated with the fact that people are happy with the city.”

Torrance City Council Election

Two incumbents and eight challengers are running for three Torrance City Council seats in the March 3 election. The candidates are:

* Michael S. Botello, 41, law instructor and attorney

* William A. Cook, 49, transportation manager

* Ronald Ellis, 43, attorney

* Burton Fletcher, 41, business instructor and attorney

* Mark A. Hamblett, 35, city computer operations technician

* Don Lee, 35, insurance broker

* Timothy Mock, 37, paralegal and City Council incumbent

* George Nakano, 56, retired educator and City Council incumbent

* Maureen B. O’Donnell, 50, high school teacher

* Donald N. Pyles, 36, grocery checker