ELECTIONS : Torrance Candidates Targeting Treasurer After $6-Million Loss

In the final stretch of the Torrance City Council race, the 10 candidates are looking to distinguish themselves from the pack. But most seem to agree on at least one thing: Something must be done about the city treasurer’s office.

The treasurer’s performance became a dominant theme in the campaign when it was revealed that $6.2 million in city funds had disappeared in an investment scandal involving Irvine-based financial adviser Steven Wymer. Wymer has pleaded innocent to charges of securities fraud.

City Treasurer Thomas C. Rupert, to whom the City Council had delegated authority for investing the city’s money, immediately came under political attack, and now six of the candidates are calling for the treasurer’s post to be changed from an elected to an appointed position.

Responding to a campaign questionnaire from The Times, most candidates also say the city could have avoided losing the money if there had been better oversight of the treasurer’s office and Rupert’s investment practices.

On another issue, most candidates disagree with the double-digit raises the City Council granted the city’s retiring city attorney and police chief, raising their annual pensions, with four candidates saying those raises should be rescinded.

The Wymer scandal and the pension increases have been mentioned repeatedly by most of the eight candidates who hope to unseat eight-year incumbents Timothy Mock and George Nakano in the at-large election. A third seat that is also on the March 3 ballot will not be contested by an incumbent: Councilman Dan Walker decided not to seek re-election so he can pursue a race for an Assembly seat.

Mock, 37, and Nakano, 56, say they believe the city has acted quickly to avoid further losses. And their campaigns are underscoring the traditional bread-and-butter issues in Torrance--cleaning up graffiti, easing traffic congestion and reducing crime.

Crime issues were mentioned frequently by the challengers, too.

But the election could well turn on whether the investment scandal and pension problems have triggered a deeper anger and suspicion toward city government and the incumbents.

The challengers are clearly upset over the city’s investment practices, which attorney Burton Fletcher, 41, terms “abysmal” and transportation manager William A. Cook, 49, calls “catastrophic.”

The council responded to the Wymer scandal with large-scale reforms, including involving more officials in overseeing investments. But to date, it continues to delegate investment responsibilities to Rupert, who has been on sick leave for nearly three weeks. He has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Rupert was last reelected in 1990, and only voters can remove an elected treasurer from office, but some candidates are urging a switch to an appointed treasurer to increase safeguards over the city’s money.

“This would give the council guaranteed oversight capability and accountability,” said Mark Hamblett, 35, a computer operations technician employed by the city.

Donald N. Pyles, 37, a grocery checker, favors a different approach: replacing the treasurer with a council-appointed financial counselor and creating a commission to oversee investments. The two incumbents are more cautious. Mock favors keeping an elected treasurer, but adding requirements such as a business degree. And Nakano said it should be the public that decides if the post should be an elected or appointed one.

The candidates are also divided on what, if anything, should be done about the 34% salary increase given former City Atty. Stanley Remelmeyer and the 15% raise given former Police Chief Donald E. Nash. The raises, which the City Council granted one year before the officials’ scheduled retirement, boosted their annual pensions and later came under attack in a state controller’s audit.

Four of the candidates--Cook, Fletcher, Hamblett and attorney Ronald Ellis, 43 --believe the raises should be rescinded or reduced. Nakano said he would support dropping the raises if that could be done without legal problems. And attorney Michael S. Botello, 41, said that while he disagreed with the raises, “I think we have a contract with the people” to honor the increases.

Mock said that “nothing can be done to change these two individual pay increases,” although he would oppose future increases. And challenger Don Lee, 35, an insurance broker, said “the council has obviously made a deal with these people, and a deal should be honored unless it is unlawful.”

Not surprisingly, the incumbents believe the City Council is doing a good job.

Mock rates the council’s performance “good to excellent;” Nakano terms it excellent, calling the council accessible and responsive to public concerns.

Most challengers say the council has been doing a fair or poor job and all eight of them favor a two-term limit on council members. Currently, council members can serves an unlimited number of four-year terms.

But in one area, the city’s legal challenge to Mobil Oil Corp. to improve safety at Mobil’s giant Torrance refinery, the council gets good marks from several challengers.

“The city’s actions regarding Mobil were appropriate, and, as a result, the refinery now has a near-model safety record,” Ellis said.

The Torrance Police Department also gets generally high marks from both incumbents and newcomers. “I feel that we have one of the finest police departments in the state,” said Maureen O’Donnell, 50, a Gardena High School teacher.

The candidates’ campaign finances vary dramatically, according to reports filed Thursday and covering spending this year through Feb. 15: Botello has spent $3,426.97 and has $1,048.03 on hand; Ellis has spent $2,017 and has $1,352 left; Fletcher $34,047.53 with $14,052.68 left; Hamblett $1,367.53 with $436.47 on hand; Lee $3,288 with $11,598 remaining; Mock $4,498.37 with $15,353.89 left; O’Donnell $3,026.63 with $1,171.37 remaining, and Nakano $8,740 with $36,774 left.

Cook and Pyles have filed statements saying they do not plan to receive or spend $1,000 or more this year.

Candidates for Torrance City Council

Two incumbents and eight challengers will be competing for three at-large seats in the March 3 Torrance City Council elections. Here are the candidates and their views on what they see as the major issues facing the city.

Michael S. Botello

Age: 41

Occupation: Private attorney; El Camino College instructor of business law and real estate law.

Key issues: Restoring public faith in city government in the wake of disappearance of $6.2 million in city funds, inflated pensions and multimillion-dollar legal settlements. Strengthening the city’s economic base by attracting new businesses to vacant space. Preventing graffiti and gang threats by increasing penalties, such as forbidding transport of handguns in cars in the city.

William A. Cook

Age: 49

Occupation: Transportation manager, S & M Moving Systems.

Key issues: Bringing city financial and investment practices under control by eliminating the treasurer and creating elected financial advisory commission. Correcting traffic congestion and planning to anticipate future traffic and parking needs. Appointing committee to promote and advertise Torrance as an attractive place to do business.

Ronald Ellis

Age: 43

Occupation: Attorney specializing in commercial law.

Key issues: Solving city mismanagement by seeking employees’ views, talking to management and developing solutions. Guarding against government waste by asking for employees’ ideas and running city like a business. Preventing campaign-funding corruption by prohibiting candidates from taking donations from some donors, including city landowners and employee groups.

Burton Fletcher

Age: 41

Occupation: Attorney; El Camino College business instructor.

Key issues: Ensuring fiscal responsibility by revising the City Charter, conducting an organizational audit and creating oversight councils. Tackling recent history of liability payments by obtaining adequate insurance and training employees to prevent legal claims. Promoting local businesses with a commission, business development center and “buy in Torrance” policy.

Mark Hamblett

Age: 35

Occupation: Computer operations technician, City of Torrance.

Key issues: Protecting city finances by forming a citizens investment commission and halting “golden handshakes” for top officials. Helping prevent traffic congestion by creating public works director to better coordinate street, water, engineering and transportation departments. Combatting loss of jobs in the area by creating agency to attract new businesses to the city.

Don Lee

Age: 35

Occupation: Insurance broker.

Key Issues: Preserving local control by solving city problems before state, county or other government take away city’s powers. Keeping shopping areas and public places gang-free and crime-free, using any excess city money for crime prevention. Promoting sense of community, including park, police and fire services.

Timothy Mock

Age: 37

Occupation: Paralegal, United Health Plan; city councilman since 1984.

Key issues: Assuring investment accountability, with new investment team of city officials approved by City Council. Getting traffic out of residential neighborhoods. Dealing with crime, gangs and graffiti with emphasis on community-based policing and city’s existing graffiti-removal program.

George Nakano

Age: 56

Occupation: Retired assistant principal, Worthington School, Inglewood; city councilman since 1984.

Key issues: Restructuring city investment policy, as approved by the City Council, with future fine-tuning as necessary. Guarding against gangs coming in from outside city by continuing enhanced police patrols and enlisting help of schools and other law enforcement agencies. Making sure new development is compatible with low density and sufficient parking.

Maureen O’Donnell

Age: 50

Occupation: Teacher, Gardena High School.

Key issues: Preventing crimes against city residents by increasing police force and creating community awareness programs. Strengthening city’s economic stability by keeping employers in city. Protecting quality of life in Torrance by guarding against overdevelopment that adds density and traffic.

Donald N. Pyles

Age: 37

Occupation: Grocery checker, Hughes Markets.

Key issues: Avoiding any layoffs linked to $6.2-million investment loss by immediately freezing hiring and new projects and reducing number of city employees through attrition. Dealing with encroachment of gang-related crime. Containing hazardous chemicals used in manufacturing or transported through city by railroad.

Election Debate Will Be Televised

It may not be New Hampshire, but this week the 10 candidates for the March 3 Torrance City Council election will have their only chance to debate before the television cameras.

A two-hour candidates’ forum will be televised live on Torrance Community Television, Channel 59, from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday. The program will be repeated at 7 each night Friday through March 2.

The event will feature two-minute statements from the candidates on topics picked at random before the forum begins. Candidates will also make closing statements.

Viewers can use a special telephone call-in line, (310) 618-7587, to ask questions.

The forum will be televised from the meeting room of the Torrance Civic Center Library, 3300 Torrance Blvd. It is sponsored by the Torrance League of Women Voters, the Torrance branch of the American Assn. of University Women and the Torrance Council of PTAs.