Political Brawl, Take 2 : Raucous Council Race Focuses on Rent Control

It used to be that in this town in a good year, it took 400 votes to win a seat on the City Council.

Never mind that 43,000 people called Bell Gardens home, and 5,000 of them were registered voters--city officials considered themselves lucky if 750 people turned out.

But in the past year, voter registration has swollen 10%, and not a day goes by when someone doesn’t walk into the office of beleaguered City Clerk Leanna Keltner and dump an armful of absentee ballots on her desk.

Last December, nearly 2,000 voters--many of them Latinos voting for the first time--recalled four Anglo City Council members from office after a fervid campaign bursting with racial rhetoric and demands for more sensitive local representation.

On Tuesday, three months after the recall, voters will once again go to the polls--this time to replace the four ousted council members.

If anything, this campaign has been more raucous than the last. Tempers have worn thin, campaign mailers scream accusations, anger compels the 10 candidates and their supporters who walk the neighborhoods trying to convince bewildered residents that they know what is best for Bell Gardens.

“In some ways the recall was good, because it woke the city up,” candidate Richard Webb said. “When you have a town of 40,000 people and less than a thousand vote, there is something wrong.”

In the past few weeks, 1,700 people have requested applications for absentee ballots, and as of Thursday, more than 900 of them had already voted. During the Dec. 10 recall election, an unprecedented 787 people voted by absentee ballot, and most of them voted to throw out four of the five council members.

Gone, however, is the Latino-versus-Anglo vitriol that sharply divided the community and captured nationwide attention. All 10 candidates vying for the four seats stress the need for a City Council that is responsive both to the Latino community, which makes up 88% of the population, and the much smaller Anglo and Asian populations.

“Mind you, the council wasn’t recalled because they were white,” said candidate Rodolfo (Rudy) Garcia, who once accused the council of trying to drive “Mexicans” from the city. “They were recalled because they lost touch with the community, which happens to be (about) 90% Hispanic.”

Latino leaders don’t doubt, however, that whatever the reasons behind the recall, it has come to be seen as a big victory for their community. Latinos in surrounding areas are closely watching this election to see whether the recall leaders can sustain their momentum, and several prominent Latino leaders and organizations have contributed money to the campaign.

As Garcia said: “This movement is big, big, big for Hispanics.”

Garcia is one of four candidates backed by the No-Rezoning Committee, which led the recall in protest of a proposed zoning change. Like Garcia, candidates Josefina (Josie) Macias, Frank B. Duran and George T. Deitch are championing a platform that they say will make Bell Gardens a better place to live and which their critics say will transform the city into a slum.

At the top of the foursome’s list is rent control.

Their critics and community observers predicted that rent control would never become a plank in the No-Rezoners’ platform, because the committee has received much of its funding from landlords.

But in a community where 78% of the residents are tenants, sidestepping the rent control issue could have cost votes. Rent control is mentioned in nearly every campaign paper issued by the No-Rezoning Committee.

Garcia, Macias, Duran and Deitch are not the only candidates on the rent-control crusade. Candidates Jesus (Jess) Zuniga, Webb, Yolanda Quintana and Danny Rico have been endorsed by Councilwoman Rosa Hernandez and her newly formed Citizens for Rent Control. Candidate Juan (John) Sanchez also has come out in support of rent control. Although it seems that all sides agree on this issue, it has not prevented rent control from becoming one of the hottest debates in the campaign.

“They are lying when they say they support rent control,” said Hernandez, the only council member not targeted by the recall.

“Rent control is a smoke screen,” candidate Garcia said. “That lady (Hernandez) is a liar, and she cannot be trusted.”

Hernandez’s Citizens for Rent Control has sent out mailers charging, among other things, that the No-Rezoning candidates plan to raise all rents, throw tenants out in the street if they want repairs and send “thugs” to “see them” if tenants complain.

But No-Rezoning candidate Deitch, who owns about a dozen rental properties in Bell Gardens, says he supports rent control “across the board” and would put the issue to the vote of the people.

But he said that “rent control will guarantee raises each year, so renters who think that rent control will solve all their problems are wrong.”

Under many forms of rent control, landlords are allowed to raise rent at the beginning of each year to reflect cost-of-living increases, generally 3% to 5%.

Other issues supported by the No-Rezoning candidates include:

* Two-term limits for city officials.

* Establishing a bilingual committee to help residents qualify for low-cost housing.

* Establishing a committee to review zoning laws and the city’s General Plan.

“In 10 years, this city will be beautiful and clean,” candidate Macias said, reviewing the platform. “I envision this as the get-along city.”

Candidates Webb, Quintana, Rico, Zuniga and Sanchez are campaigning individually and have not established such an elaborate platform. However, all four stress the need to establish better communication between City Hall and the community.

The four tend to be critical of the recall campaign but say that it probably would not have happened if the council had been more willing to seek out and listen to community opinions.

Webb, a former Bell Gardens police officer, said one of his first priorities is to strengthen the Police Department primarily by getting rid of Police Chief William Donohoe. He maintains that Donohoe has been the source of many problems in the department over the past eight years. Donohoe was not available for comment.

Candidate Zuniga said he wants to build better housing for seniors and to continue the city’s redevelopment and street improvement programs.

A mother of four, candidate Quintana is concerned about senior citizen housing, but she is particularly interested in establishing a city child-care program to help parents who must work during the day.

Candidate Rico believes that the city desperately needs a community entertainment center such as a movie theater, bowling alley or sports center.

Candidate Sanchez said he wants to strengthen police and community programs to combat drugs and gangs.

Perhaps the most single-minded candidate is Victor Vaillette, who calls himself a “Dump-Booker Advocate.” His sole purpose in running is to urge people to fire City Manager Claude Booker, who he says has oppressed and intimidated residents of Bell Gardens.

Indeed, recently the campaign seems to have less to do with replacing the council than with getting rid of Booker. In addition to Vaillette, No-Rezoning candidates Deitch and Garcia have lashed out at the powerful city manager, referring to him as “King Claude” or “King Clod.”

“My beef is with the city manager,” Deitch said. “He is a political machine, and I want him out.”

Booker has publicly charged that neither Deitch nor Garcia live in Bell Gardens--a charge both men deny. Deitch said he has lived in the city for two years; Garcia said he has been a resident since last April.

Recently, the Citizens for Rent Control sent out a mailer posing the question: “Where do George Deitch and Rudy Garcia really live?” Inside are photos of a home in Bell, which the group says is Garcia’s true home, and a home in Downey where Deitch lives, the group says. Both men say that those houses belong to their estranged wives.

Several days later, the same piece was circulated, this time with bold, red lettering across the text proclaiming “We apologize for the Lies and Misinformation.”

Both sides denied sending out the second mailer. The city clerk filed a complaint about the mailer with the state Fair Political Practices Commission asking for an investigation.

All this battling is costing both sides. Campaign spending is reaching record levels with the No-Rezoning Committee dishing out nearly $43,000 between Nov. 24 and Feb. 22, when the last campaign expense reports were due.

Contributions to the committee include $500 from the Committee to Reelect State Sen. Art Torres; $1,000 from the Mexican-American Political Assn.; $300 from the L.A. County Chicano Employees Assn. and donations ranging from $150 to $300 from other Latino leaders, local businesses and about a dozen landlords.

Citizens for Rent Control spent nearly $5,000 fighting the No-Rezoning Committee between Feb. 3 and Feb. 22, according to campaign disclosure statements. Half of the contributions have come from Hernandez.

The fight will not be over on March 10. A month later, on April 14, three of the four seats will reopen for regular municipal elections, and that time, two of the four City Council members who were ousted are running to try to regain their seats.