Group Analyzes, Rates 5 Cudahy Candidates--but There’s a Catch

Enough of the campaign mailers with their exaggerations and claims. Enough of the carefully worded speeches and rah-rah stumping. A small group of Cudahy residents came up with what they say is a fair and impartial way to rate each candidate.

Calling itself the People for Equal Political Representation in Cudahy, the group sent voters a 10-page “analysis” of all five candidates in the race. Each was given points for personal background, platform issues, candidate statements and campaign ethics. When all was said and done, incumbent Councilman John O. Robertson was deemed the best qualified for the job with a perfect score of 125 points. His political enemy and fellow incumbent, Joseph Fregeau, ranked fourth with a measly 35 points.

It turns out, however, that the analysis may be a little less than objective. The reports were mailed out with the bulk mail stamp registered to the Friends for Robertson committee.

“So what?” said Charles Sousa, who put together the mailer and is a member of People for Equal Political Representation. “Can’t I be a friend to John Robertson and still be impartial?”

Sousa defended the analysis of each candidate and said that he asked Robertson if the committee could use his bulk mail permit because the group does not have one.

Robertson, who is seeking his fifth term, said the group paid him about $200 to send out the report to the city’s 1,980 registered voters.

“I know the people who put it together and they asked me to mail it,” Robertson said. “I said, ‘Fine, give me the money and I’ll take care of it.’ I don’t feel it looks odd. I didn’t have anything to do with the content of the mailer. . . . Yeah, they are obviously friendly to me and they had an ax to grind with Fregeau, but that’s between them and him.”

Fregeau, who was appointed in 1989 and is seeking his first elected term, is not buying it. He quickly dashed off a letter to the state Fair Political Practices Commission complaining that the mailer is misleading and did not state clearly who paid for it.

A spokeswoman for the FPPC said she could not comment on the specific mailer, but added that generally whoever pays for most of the mailing expenses must be identified outside the mailer, which the group did.

Signs of trouble--Bellflower Councilman Joseph E. Cvetko figured this year’s election campaign was going to be a rocky ride. Now, he says, “some yo-yo punks, lower than whale manure type” have been stealing his campaign signs.

Last week, Cvetko, who is seeking his third term on the council, said that at least 70 of his distinctive orange signs have been plucked from lawns, signposts and corner lots throughout the city.

“I don’t know who is taking them. If I knew, I’d beat the hell out of them,” Cvetko said. “I’m still a candidate in this race in spite of the thefts. It’s an organized effort by a few vicious, miscontented people trying to influence this election.”

In the meantime, the already chilly relationship between Cvetko and Councilman Randy Bomgaars, who also is up for reelection, turned icy when Cvetko took down one of Bomgaars’ signs. Cvetko took the sign to City Hall, reporting that Bomgaars did not ask the property owners for permission. Bomgaars promptly sought permission, replaced the sign and wrote Cvetko a letter saying the owners were tired of the “little old man” who keeps asking if anyone is stealing his signs.

“The man is an embarrassment to the position of city councilman,” Bomgaars said of Cvetko last week. “I wouldn’t put it past him to take his own signs to try to win a sympathy vote.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Cvetko retorted. “Does he think I enjoy going around putting those signs back up?”

Cvetko and his fellow council members recently got into a spat over the city’s sign ordinance. Cvetko wanted to suspend the law, which requires that temporary signs be placed well away from intersections in residential neighborhoods. Bomgaars said it was not appropriate to talk about it just before an election and walked out of the council meeting.

Cvetko last week defended his proposal, saying the ordinance is the “stupidest law I have ever seen in my life.” He also complained that he is being picked on by Bomgaars and Councilmen Bob Stone and Bill Pendleton, whom he calls the “Gang of Three.”

Environmental support--The Angeles chapter of the Sierra Club has come out in support of a Norwalk ballot measure that asks voters whether the City Council should continue its efforts to require the federal government to remove all hazardous and toxic material from the Norwalk Defense Fuel Supply Point.

The tank farm, which holds millions of gallons of highly flammable jet fuel, has long worried residents because of the potential for fire and explosion and because fuel leaks over the years have caused environmental problems.

The 60,000-member Angeles chapter, which covers Los Angeles and Orange counties, will urge voters to vote yes Tuesday.

“We want to keep the pressure on Uncle Sam to mediate the problem,” said spokesman George Denny. “It’s near schools and parks. Right now, I don’t believe there is any evidence of illness caused by the tanks, and let’s keep it that way.”