ELECTIONS : Anti-Incumbent Backlash at Ballot Box : Politics: About a dozen officeholders lose reelection bids. Latinos continue to make big gains, capturing nearly a third of the new seats in 19 city council races.

For the second time in two years, voters in Southeast Los Angeles County, apparently dissatisfied with business as usual, caused a major shake-up in local politics, sweeping about a dozen incumbents from office.

Voters also elected 10 newcomers Tuesday to replace incumbents who decided not to seek reelection. In municipal elections two years ago, Southeast-area voters ousted 10 incumbents.

Latino challengers made strong inroads Tuesday, capturing nearly a third of the new seats in 19 city council races.

Latino political representation, development and anti-incumbent fever were among the factors that led to the downfall of most incumbents. “It’s happening everywhere,” said defeated South Gate Councilman Robert Philipp. “It’s voter backlash.”

In South Gate, voters have now thrown out all five incumbents over a two-year span. Bell Gardens voters reaffirmed their support for the leaders of last December’s recall of four council members, giving easy victories to George T. Deitch, Rodolfo (Rudy) Garcia and Frank B. Duran. Whittier voters dramatically changed the makeup of their council--and possibly the direction of their city--electing two slow-growth advocates and giving slow-growth forces a solid majority on the board. Yet, despite anti-incumbent sentiment elsewhere, voters gave the nod to some of the Southeast area’s longest-serving incumbents, handing Huntington Park’s Thomas E. Jackson a seventh term and Santa Fe Springs Councilwoman Betty Wilson her 10th term in office.

The absentee ballot, used with overwhelming success during the Bell Gardens recall election in December and a special election last month, proved to be a formidable tool in several other area races. In Hawaiian Gardens, Santa Fe Springs and Signal Hill, several challengers won on the strength of the absentee vote.

Summaries of key election results by city:

Artesia

Challenger Isidro S. Menezes, a real estate agent, finished first in the race for three council seats. Incumbents Ronald H. Oliver and Robert J. Jamison, were reelected.

Bellflower

Voters booted out incumbent Councilmen Randy Bomgaars and Joseph Cvetko after a hard-fought campaign that began as a debate over development and the city’s controversial smoking ban but degenerated into a fight over sign-stealing.

Longtime community activist Ruth Gilson and former Councilman Ken Cleveland were elected in a nail-biting finish in which Cleveland edged Bomgaars by less than two dozen votes. A disappointed Bomgaars said Tuesday night that he intends to ask for a recount. If the vote tally holds, he said, it will be “a sad day for Bellflower.” Cvetko, who had clashed with Bomgaars over campaign signs, attributed his defeat to anti-incumbent sentiment. “I lost, but the city lost too,” he said.

With the election of Gilson and Cleveland, the city’s ban on smoking in restaurants is likely to be watered down. Both were outspoken critics of the ban and are likely to give Councilman John Ansdell--also a critic--the additional votes he needs to weaken the law.

Bell Gardens

Incumbents George T. Deitch, Rodolfo (Rudy) Garcia and Frank B. Duran leaned heavily on absentee ballot votes to roll to a decisive victory that brought whoops of joy from residents watching the vote count at Ross Auditorium.

It was the second victory in a month for the three, who along with Josefina (Josie) Macias, won a March special election to replace four Anglo council members recalled last December. Absentee ballots also played a key role in the final results of the previous races.

Garcia declared the win a “final word from the people of Bell Gardens” and called for “true representation” for the city’s largely Latino population.

The victory ensures an ethnic majority on the council, the first in the city’s history, until at least 1994. “This is very important for our people,” Garcia said after the votes were tallied. “I know this is going to mushroom into all the other communities.”

The three winners each received votes on more than 800 of the 888 absentee ballots. The absentee vote was the margin of difference for Garcia over the nearest challenger, Richard Webb.

Charges of absentee ballot irregularities, which had dogged the winning candidates since March, were again raised in the losers’ camp on election night, where rumblings of recall were already being heard.

“I’m too disgusted to even comment,” said Allen Shelby, one of the four ousted City Council members, who finished a distant seventh in an effort to regain his seat. Thirteen candidates were on the ballot. “If there was a legitimate vote, then I wouldn’t have any problems with the results, but the fraud continued today.”

The incumbents and their supporters have denied any ballot irregularities, describing the complaints as “sour grapes” by losing candidates.

Cerritos

Voters elected incumbent Paul W. Bowlen and newcomer Grace Hu, who vastly outspent other contenders and saturated the city with mailers, signs and paid advertising.

According to campaign finance disclosures filed April 2, Hu had spent $35,935 on the campaign, compared to Bowlen’s $7,139. Prestell F. Askia, who finished third in the race for two seats, had spent $5,717.

Hu, owner of a real estate company and a member of the city Property Preservation Committee, attributed her victory to her opposition to local assessment taxes and her pledge to try to reduce crime and improve education. Hu will replace veteran Councilman Daniel K. Wong, who could not run again because of the city’s two-term limit.

Commerce

Voters went with age and experience in propelling the three incumbents to victory in a five-candidate race. Ruben C. Batres, 59, and Robert Cornejo, 58, finished in front of a field of younger candidates to win their second and third terms, respectively. Art Navarro, 41, finished third to win a second term.

Cudahy

Incumbent John O. Robertson won another term, but Councilman Joseph Fregeau was edged out by his running mate, political newcomer David Silva.

In electing Silva, voters placed a second Latino on the council in a city where about 90% of the population is Latino. The new councilman said after the election that he was pleased with the results but disappointed with a dismal voter turnout. Candidate Larry Galvan, who ran with Robertson, finished a close third.

Hawaiian Gardens

Voters returned a former councilman to office, but the race for two other council seats remained in doubt. Absentee votes played a major role in the outcome.

Lupe Cabrera, who had served on the council from 1972 to 1984, emerged as the top vote-getter. But only 16 votes separated three candidates vying for the two other seats, and 42 ballots are being checked for validity by the Los Angeles County registrar.

Robert G. Canada and Robert J. Prida, who were making their first bids for office, were leading, but incumbent Esther E. Flores was only one vote behind Prida. Incumbent H.M. (Lennie) Wagner was defeated.

Voters also turned down an ordinance banning the sale and use of “safe and sane” fireworks in the city.

Huntington Park

Councilmen Thomas E. Jackson and Richard V. Loya won handily over four challengers.

Jackson won his seventh term by greatly outspending his opponents and by capitalizing on the endorsements of Loya and Mayor Raul R. Perez to woo Latino voters. Loya, 45, received the most votes of any candidate to win his first four-year term. Loya was appointed to the council last September after Councilman Jack W. Parks suffered a fatal heart attack.

Jackson, 56, ran a largely defensive campaign. He was the target of a Sheriff’s Department investigation into allegations of profit skimming and other improprieties at the Huntington Park Casino. A spokesman for the district attorney’s office said the investigation is still pending. No charges have been filed. Jackson said an investigator revealed that the councilmen would be cleared of wrongdoing and put out the word in campaign mailers. “I told the people I was innocent of those allegations, and they believed me,” Jackson said.

Jackson also said the endorsements from Loya, a teacher at Huntington Park High, and Perez were crucial. Huntington Park is more than 90% Latino.

La Habra Heights

Incumbent Judy Hathaway-Francis was reelected and will be joined on the council by newcomers George Cooke, a business owner, and John Powers, an attorney. They topped two other contenders in the race for three seats. Cooke and Powers will occupy seats held by incumbents John Wible and M. Jay Collins, who decided to retire.

Lakewood

Incumbents Wayne E. Piercy, Marc Titel and Robert G. Wagner cruised to an easy victory, with Piercy garnering the most votes. The three council members faced only two challengers.

La Mirada

Voters returned incumbents Bob Chotiner and Dave Peters to the council. Chotiner was elected to his second term, and Peters won a fifth term. They outdistanced Dale Shinn, a telephone-equipment repairman, and businessman Peter Dames.

Maywood

Incumbent Henry Santiago Jr. won a clear-cut victory, but the race for two other council seats hinged on 73 uncounted absentee and questionable ballots.

Less than 25 votes separated three candidates--incumbent William A. Hamilton and challengers Dorothy Ramirez and Tomas Martin. Martin trailed third-place finisher Hamilton by 20 votes.

It was the second victory for Santiago, 31, who won decisively in 1988 after being appointed to the council in 1987. Santiago said that he hopes that the community involvement sparked by the election will continue. “Now the people are finally speaking, and I want it to keep up,” he said.

Norwalk

Councilman Mike Mendez emerged as the top vote-getter to win a second term. Judith Brennan, president of a screen printing company, finished ahead of five other candidates to win the second seat, which opened up when Councilman Bob White decided not to seek reelection for health reasons.

Norwalk voters also approved an advisory ballot measure calling for the U.S. Department of Defense to close its jet-fuel storage facility in Norwalk, or to operate it in an environmentally safe manner. City officials say they will use the non-binding measure as a tool in their lobbying campaign against the tank farm.

Paramount

Incumbents Gerald A. Mulrooney and Esther Caldwell were reelected to the Paramount City Council, outpolling five challengers.

Pico Rivera

Incumbent Mayor Garth G. Gardner finished comfortably ahead of five challengers to win his sixth council term. Beatrice Proo, a banker and former trustee of the El Rancho Unified School District, will join the board for the first time, replacing retiring council veteran Jim Patronite. Proo bested two other candidates with school board experience, as well as two merchants.

Last year, Gardner was the brunt of repeated attacks by activists who opposed the city’s proposal to double redevelopment zones. The city abandoned the plan.

“Apparently, redevelopment was rejected by voters as an issue,” said Gardner, who added that he was disappointed at the voter turnout. “Either there’s total public complacency or people think that the current government is stable.”

Santa Fe Springs

Councilwoman Betty Wilson, who became the first mayor when the city incorporated in 1957, narrowly won reelection to an unprecedented 10th term, solidifying her record as the longest-serving council member in the Southeast area.

“I won because of my experience,” said Wilson, who finished third in the eight-candidate race for three council seats.

Incumbent Albert Sharp was the top vote-getter, but challenger Mercedes Diaz ousted incumbent Amat Barcelon, who was appointed to the council 18 months ago.

Diaz, who had worked in the city’s social services department 22 years, finished second on the strength of the absentee vote. She said she and her supporters also registered more than 1,000 residents to vote.

“Many of my supporters are voting for the first time,” Diaz said. “I will be their voice in the decision-making process. I will work with the community. That was my platform, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Signal Hill

In this tiny town where a major development project became the focal point of the election, two of the three slow-growth incumbents were ousted and a third one, Councilman Richard Ceccia, barely survived.

Council members Louis A. Dare and Jessie M. Blacksmith, who voted for a lower-density housing project, lost their seats to Mike Noll, a former planning commissioner, and Sara Dodds Hanlon, a former councilwoman. Both Noll and Dodds Hanlon said they are open to the idea of renegotiating the housing project for the hilltop if it means getting a better deal from the developer.

South Gate

In an upset that surprised the victors themselves, a Latino candidate and a twice-defeated council challenger handily defeated incumbent Councilmen Gregory Slaughter and Robert Philipp, creating the first Latino-dominated council in city history.

Albert Robles, a legislative field representative, and Jerry Garcia, a budget controller for Northrop Corp., stunned South Gate politicos who had predicted victory for virtually every combination of candidates except Robles-Garcia.

“I’m surprised,” said a dazed Garcia, who has twice run unsuccessfully for the council. “Real surprised. I’m not sure what happened, but we worked hard against some candidates who ran dirty campaigns.”

Garcia and Robles will join Councilman Johnny Ramirez on the council, but both victors were quick to downplay their triumph as a sign of Latino empowerment. In fact, Garcia, a second-generation Californian of Portuguese descent, said that he does not identify himself as a Latino. He acknowledged, however, that he probably received a number of votes from people who thought he was Latino.

“I think a lot of people probably thought that,” Garcia said. “I didn’t play it up. I didn’t play it down, but I really don’t relate to Hispanics or Anglos. It’s just not the issue.”

Slaughter, however, accused Robles of running a “racist” campaign by urging voters to vote Latino--a charge Robles denied.

Longtime City Clerk Janet Stubbs was defeated by Nina A. Banuelos, 22, a political science major at Cal State Los Angeles.

Whittier

Allan Zolnekoff and Michael Sullens, champions of hillside preservation, were swept into office along with Larry Haendiges, the operator of a Whittier plumbing and electrical company. The three challengers finished first in a field of 10 candidates, including ex-Mayor Lee Strong and incumbent Councilman Robert Woehrmann, who finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Zolnekoff and Sullens portrayed themselves as the fiercest fighters for saving what’s left of the undeveloped hills north and east of town. They also said they would oppose the development of shoddy apartments in neighborhoods of single-family homes and poorly conceived strip malls that undermined the city’s village character.

The issues played well with voters from the exclusive Friendly Hills to the flats south of Whittier Boulevard.

Zolnekoff, an accountant and planner with Southern California Edison, said his finish as the top vote-getter was a defeat for an old boys’ network that was leading Whittier down the wrong path. Sullens, who owns a carpet and flooring company, praised voters for not dismissing him and Zolnekoff as single-issue candidates bent on preservation and nothing else.

Zolnekoff and Sullens are expected to form a Council majority on preservation issues with like-minded incumbents Bob Henderson and Helen McKenna-Rahder, who won the previous election. Times staff writers Howard Blume, Gerald Faris, Jill Gottesman, Tina Griego, Rick Holguin and Roxana Kopetman, and community correspondents Emily Adams, Mary Becker, Phil Garcia, Suzan Schill and Connie Simonian contributed to this report.