The Making--and Breaking--of a Newly Elected Councilman : Politics: Friends say Larry Haendiges was born for public service. But then came the threats, the fear and the false police reports.

Larry Haendiges saw the dream of a lifetime evaporate this week. He surrendered his hard-earned City Council seat even before being sworn in after admitting that he filed three false police reports during the campaign.

His decision leaves city officials in a quandary about how to fill the vacancy.

The 50-year-old Haendiges, a lifelong Whittier resident, yielded his council post during an emotional, 10-minute speech before a hushed crowd of 250 in the council chambers. He apologized for filing the false reports and said he did so only to get police protection for his family after three real telephone threats.

“You know me as a family man,” Haendiges said. “I simply wanted more protection from the police for my precious family.

“I’m human. I was afraid. I was scared.”

Haendiges spoke clearly and slowly. His deep voice sometimes thinned in the effort to hold back tears. He paused and bowed his head frequently. He said the past week was the toughest of his life.

No one who knows him doubts it.

Friends said Haendiges was practically born to be a councilman. The soft-spoken, churchgoing businessman comes from an old Whittier family that started Haendiges Plumbing, one of Whittier’s oldest and most successful businesses. His parents were active in the PTA. His mother led fund-raising efforts to build the local hospital.

And Larry Haendiges persistently and patiently moved up the ranks. He gradually assumed control of the family business and began a career of public service. He served as director of the Whittier branch of the American Heart Assn. and board member of the Greater Whittier YMCA. He headed the downtown business owners association and then became president of the citywide Chamber of Commerce. He spent seven years on the city Planning Commission, including two years as its chairman.

His resume is exactly the sort that traditionally wins council elections in this tradition-minded town.

There were critics. Some said Haendiges lacked an independent mind and vacillated on issues in efforts to be well liked. Others said Haendiges was too cozy with developers and other business interests, too tied in with the city’s traditional power brokers.

But few questioned his ability to win a City Council seat. Scores of community leaders either supported or volunteered for his well-funded campaign. He was prepared for fund-raisers, campaign forums and house-to-house stumping. It was fear for his family, caused by death threats from March 31 to April 4, that caught him by surprise.

The first threatening call came on his answering machine. It was a rambling harangue from a woman who said, “I think you’re a low-life person and all you do is change your mind back and forth. . . God will give you whatever you need. . . . It’s going to be hell for you. . . . You’re going to goddamn die. . . . You’re a bad person. You deserve whatever you get.”

Police recently identified the woman but would not release her name because no charges have been filed. The woman claimed that she was merely saying the stress of office would kill him. She remains a suspect in the other threatening calls.

Campaign manager Cathy Warner was with Haendiges when the second threatening call arrived. “I watched his face turn white and saw that fear overtake him,” she said. “He said, ‘Who is this? Who is this?’ and he very gently set down the phone. He was speechless and looked like someone in his family had just died. Then he just said softly, ‘That was another death threat.’ ”

In the third incident, a caller said a bomb was placed in the classroom of Haendiges’ son. Police evacuated several classrooms and the gym but found no bomb.

Haendiges said the Whittier police were thorough in their investigation but that he wanted active protection. The result was the fabricated police reports. In the first, Haendiges claimed that a driver had tried to ram his car. The second time, Haendiges reported a prowler outside his home. The last time, Haendiges told police that an attacker had tried to stab him. He stabbed himself, causing superficial wounds, to make that report convincing.

The district attorney has charged Haendiges with three misdemeanor counts of filing a false report. He faces as much as 18 months in jail and a $3,000 fine.

Friends expressed shock but are standing by Haendiges. “His family is the most important thing in his life,” said Bruce Martin, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce. “When they were threatened, he did some irrational things. We can’t predict how we would act if a member of our family was threatened.”

Former election rival Charles Burt said: “I never met a better and more dedicated man than Larry. . . . As far as mistakes go, we all make them.”

In leaving office, Haendiges said he will not fade from public life. “There are some who would wish to see me wilt and withdraw in a cloud of shame. I cannot, I will not do that,” he told the crowd in the council chambers.

The Haendiges drama dampened the excitement of family and friends who watched new council members Allan Zolnekoff and Michael Sullens get sworn in. The new council elected Bob Henderson to be mayor, replacing the retiring Thomas K. Sawyer.

The council has 60 days to appoint a replacement for Haendiges or call a special election, City Clerk Gertrude Hill said. An appointee would serve until the next municipal election in 1994. An elected representative would fill the entire four-year term. Hill estimated that a special election would cost $20,000 to $32,000.

Whittier faces budget cuts of at least $2 million in next year’s budget, a factor council members cited as a drawback to holding a special election. Mayor Henderson said the council will listen to public comment at a later meeting before deciding how to fill the council post.

Several supporters publicly urged Haendiges to serve on the council, but Henderson said he thought Haendiges acted appropriately.

“From my information about the extent of the false police reports and the degree to which they were developed, Larry is obviously having serious problems that he needs to address,” Henderson said. “He doesn’t need to be in the pressure cooker of public office while he and his family address these problems.”