2 Newcomers Expected to Push Council in New Direction : Government: Lowenthal and Topsy-Elvord may strengthen moderate-liberal voting bloc. Shift in alliances could build a consensus on a panel often hamstrung by bickering.

The election of two newcomers to the City Council this spring promises to change more than just the nameplates on the council rim.

Doris Topsy-Elvord and Alan Lowenthal, political outsiders who won upset victories against confident incumbents, will bring a new dynamic to a council that often seems rudderless and preoccupied with parochial bickering.

When the two take office next month, they are expected to strengthen the moderate-liberal bloc of the council, raising hopes of alliances that could give the board a greater sense of direction and energy.

“We both represent constituencies that want change,” said Lowenthal, a Cal State Long Beach professor who beat Wallace Edgerton in the April primary. “We both came up without political debt to the Establishment. . . . I do think we’ll form a new consensus on the council.”

Topsy-Elvord, the first African-American woman ever elected to the council, squeaked by Clarence Smith last week in a runoff race so close that Smith says he will demand a recount.

Of the three council members up for reelection this spring, only Thomas Clark managed to hold his post as local voters beat the anti-incumbency drums. And Clark endured a tough runoff race with a political novice less than half his age.

In forcing out council members against heavy odds, Topsy-Elvord and Lowenthal tapped into voter frustration and anger over the state of the city. Political observers say Clark, a 26-year-incumbent, was also vulnerable amid such voter discontent, but he was saved by the brashness of his 4th District opponent, Charles G. (Jerry) Westlund.

“He was getting a (reputation) for being too strident and too hard,” said Daniel Barber, chairman of the Graduate Center for Public Policy and Administration at Cal State Long Beach. “That is not the character of that district. . . . He was just a little too fast for them, and he was also young.”

Returned for another term with 53% of the vote, Clark is likely to benefit from the council changeover. “I think he can emerge from this (as) a sort of coalition leader between the forces,” predicted Barber. Whereas Smith was politically indebted to Mayor Ernie Kell--with whom Clark frequently clashes--neither Lowenthal nor Topsy-Elvord have that tie.

After Topsy-Elvord collected slightly less than a third of the vote in the primary, she and her supporters realized they had to roll up their sleeves.

“People are calling me up to find out how did we do this,” chuckled Joseph A. Kennerson, a real estate broker and onetime Smith supporter who played a key role in Topsy-Elvord’s campaign. “We worked real, real hard to make this happen.”

With Wrigley-area candidate Dan Cangro knocked out of the 6th District race in the primary, Topsy-Elvord’s camp doggedly pursued his supporters. She campaigned door to door, sent out biting mailers accusing Smith of inaction on the district’s ills and complained that he lacked clout on the council. She wooed Latino and Asian-American voters, registered new voters and encouraged absentee voting. And she was helped by real estate representatives unhappy with Smith’s handling of Atlantic Avenue redevelopment plans.

In contrast to Topsy-Elvord’s flurry of activity, Smith conducted a relatively low-key campaign. “He was ripe for an upset,” said Jeff Adler, Topsy-Elvord’s political consultant. “He didn’t mail. He didn’t walk. What did he do? He did cable TV (advertisements) in an area with the lowest cable penetration in the city.”

Bitter and angry over his defeat by a woman he recommended for appointment to the Civil Service Commission in 1988, Smith admits that he probably should have walked the neighborhoods more. He points to the recession, anti-incumbency fever and a pro-woman mood as factors in his failure to retain the council seat he has had for six years.

At the same time, he grumbled that Topsy-Elvord spread “accusations that I couldn’t combat,” for instance, that he had made a political deal for Cangro’s support after the primary and that he had held up the establishment of a day-care center in the district because he wanted it named after him or his mother.

“I lost a lot of respect for her,” said Smith, who denied both allegations. He said he intended to watch Topsy-Elvord’s performance and would probably run again for office. “I might even run for mayor.”

In addition to asking for a recount, Smith said his campaign is investigating possible irregularities in the elections. “If we come up with something, we are considering filing (a lawsuit,)” Smith said. He declined to elaborate, but his campaign manager, Mike Robbins, previously said he was concerned about delays in delivering ballot boxes from three precincts to City Hall on election night and about the handling of some absentees.

City Clerk Shelba Powell, who issued a memo explaining the delays, said she had found no problems. “There have been a lot of rumors. There have been a lot of allegations. But there has been no specific complaint filed.”

Topsy-Elvord, who will be the only woman on the council, said it was Smith’s “prerogative” to ask for a recount. As for the late ballot boxes, she added, “The people who were manning those polls were Clarence’s people.”

She said she decided to challenge Smith--despite his support of her Civil Service appointment--because of the condition of the district.

“I was not running against him. I was running for the district. It was deteriorating so much, and nothing was being done.”

The first thing she wants to do as a councilwoman, Topsy-Elvord said, is organize a volunteer effort to clean up the district and wipe out graffiti.

“I want to bring all the people together, including Clarence Smith and his supporters.”