Dee Hardison Decides to Join Field for ’94 Mayoral Race : Torrance: The councilwoman says she made up her mind to run after George Nakano said he didn’t want the job.

Torrance City Councilwoman Dee Hardison has thrown her hat into the 1994 mayoral race, formally announcing this week that she will campaign to succeed popular Mayor Katy Geissert.

Hardison, who had previously said she would not seek reelection to the council, announced her plans to become mayor at Tuesday’s council meeting.

“The city is a different city now,” said Hardison, 54. “We have to provide the very best services we can on less money. . . . I wanted to make sure that I was comfortable with where the leadership of Torrance was going.”

Geissert is stepping down after two four-year terms, the maximum allowed under the City Charter.

Hardison’s strongest challenge will come from Councilman Bill Applegate, a longtime Geissert political foe, who formed his mayoral campaign committee last year. As of June 30, the last filing date for which campaign finance reports are available, Applegate had built up a $33,700 campaign war chest.

But Hardison, who has only $5,000 in her council campaign account, said she has no intention of matching Applegate dollar for dollar.

“Funds are going to be important,” Hardison said. “But I don’t necessarily think big fund raising and big, big bucks are the answer. I ran in 1986 on people power.”

Hardison, who has run some of the council’s least expensive campaigns, first won election to the council in 1986, when she garnered the most votes of eight candidates, including incumbent Applegate. In her 1990 reelection bid, Hardison again captured the most votes.

Her background in civic affairs and strong support from Geissert in previous council campaigns have invited comparisons to the mayor. Geissert and Hardison were the first and second women, respectively, elected to the council and have shared support from homeowner groups.

Nevertheless, Hardison said, she had not planned to run for any elective office again until Councilman George Nakano privately revealed his decision not to seek the mayor’s job.

“I was willing to support George for mayor,” said Hardison, a program specialist with the Torrance Unified School District. “When George indicated that that was not a direction he was going, I had some time to do some deliberation.”

Nakano, at Tuesday’s council meeting, said he is considering a 1994 run in the 28th state Senate District.

Nakano could face Councilman Mark Wirth, who also has said he will not seek reelection to the council, in the Senate district’s Democratic primary.

“I think it will be a very competitive election for the state Senate seat,” Wirth said. “Let me just say that I consider George and myself to be good friends. We worked together for the betterment of the city for many years, and with this potential contest I don’t see that changing.”

The announcements mean that there will be no incumbents vying for any of the three open council seats or the mayor’s post in 1994.