2 Men Fail to Qualify for Pomona Election

Off the Ballot--Two men who filed nomination papers for the March 2 Pomona City Council election have failed to qualify for the ballot.

City Clerk Elizabeth Villeral said Albert Midgette, publisher of a minority business directory, and Donald L. Andrews, a retired educator, ran afoul of the requirement that they submit the signatures of 20 registered voters in their council districts on their nomination papers. Villeral said some signers were either not registered to vote or were registered in other council districts.

Midgette, who had filed to run against Councilman Boyd Bredenkamp and teacher Cristina N. Carrizosa in District 3 in southeast Pomona, said he will run a write-in campaign. Andrews, who could not be reached for comment, had filed to run in District 5, which includes Phillips Ranch and the Westmont area. His failure to qualify means that incumbent Ken West will face a single challenger, Elliott Rothman, an accounting student.

Into the Think Tank--Bruce Herschensohn, who lost a close U.S. Senate race to Democrat Barbara Boxer, has found refuge from the rough and tumble of politics by joining the Claremont Institute, where he will be a senior fellow.

The institute is a privately funded conservative think tank. Herschensohn plans to write a book on how the federal government has changed in recent years and will organize conferences on such topics as national defense and the flat-rate income tax.

The institute, which was founded in 1978 and has 20 employees, is not affiliated with the Claremont Colleges but is located near the campuses.

His institute work won’t take all of Herschensohn’s time. He also is planning to return to radio and television, where he made his mark with political commentaries.

Twin Peaks--A pair of regional economic summits are being planned by San Gabriel Valley legislators as a prelude to the state economic summit that Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) is organizing with the support of Gov. Pete Wilson at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles on Feb. 16 and 17.

Assembly members Hilda Solis (D-El Monte) and Paul Horcher (R-Diamond Bar) will solicit ideas on improving the economy from leaders in business, labor and education from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 29 at the Industry Hills Sheraton Hotel.

Assembly members Diane Martinez (D-Montery Park) and Bill Hoge (R-Pasadena) will host a similar economic round table at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 28 at Rosemead City Hall.

Martinez, a liberal, and Hoge, a conservative, said that their sponsorship of a meeting might surprise some people but that it demonstrates their willingness to put partisan differences aside to tackle the state’s economic problems.

Lots of politicians talk about the need to work together across partisan lines, Martinez said, but that “is only so much rhetoric unless you’re willing to do something about it.” And the co-sponsorship of an economic round table, she said, is an example of the cooperative efforts that will be required at the state level.

Short Subjects--Rep. David Dreier (R-La Verne) has been elected to the new post of vice chairman of the California Republican congressional delegation. Rep. Carlos J. Moorhead (R-Glendale), who has been in Congress 20 years, retains the chairmanship that traditionally goes to the delegation’s senior member . . . Sally Tanner, who represented part of the San Gabriel Valley in the state Assembly until she retired and moved to northern California last year, has been appointed to the California Medical Assistance Commission at an annual salary of $52,500. The commission reviews Medi-Cal contracts . . . With the retirement of Tanner, who headed the Environmental and Toxic Materials Committee, the San Gabriel Valley has lost its only Assembly committee chairman, but it will have four vice chairmen. They are Assemblywoman Grace M. Napolitano (D-Norwalk) on housing and community development, Solis on higher education, Martinez on utilities and commerce, and Horcher on ways and means. Horcher has been under attack from fellow Republicans for accepting the vice chairmanship appointment from Speaker Brown against the wishes of the party leadership.