Candidate Tries His Hand at Networking

Campaign Anger--Kevin Craig Ausmus, campaigning to become the “rock ‘n’ roll mayor of Pomona,” injected some showmanship into a forum for mayoral candidates Wednesday night by adopting the message from the movie “Network.”

In his opening statement in the televised forum attended by all eight candidates in the March 2 mayoral election, Ausmus--leader of a rock band called Desperation Squad--talked about crime, poverty and bad air.

“We know things are bad. Worse than bad,” he said. “They’re crazy. Everything is getting crazy, so we don’t go out anymore. We sit in the house and slowly the world is getting smaller and we say, ‘Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms.’

“(But) I’m not going to leave you alone. I want you to get mad. . . . I don’t know what to do about the Depression and the graffiti and the billboards and the crime in the streets. All I know is that first, you’ve got to get mad. You’ve got to say, ‘I’m a citizen of Pomona, damn it. My life has value.’

“I want you to get up now, get out of your chairs and say, ‘I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore.’ If you’re at home, go to your windows and stick your head out and yell, ‘I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore.’ ”

Crank Tunes--Ausmus’ novel approach drew chuckles from fellow candidates and laughter from the audience as he put a twist on every answer to a list of questions about how candidates would deal with everything from crime to rent control. But his best answer, perhaps, was to the question: What should the city do to address the needs of the diverse multiethnic community? “Issues, you gotta love ‘em, but they get in my way,” Ausmus said.

As mayor, Ausmus said he would buy the best compact disc player he could find for the mayor’s office “and sit there and crank tunes all day.”

“Plus,” he said, “I’m going to extend an invitation to every band in the country . . . to come to Pomona and drop their tape off so that we can play music from all across the country. And, you know, I bet a lot of multiethnic people come by and drop off their tapes.”

Ausmus concedes it is unlikely he can win election, or even qualify for the April 20 runoff, but he hopes to make enough noise to get a radio station to play his music. Besides, he said, he might stimulate some interest in the election because there are probably some people who do not want a rock ‘n’ roll mayor and will go to the polls just to vote against him.

Bad Image--The mayoral candidates offered a variety of answers to the question of how Pomona can improve its image.

Planning Commissioner Eddie Cortez suggested that the city seek a new name for the Pomona Superior Court to disassociate the city from news stories that come from the courthouse. But another candidate, James Reynolds, a disabled veteran, said he does not think Pomona suffers at all by being associated with a courthouse where the guilty are being punished.

Paul Geiger, an engineering manager, suggested that the city make an effort to point out positive accomplishments to the media. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Ramon P. Romero agreed, saying the city needs a public relations program.

Another planning commissioner, James Wilkins, suggested that the city stress pride, encouraging people to say: “I’m a Pomonan and I’m proud.”

David Smith, an engineering administrator, said Pomona is a beautiful city with a lot to be proud of.

Ausmus, as usual, drew the biggest reaction when he said a city’s image depends greatly on the image projected by its mayor: “A rock ‘n’ roll mayor is pretty goofy. But you could do a lot worse.”

Economic Summit--Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) has invited every state legislator to send one participant each to the state economic summit Tuesday and Wednesday at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles.

The idea is to bring together people with a variety of ideas on how to revive the depressed California economy.

Assemblywoman Diane Martinez (D-Rosemead) said she hopes the conference will point toward solutions that will lead California out of a situation where state agencies, cities, counties and school districts are fighting over shrinking tax revenues because business is bad.

“We can’t keep fighting over the bone that’s left,” she said.

If the state will become more hospitable to business, Martinez believes, the economy will grow and tax revenues will go up.

Martinez has named David Lizarraga, president of the East Los Angeles Community Union (TELACU), as her designee.

Others who will attend include Mike Reza, owner of a Covina mortgage company, designated by Assemblywoman Hilda L. Solis (D-El Monte); Dr. Forest Tennant, operator of a chain of health clinics based in West Covina, designated by Assemblyman Richard L. Mountjoy (R-Arcadia); Dave Aris, managing director of the California Commerce Center in Ontario, designated by Assemblyman Fred Aguiar (R-Chino); and Bob Levy, director of government affairs for the BKK Corp., designated by Assemblyman Paul Horcher (R-Diamond Bar).