ELECTIONS / COUNCIL : 6 Challengers, 2 Incumbents Vie for 3 Seats

Eight candidates are competing for three City Council seats Tuesday, in the first election under an eight-month-old redistricting plan specifically designed to open doors for ethnic minorities.

The ballot also includes eight candidates vying for three seats on the Board of Education and a proposed Charter amendment to formally change the name of Pasadena’s governing body from Board of Directors to City Council.

Most of the pre-election attention has focused on the race in Council District 5, drawn last year by a redistricting task force to provide maximum opportunity for Latino candidates and voters.

Latinos constitute more than 27% of the city’s population, yet a Latino has never been elected to the council.

Those drawing the new districts interpreted the U.S. Voting Rights Act, as well as two federal court decisions and a ruling by California Atty. Gen. Daniel Lungren, as dictating that new district lines should be drawn to give Latinos a serious shot at electing one of their own.

The result was an octopus-shaped district in the heart of the city, where 58% of the population is Latino but where, until early 1992, less than 17% of the voters were Latino. Though the proportion of registered voters was low, members of the Redistricting Task Force said, the new district provided the largest possible Latino voting bloc without undermining two predominantly black districts.

Four candidates are competing for the District 5 seat being vacated by the retirement of Councilman Jess Hughston. They include attorney Joseph Morales, the only Latino, who has won widespread support from the city’s liberal, business and Latino civic community, and attorney Bill Crowfoot, a Spanish-speaking neighborhood leader who claims grass-roots support.

Also on the ballot are Ken Saurenman, a painting contractor who ran unsuccessfully last year for the Assembly as a Libertarian, and Christopher Bray, a bookstore sales clerk who argues that his greatest asset is his lack of governmental experience.

With no incumbent’s record to attack, the campaigns of Crowfoot and Morales--the two best-financed candidates--have concentrated on each other’s credentials for the job. For example, Crowfoot has raised the issue of Morales’ failure to have voted in Pasadena, where he has lived for five years, and his financing from “big business” interests in Pasadena.

“Why did he, after moving to Pasadena in 1988, feel compelled to register to vote six months later in East Los Angeles?” Crowfoot demanded.

Morales said he registered using his parents’ address because their home was a convenient mail drop during a period when he was often out of town on business.

Crowfoot said it shows lack of commitment to Pasadena. But Crowfoot is even more concerned about Morales’ campaign contributions--including $6,000 from John J. Jacobs, president of Jacobs Engineering Group, and $5,000 from Ralph M. Parsons Co., two of the city’s largest employers. Those kinds of contributions, as well as others from unions, suggest that Morales may be in the hands of special interests, said Crowfoot, who is financing his own campaign largely on $20,000 in loans to himself.

Morales professes to be taking the high road by not talking negatively about his opponents. “He’s a good fellow,” he said of Crowfoot.

Morales denies that he is beholden to special interests. “The theme of my campaign has been bringing the community together, from business to labor to social organizations to the Latino leadership and seniors,” he said.

But Morales’ supporters, including Councilman Isaac Richard, are less delicate, charging that Crowfoot is running a smear campaign while misrepresenting himself as a Latino. They charge that Crowfoot, who lived most of his childhood in Puerto Rico, is seeking to exploit the ethnic nature of the new district with his Spanish-speaking skill and that he has used campaign literature which claims the endorsement of Mayor Rick Cole, who actually has endorsed Morales.

“He’s going around claiming to be a Puerto Rican,” Richard said. “The question is, should deceitful tactics deny the district real Latino representation?”

Crowfoot said he never claimed to be a Latino. “But I’m very much part of that culture,” he said. “There’s a good deal of the Latin American in me.”

One of Crowfoot’s campaign flyers reproduces a letter of commendation from Cole, who represented much of District 5 before redistricting. Cole subsequently circulated a letter saying, as Cole himself paraphrased it, “Whoever claims that I have endorsed anybody but Joe Morales is not telling the truth.”

If he is elected, Crowfoot said, he would operate more as a community organizer than as a legislator. In the new environment of governmental austerity, he said, “the disorganized community will be hung out to dry.”

Morales also talks about the city’s shrinking share of tax revenues. His experience representing cities and governmental agencies, he said, will help to ensure that Pasadena gets its fair share.

“I know the allocation of funds to municipalities is not done on a straightforward basis,” he said. “You have to go out aggressively to get the funds you’re entitled to.”

The other two District 5 candidates complain that Morales and Crowfoot have dominated the debate. Saurenman, a painting contractor, dismisses the two as “big-shot lawyers” with little sympathy for the plight of the district’s poor.

“The people in my district are desperately poor,” he said. “Let’s face it, they’re all here for the same reason. It’s not because of the beautiful buildings or the Rose Bowl or the Rose Parade. It’s for economic opportunity.”

Saurenman, the only District 5 candidate with children, said the city is needlessly burdening the poor and middle class with taxes, while stifling their entrepreneurial spirit with regulations.

“It’s a very delicate issue, but there are great gobs of fat (in the city budget),” he said.

Bray, a salesman at Super Crown Books, said the city has not been aggressive in marketing the Rose Bowl stadium. “Last year, they cut library services by $600,000,” he said. “They could make that up with three events at the Rose Bowl.”

He added that the district’s voters have been hit more than others with shoddy commercial development and service cutbacks. “We lead the city in strip malls and beat-up liquor stores,” he said.

In District 3, four-year incumbent Chris Holden is being challenged by Robert Edwards, the manager of King’s Villages, a low-income housing development.

Holden has been a detail-oriented councilman, getting city action on neighborhood issues, such as improving street-cleaning operations or installing stop signs. Before he was elected, Holden’s northwest Pasadena district had long been ignored, he said.

“A lot of improvements had been delayed or neglected or reshuffled to the bottom of the list while other parts of the city got their projects done,” he said.

Holden has paid a lot of attention to budget matters, attacking waste and perks for city staff.

“City government has an image of waste to overcome,” he said.

Edwards has focused on crime, saying his managerial job has given him a unique perspective.

“I see the consequences of crime every day,” said Edwards, who claims to have been shot at three times by neighborhood gang members. “The city is not seriously addressing our youth. The problem kids get all the attention.”

Edwards wants to wake up what he sees as an apathetic council, including Holden. “All they do down there is appease a select group of people,” he said.

But Holden said Edwards would appease a select group of his own, including Thomas Pottmeyer, majority owner of King’s Villages, whom the city has sued and charged with unfair housing practices. Pottmeyer has contributed $2,500 to Edwards’ campaign.

“(Pottmeyer) feels he’s misunderstood, nd he thinks he has a lot of support in the community,” Holden said. “So he’s running his employee.”

Edwards angrily denies being “Pottmeyer’s guy.”

“I find him to be extremely honest, but Thomas Pottmeyer’s case is a separate entity from Robert Edwards’ campaign,” the candidate said.

In District 7, Councilman William Thomson is getting a spirited challenge from neighborhood activist Dorrie Poole.

Thomson, the city’s mayor from 1988 to 1990, recites a long list of accomplishments in 12 years on the council, including negotiating to bring the Super Bowl and World Cup soccer matches to the Rose Bowl.

“The campaign is emphasizing the broad experience I have, serving on the council and also, very importantly, being a working lawyer and being part of the business world,” he said. “There’s a value to that when the council is faced with such complex budget decisions.”

But Poole, who has served on seven city commissions and task forces, twice as a Thomson appointee, said it is time for a change. Thomson’s commitment to the nuts and bolts of city government is not as strong as it used to be, Poole contended.

“There’s a natural process here,” said Poole, who has been endorsed by the National Women’s Political Caucus of Pasadena. “You become mayor, and then you move on. It’s difficult to come back and be concerned about stop signs and speed bumps.”

Thomson, whose campaign literature lists more than 150 endorsements, including some of the city’s most prominent citizens, said one of his greatest assets is his ability to get things done. “This is certainly no time for an untried voice at City Hall,” he said.

In the Board of Education race, Timothy Price is challenging incumbent George A. Padilla for Seat 1, Geoffrey Commons and Lisa Fowler are challenging incumbent Wilbert L. Smith for Seat 3, and Kevork Keushkerian and Andrew Paterson are challenging incumbent Anne Pursel for Seat 5.

If a candidate in either the council or board campaigns fails to garner 50% of the vote, the race will be decided in a runoff on April 20.

PASADENA BOARD OF EDUCATION CANDIDATES George A. Padilla, 47 (incumbent) Occupation: Architect Personal: Married with two children who attended city schools Education: BS in engineering, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Experience: Board member since 1989, past president Pasadena Scholarship Committee, past vice chair of City of Pasadena Human Relations Commission, Pasadena Chamber of Commerce Minority Business Committee. Timothy Price, 49 Occupation: Videotape editor for ABC Broadcasting Personal: Married with two children who attend city schools Education: BA in Broadcasting, Cal State Los Angeles Experience: 1st vice president of district PTA, president of Pasadena High School PTA. Geoffrey Commons, 54 Occupation: Probate referee Personal: Married with two children, both in private school. Education: Yale Law School, master’s from Stanford in economics, BA from USC. Experience: Economic development manager of Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, member of Chamber of Commerce and Tournament of Roses. Lisa Fowler, 42 Occupation: Administrative Analyst for City of Pasadena Personal: Married with one child under school age Education: MA in management from Claremont Graduate School, teaching certificate from Occidental College, BA from Pomona College Experience: Former mayor of Sierra Madre, eight years on Sierra Madre City Council, 13-year teacher in Pasadena schools, board member League of Women Voters. Wilbert L. Smith, 42 (incumbent) Occupation: President of Up and Coming Foundation Personal: Married with three children who attend Pasadena public schools Education: Ph.D. in Business Management from Lyon University, MA special education from University of San Francisco, BA economics from Cal State Dominguez Hills. Experience: Member Board of Education since 1989, member Board of Directors of Pasadena City College Foundation, member of Board of Directors Boy Scouts of America-San Gabriel Valley. Kevork Keushkerian, 50 Occupation: Teacher Personal: Married with two children in private schools Education: Master’s degree, American University in Beirut, teaching credential from Cal State Los Angeles. Experience: Armenian community activist, teacher in Los Angeles Unified School District. Anne Pursel, 57 (incumbent) Occupation: Volunteer Personal: Widow with three grown children who attended city schools Education: BA from UCLA Experience: Former school board president, eight-year member of school board, former teacher. Andrew Paterson, 36 Occupation: Managing director of nonprofit research institute Personal: Married with three children under school age Education: BA in science from Stanford Experience: Co-organizer Pasadena Education Summit, member of Pasadena Chamber of Commerce education committee, member of California leadership task force on education, student school board in Santa Clara County.

CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES District 3 Candidates Robert Edwards, 28 Occupation: Manager of low-income housing development Personal: Single Education: John Marshall High School Experience: A year as manager of King’s Villages in northwest Pasadena. Seven years as operations manager for Irwindale-based audiocassette production company. Chris Holden, 32 (incumbent) Occupation: Real estate broker Personal: Married, 2-month-old son Education: BA, San Diego State University Experience: Four years on council, helped bring new resources to city’s northwest neighborhood. One of the council’s fiscal watchdogs. District 7 Candidates Dorrie Poole, 37 Occupation: Lawyer specializing in nonprofit organizations Personal: Married, five sons, ages 1 to 11 Education: BA from Stanford, MA from Claremont Graduate School, law degree from USC Law Center Experience: Served on seven city task forces and commissions, including Arts Commission, Playhouse District Task Force, and Parks and Recreation Commission. William Thomson, 57 (incumbent) Occupation: Lawyer specializing in patents and copyrights Personal: Married, three grown children Education: BS in chemical engineering from Bucknell, law degree from Georgetown University Experience: 12 years as councilman, including two years as mayor. Was council representative in negotiations to bring Super Bowl and World Cup to the Rose Bowl. Led lobbying effort to extend light-rail trains to Pasadena. District 5 Candidates Christopher Bray, 24 Occupation: Salesman in a bookstore, waiter and free-lance writer Personal: Single Education: Walnut High School Experience: Has never worked for or served city government. “Involved as an individual in what is happening.” Bill Crowfoot, 36 Occupation: Lawyer specializing in financial law Personal: Married Education: BA from Haverford College. Law degree from George Washington University Law School Experience: Member and former president of Bungalow Heaven Neighborhood Assn. Joseph Morales, 37 Occupation: Lawyer specializing in business and municipal law Personal: Single Education: Loyola University and Loyola University Law School Experience: Member of Redistricting Task Force, legal counsel for Citizens Task Force on Alternative Funding for the Library, member of advisory board of the Salvation Army of Pasadena. Ken Saurenman, 55 Occupation: Painting contractor Personal: Divorced, grown daughter Education: Pasadena High School. College credits from Pasadena City College, UCLA, Citrus Belt Law School Experience: President of Woods Homeowners Assn. in Arcadia. Ran for Assembly as Libertarian.