Defeated Candidates Will Get Another Shot : Elections: Sal Princiotta Jr., who finished fifth in the council primary race, plans to wage a write-in campaign in the May 11 runoff. The Redondo Beach city attorney has determined that the action is permissible.

In a legal vagary that has Redondo Beach city officials seeing visions of never-ending elections, a losing candidate in this month’s municipal race will be allowed to run as a write-in candidate in the May 11 runoff election.

Sal Princiotta Jr., who ran fifth in a field of eight in the District 2 council race, has indicated he will take advantage of a legal decision that allows him to wage a write-in campaign even though he was defeated in the primary.

Princiotta’s decision has sparked a scramble among other political hopefuls for write-in candidacy papers in the city’s other two runoffs--the mayoral race and the election for the District 4 council seat.

Citing a city attorney’s opinion released late Friday afternoon, exasperated City Clerk John L. Oliver said Princiotta and others can begin collecting signatures to run as write-run candidates Monday morning. He said he fears, however, that the new flurry of campaigns could defeat the purpose of runoff elections.

Under the city’s charter, elected officials must receive more than 50% of the votes cast to win their race. If more than two people run for one office, additional candidates could split the vote so much that no one wins, Oliver said.

“We could just have elections ad infinitum,” Oliver said. “We could have to spend $40,000 or $50,000 every 88 days . . . until finally somebody gives up. That’s the idiocy of this whole thing.”

But that’s the way the law says it must be, attorneys said.

In 1982, then-state Atty. Gen. George Deukmejian issued a formal opinion allowing a defeated primary candidate in Mendocino’s district attorney race to run as a write-in candidate in the runoff.

And in 1985, the state Supreme Court ruled that San Diego must allow write-in candidates in its mayoral runoff.

“My own personal view is that this is a horrendous result,” said Stanley Remelmeyer, a longtime South Bay city attorney who worked with Redondo Beach City Atty. Gordon Phillips to research case law. “This defeats the whole purpose of the primary election. . . . It may skewer the vote for a candidate who otherwise might be elected in the general. But the Supreme Court didn’t ask me.”

Phillips called the case law “stupid.”

“It seems to me if a candidate is defeated (in the primary), the people have already indicated that they don’t want to consider him for office,” he said. “It boggles the mind and befuddles common sense.”

Oliver said Chris Boyle, a defeated mayoral candidate, and Eva Snow, a defeated candidate in District 4, have indicated they might wage write-in campaigns. In addition, Councilman Stevan Colin, who was not up for reelection, said he might wage a write-in campaign for mayor.

No one has ever staged a write-in campaign in a Redondo Beach election, Oliver said.

The runoff candidates whose names are scheduled to appear on the May 11 ballot are Mayor Brad Parton and Ron Cawdrey in the mayor’s race, Rick Abelson and Greg Hill in District 2, and Councilman Terry Ward and Robert Pinzler in District 4.

Several of the candidates said they are stunned by the decision to allow write-ins.

“I’m not losing any sleep over it . . . but it is unbelievable,” Parton said. “I don’t think it will affect (the outcome of) any of the races, because there aren’t really any strong, credible candidates taking on this challenge, but I really think we need to go to court or something after this whole thing is over to plug the loophole.”