Front-Runners Expected to Emerge From Early Contenders for Carson Council Seat

Six people so far plan to run for a vacant seat on the Carson City Council, including the son of a local assemblywoman, a prominent mobile home park activist, and the leader of a city government watchdog group.

The would-be candidates took out nomination papers last week, becoming the first to step forward for a special election June 8 to fill the seat left vacant last November when Juanita McDonald won election to the state Assembly. It is her son who is among those running to replace her on the council.

With the April 1 filing deadline more than two weeks away, more candidates could surface. But city political insiders say the race’s front-runners are expected to come from the group that took out papers last week.

Among those making an early move were: Connie Hathaway, head of Homeowners Against Rent Decontrol, a mobile home tenants group; Victoria McKinney, a behavioral scientist who is active in the Democratic Party; and Keith McDonald, a former professional football player who managed his mother’s Assembly campaign.

The other three are James H. Peoples, head of the activist group Carson Coalition for Good Government; Carl E. Robinson, a retired postal worker and frequent candidate; and former public works director Harold C. Williams.

Carson has a tradition of nasty campaigns, but candidates interviewed last week promised to keep this one friendly.

The race is considered important in the African-American community because McDonald was the only black representative on the five-member council, which now includes a Japanese-American, a Filipino-American and two Anglos.

Carson is proud of its racial and ethnic diversity. The city’s population of 83,995 is 26% African-American, 25% Asian and Pacific Islander, and 27% Latino, according to the 1990 U.S. Census. Of the six early candidates, five are African-American.

“I feel the council should be representative of the city as a whole,” Keith McDonald said. The heavily African-American field, he said, reflects concern that the community might not have a representative on the council.

“You hope one will garner the majority of the vote,” McDonald said.

Still, he and other candidates downplayed the role that race will have in the campaign, saying they will focus on issues facing the city. Here is a look at the candidates and their views:

* Hathaway, 53, was active in the successful campaign that prompted the city to adopt an ordinance in 1979 that sets limits on how much rent can be charged for mobile home spaces. She has never run for public office before, but says she is doing so now to give mobile home residents a voice on the council--which, she asserts, has not always addressed their concerns.

Mobile home residents are politically active, and some observers believe they can play a decisive role in local elections.

Hathaway, the only Anglo in the race, said she hopes race does not become a factor. Victory, she said, “should be on your own merit.”

* McKinney, who would give her age only as “50-plus,” has never run for public office, but she has been active in Democratic Party politics. She said she is seeking a council seat to promote job growth and public safety in Carson.

“I don’t want to give away my trade secrets so early but, generally, we need to do those things to stimulate trade interest in our community,” she said.

* McDonald, 29, said he would be the voice for young people in the city. A former wide receiver for the Detroit Lions and San Diego Chargers, he retired from football in 1992 because of a hand injury.

Along with his role in his mother’s campaign last fall, he was a South Bay field deputy for President Clinton’s campaign.

Although McDonald is considering job offers from advertising firms, he said he plans to devote all of his time to the campaign, in which he intends to argue that Carson must find new sources of revenue to boost city coffers and fund anti-crime and anti-graffiti programs.

* Peoples, 59, a retired museum administrator, could not be reached for comment Friday. But he previously has charged that the council is dominated by politicians who have served too long and are inattentive to residents.

His citizens group has been circulating a petition to put a proposal on the ballot calling for a switch from at-large to district council elections to encourage better representation for all city residents.

He lost in a bid for a City Council seat last year, getting 10% of the vote.

* Robinson, a retired postal worker, also lost in a run for the City Council last year, capturing 8.8% of the vote. He could not be reached for comment, but last year he campaigned for more spending on parks and recreation and on building up the city’s budget reserves.

* Williams, 52, was public works director from 1984 to 1989. He left to work as an engineering consultant to various Los Angeles area cities.

He said if elected, he would foster more community involvement in crime prevention programs. He said he would suggest that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which patrols Carson under contract, begin community-based policing in the city.