Torrance City Clerk Quits Amid Growing Criticism : Government: John Bramhall, whose resignation is effective July 24, seeks to avoid grueling reelection contest. He would have faced his deputy for post.

Dogged by criticism of his performance as Torrance city clerk, John Bramhall announced this week that he will resign in July rather than face a bruising reelection campaign against his highest-ranking assistant and a former elections aide.

Bramhall, 68, would have faced Deputy City Clerk Dora Hong and former elections aide Sue Herbers in the March, 1994, city clerk’s race.

“Staying in the office, knowing that you’d constantly be a target, that you’d be fodder for their campaigns--there’s no point to it,” Bramhall said Wednesday. Resigning, he added, “is in the best interests of everybody, including myself.”

Bramhall was particularly upset with Hong, his top assistant. She had gone public with criticisms of the city clerk, calling him a “self-appointed city greeter” who abused the privileges of his position.

Bramhall’s decision, announced at the end of Tuesday’s City Council meeting, prompted Hong to put her campaign plans on hold, she said. Hong lives in Rancho Palos Verdes and planned to move to Torrance in time for the 1994 election.

“My only intent was to run on a platform to expose the competency level” of Bramhall, Hong said. “I wanted the taxpayers to see what they were getting for their money. . . . He’s just not capable.”

Some other staff members in the office agreed, and said they were pleased about Bramhall’s decision to leave the $79,000-a-year post. “It’s about time,” said one worker, who asked not to be identified.

Bramhall was sharply criticized last week by Hong and several council members for his proposal to hire a Pomona consultant to run next year’s elections at a cost of $16,650, plus travel expenses.

Council members, citing concerns about the consultant’s cost and accessibility, voted 6-1 to delay the matter. The council asked Bramhall to propose alternatives, including seeking election assistance from nearby cities.

The criticism leveled at that meeting, Bramhall said, was the last straw. In a resignation letter he read to the council on Tuesday, he said he had an “obvious conflict” with Hong.

“The city clerk’s office has a history of controversy, stress, conflicts and dissension,” Bramhall said. “Unfortunately, and regrettably, my efforts to correct this condition have not been fruitful. I am the third city clerk who has been the recipient of the criticism and actions of this deputy city clerk (Hong). Am I the problem?”

Mayor Katy Geissert lamented Bramhall’s decision to resign.

“I think we all deeply regret that you’ve been placed in this position, where you felt that this was the best for yourself . . . and the city,” Geissert said.

Geissert said Hong’s public tarring of Bramhall with “broad-brush” allegations is “unethical.”

“I think that if she had charges of impropriety or wrongdoing in the city, that we have channels (within) the city that she could use,” Geissert said.

Bramhall’s resignation takes effect July 24. The council has 30 days from that date to appoint a successor. If an appointment is not made, the city must hold a special election to fill the post. Geissert said she favors appointing someone who is not considering campaigning for the office.

The council appointed Bramhall to the city clerk’s job in 1988, after Donald Wilson resigned because of poor health. Bramhall was elected to the position in 1990. He has worked for several cities, including Lawndale, where he served a six-month stint as treasurer in 1988. He also held positions in the City of Commerce, including city clerk and assistant city administrator, and retired from that city’s work force 10 years ago.