Revenue, Crime on Agenda in Carson City Council Race : Elections: A record eight candidates are vying for one seat. An advisory measure on forming a separate school district is also on the ballot.

Eight candidates, a record for a single-seat race, are vying in the June 8 special election to fill the Carson City Council vacancy created when Juanita McDonald went to the state Assembly last fall.

The contest has been sedate by Carson standards, although some candidates have been sniping over vandalized campaign signs. Leading issues include how to generate more revenue in the cash-strapped city, how to control crime and whether Carson should secede from the Los Angeles and Compton unified school districts.

The school district issue is the subject of a non-binding advisory measure on the ballot, Proposition E, which will ask voters: “Shall the City of Carson take the necessary steps for formation of a Unified School District Grades K to 12 in the City of Carson?” Approximately 15,000 students attend Carson schools. A committee recently concluded that a Carson unified district would cost $60 million to run, with most of the money coming from state and federal government.

The council race is seen as important for the African-American community, which is concerned that unless one of the five black candidates wins, there will be no African-American representation on the council now that McDonald has left. African-Americans make up about 25% of the city’s population.

Candidates in the race are Coni Hathaway, head of Homeowners Against Rent Decontrol, a mobile-home tenants group; Gayle L. Konig, an activist seeking the breakup of the Los Angeles school system; Victoria McKinney, a behavioral scientist active in the Democratic Party; Keith McDonald, a former professional football player who managed his mother’s Assembly campaign; Lorelie S. Olaes, a UCLA counselor; 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.

McDonald has raised and spent the most in the campaign, followed by Peoples and Williams. Robinson and Konig, who pledged not to raise or spend more than $1,000, have stuck to their vow, according to the most recent campaign finance disclosure papers.

Here is a look at the candidates and the issues they have been discussing:

CONI HATHAWAY

Hathaway, 53, a longtime community activist, has chided the other candidates for speaking out about Carson issues only at election time.

She was the founder of Homeowners Against Rent Decontrol, a mobile-home advocacy group representing 2,500 homes. One of the group’s key victories was its campaign for a 1979 ordinance preventing excessive mobile home rents.

The mobile-home group has been viewed as influential in Carson elections, but Hathaway at recent campaign forums has insisted she would serve all of the city.

She said she would like City Hall to be more receptive to residents and would push for a one-stop central desk at which visitors could get everything from information about council meetings to a building permit.

Hathaway has raised $4,812 and spent $2,572 in her campaign.

GAYLE L. KONIG

Konig, 41, said she believes her background as an advocate for a separate Carson school district will propel her to victory. Of all the candidates, Konig is the strongest supporter of the secession proposal.

On the campaign trail, Konig, who recently pulled her two children out of L.A. Unified, pushes for the breakup of the Los Angeles school district as the best way to improve education.

“I know change has to start someplace and I want it to start here,” Konig said at a recent forum. She says she believes improving Carson schools will keep young people from turning to crime.

On fiscal matters, she advocates reviewing city investments, especially in the face of reductions in state allocations for cities.

Konig has pledged to keep her campaign spending below $1,000.

KEITH McDONALD

McDonald, 29, vows to be the council member representing the views of the city’s young people.

“That’s what this campaign is all about, bringing in young voters. We want our voice to be heard,” McDonald said.

A key step in that direction, he said, would be the formation of an advisory commission of young people from the city’s schools. Hathaway and Olaes also support that proposal. McDonald favors making use of former NFL star Jim Brown’s anti-gang Amer-I-Can program, in which ex-gang members counsel young people.

McDonald played professional football with the Detroit Lions and San Diego Chargers, retiring in 1992 because of a hand injury. He has never run for office, but managed his mother’s campaign last fall and was a South Bay field deputy for the Clinton-Gore campaign.

On fiscal issues, he says Carson should adopt a multiyear budget as a way to control spending. He says he also believes Carson could receive more federal and state grants that would fund anti-crime and youth programs.

McDonald has raised $23,015 and spent $18,065.

VICTORIA McKINNEY

McKinney, 52, has not previously run for public office. Although Carson elections are officially nonpartisan, she points to her involvement with the county Democratic Party, having been chosen Los Angeles County Democrat of the Year in 1991.

McKinney believes the city needs to review the city treasurer’s office to ensure that the best investments are being made. She also recommends bringing big business to the city, but has offered few specifics on how to do it.

McKinney promises to improve communication among city residents and the council.

She has raised $660 and reports expenditures of $1,236.

LORELIE S. OLAES

Olaes, 30, who manages a scholarship program at UCLA, has campaigned on the theme that young people need to be more involved in the city. A Filipina-American, she says the city would benefit from her ethnic background and her work at UCLA on programs aimed at improving ethnic relations.

“I have worked with diverse communities, and I can tell you I know how to bring people together,” said Olaes, who has vowed to improve youth programs in the city.

Olaes, 1980 valedictorian of Carson High School, received the most applause from students at a recent forum sponsored by the school’s Leadership Class.

“I don’t have all the answers” to the city’s problems, she admits. But she promises to seek the advice of a cross-section of the community before acting on issues that come before the council.

Olaes has raised $4,609 and spent $3,868.

JAMES H. PEOPLES

Peoples, 59, a retired museum administrator, said he is running because he believes the council has grown arrogant and unresponsive to residents.

“I am the people’s choice,” he always says at candidate forums and in interviews. Peoples says the council has not done enough to increase affordable housing and promote growth in the city’s economy.

He headed the watchdog group Carson Coalition for Good Government, which has circulated a petition for a ballot measure that would switch council elections from at-large to district elections. Such a move, he said, would encourage better representation for all city residents.

Peoples, who has taught graduate courses at local colleges and holds graduate degrees in business economics, said he believes his academic background will allow him to help the city spend its money more wisely.

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

Peoples has raised $17,098 and spent $17,590.

CARL E. ROBINSON

Robinson, 58, a retired postal worker and now field representative for Rep. Walter R. Tucker III (D-Compton), is a frequent candidate who also ran unsuccessfully for the City Council last year, capturing 8.8% of the vote.

As in past campaigns, he is calling for improvements to city parks, especially in the north end of town, where he says gyms and swimming pools are lacking.

Robinson said he believes the city needs to build up its budget reserves so it can better weather crises brought on by budget cuts in Sacramento. He also contends that city officials travel out of town too much, wasting money that could go toward city programs.

Robinson says the city needs to more closely explore what federal programs it could use to improve youth and other services.

He has signed campaign papers pledging not to raise or spend more than $1,000.

HAROLD C. WILLIAMS

Williams, 52, the city’s public works director in the early 1980s, said he believes his experience in Carson government and as a consulting engineer in other communities makes him the best-qualified candidate.

“I clearly know the difference between administering policy and making policy,” Williams said.

He said he would advocate closer scrutiny of the city’s service contracts to ensure the money is being well spent and that contractors are not passing on unnecessary costs to the city.

Williams has also been outspoken on graffiti and other crime in the city. He describes himself as a strong advocate of community-based policing who believes the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which patrols Carson’s streets, should institute such a program in the city.

Williams has raised $12,035 and has spent $8,203.