LOCAL ELECTIONS / COMPTON : Councilman Bradley Wins Mayoral Contest

Culminating a bitterly fought runoff campaign, Compton City Councilman Omar Bradley was elected mayor of Compton on Tuesday over Councilwoman Patricia A. Moore.

Bradley, who had been favored to win, defeated Moore by 349 votes in a race that attracted fewer than 15% of the city’s 35,000 registered voters.

Bradley and Moore had been the top vote-getters in the April 20 general election, and their runoff was acrimonious, with Bradley accusing Moore of grandstanding and Moore accusing Bradley of buckling to proponents of a controversial card casino.

By election night, Bradley was claiming that the notoriety had jeopardized his safety. He brought a dozen Nation of Islam bodyguards with him to City Hall to witness the vote count, contending that drive-by gunmen had shot at his house last week.

During the campaign, Bradley had accused Moore of exploiting controversy and tragedy to further her political career. He repeatedly claimed she had used her speech at the recent funeral of slain Compton police officer Kevin Burrell to campaign.

Meanwhile, Moore, a daughter of Central California migrant workers who has become one of the city’s most visible and controversial leaders, condemned Bradley as a “political thug” and “coward” who cares only about himself.

Both candidates campaigned on improving the city’s image and providing its largely black and Latino population with jobs, affordable housing and safe streets. But the issue that dominated the race was gambling. The city council last year voted to approve the construction of a multimillion-dollar entertainment center and card casino just off the Riverside Freeway on the south side of town. Bradley voted for the project. Moore abstained.

Later, however, Moore became an outspoken critic of the project, and demanded that the residents be given a chance to vote on the issue. Bradley defended his decision, saying that the city needs the money.

In other council races, voters unseated councilwoman Bernice Woods and replaced her with Yvonne Arceneaux, an employee of the Compton Independent School District. They also elected Marcine Shaw, a onetime deputy to retired county Supervisor Kenneth Hahn.

Douglas Sanders was elected to replace his late father as city treasurer.

EDITION-TIME ELECTION RETURNS

OFFICES COMPTON Mayor 34 of 34 Precincts Reporting

CANDIDATE VOTE % Omar Bradley 3,483 52.7 Patricia Moore 3,134 47.3

City Council District 2 34 of 34 Precincts

CANDIDATE VOTE % Marcine Shaw 3,813 59.2 Lynn Dymally 2,635 40.8

District 3 34 of 34 Precincts

CANDIDATE VOTE % Yvonne Arceneaux 3,488 53.4 Bernice Woods* 3,031 46.6

City Treasurer

Douglas Sanders 3,870 59.3 Delores Zurita 2,661 40.7

* Incumbent

Winners are noted in boldface.