Card Clubs Come Up Losers With Voters : Politics: Casino plans are rejected in four cities. Fear of increased crime and suspicion of spending by cities doomed the measures, observers say.

Voters turned down all four card clubs proposed in Southland cities, dampening a recent run for casino money in cash-needy communities.

Residents of Pico Rivera and West Hollywood refused to allow clubs in their cities in Tuesday’s election, brushing off promoters’ promises of new jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue.

Similar ballot measures to introduce card clubs in Orange County also failed by wide margins in Cypress and Stanton.

“Proponents of card clubs should think very, very, very carefully before proposing a club,” said Sandra Sutphen, a political science professor at Cal State Fullerton who has studied card clubs and worked on the Cypress measure. “People just don’t want them.”

Sponsors could not overcome higher-than-expected turnouts of voters opposed to card clubs. That coupled with fear of crime associated with the clubs and suspicion of spending by cities doomed the measures.

“People are very anti-government,” Sutphen said. “They’re opposed to (card clubs) because they don’t want to see local government get more money.”

Bellflower and Lynwood plan card club votes later this year. Inglewood and Compton approved clubs last year.

Casino boosters seized on recessionary cutbacks and fears of new taxes in the hopes of winning over voters, but residents feared that crime might plague the clubs and tarnish their cities’ images.

“There’s got to be a way to improve the financial situation of West Hollywood without gambling,” said publicist Phil Lobel, who voted against the proposed 89-table club there.

In Pico Rivera, club sponsors lost a close vote and said they may try again next spring. The margin was a scant 209 votes, with another 231 absentee ballots to be verified by next week. About two-thirds of voters in West Hollywood and Cypress voted against clubs, and the Stanton measure fell by a 4-1 margin.

In Carson, surprise winner Lorelie S. Olaes, 30, became the youngest member ever elected to the Carson City Council, besting seven other candidates.

Inglewood voters dumped longtime City Council members Daniel K. Tabor and Anthony Scardenzan in favor of two political newcomers: Curren Price Jr., an economic development consultant and print shop owner, and Judith S. Dunlap, a community activist.