Blatant put-down or wordy credo? Campaign committee name spells trouble.

FOUR-LETTER CAMPAIGN: The Redondo Beach mayor’s race is long over, but a defeated candidate found a way to have the last words. And they’re not as innocuous as “Darn, I lost.”

Christopher Boyle in July filed a statement of organization for his campaign committee, a requirement under state law for candidates who raise more than $1,000. The name of his committee: “For Understanding Critical Knowledge You Obviously Unpossess and to Banish the Rule of All Dictatorships.”

After Boyle boasted to staffers about a hidden message in the name, Redondo Beach City Clerk John Oliver discovered that the committee’s acronym spells out an obscene phrase directed at Mayor Brad Parton.

Boyle said the odd name simply reflects his beliefs and was not meant to be obscene. He said the acronym occurred by happenstance. When pressed, he added: “If you think you’re going to get me on record saying I knew about it beforehand, you must be crazy.”

Oliver wanted the name changed immediately, but Secretary of State March Fong Eu has no authority to reject a committee’s name on the grounds it was found to be offensive, said Tony Miller, Eu’s chief deputy. Miller said he plans to discuss the committee name with election authorities in case they want to amend regulations to prevent future problems.

*

PARKING PREMIUM: Contractors have hit a snag in the construction of a bike trail on Redondo Beach’s Harbor Drive.

The city is building the trail so cyclists won’t zigzag around pedestrians on the sidewalk.

A couple of weeks ago, workers started sandblasting parking stripes and removing meters in front of King Harbor Marine Center to make way for the bike path. But the 12 spaces were the only place where patrons could park.

Marine center owner Abe Tavera said the parking problems cut business from 50 customers a day to two or three.

The council recently halted construction on the path, and at its meeting Tuesday it will consider ways to resolve the problem. Meanwhile, makeshift stripes have replaced the old parking spots, said Assistant City Manager Ken Simmons.

Workers also left behind the parking meter poles, which were taped over after people complained that exposed metal could cut passersby.

Despite the hassles, Tavera sees a bonus in the construction work.

“The meters are still gone, so it’s all free parking,” Tavera said. “That’s even better.”

*

GLOBE-TROTTING: What’s this? The Harbor area’s rep on the Los Angeles City Council encouraging trips by port officials?

Well, that’s exactly what happened recently when Councilman Rudy Svorinich Jr. persuaded his colleagues to authorize two Far East trips by the Harbor Department.

It seems the trips, under the city’s new travel policy, had to be approved by the council before any port officials could get their boarding passes.

One 14-day trip, which began last week, will take the port’s Masashi Morimoto, international marketing manager for the Pacific Rim, to Japan, Korea, Singapore and Malaysia to meet with shipping lines and manufacturing companies. Cost of the trip: $10,252.

On Tuesday, Executive Director Ezunial Burts began a nine-day jaunt to a number of cities in Taiwan and Japan. Burts’ trip, in which he will address a symposium, will cost $6,094, up to $4,000 of which will be reimbursed by conference organizers.

“In my opinion, foreign travel is permissible if one is on a business trip . . . in this case, it’s the port,” Svorinich said. “But there better be some tangible results.”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“How about the kid who shared the bed with Michael Jackson? Did you see him on the news? He said there was nothing unusual. He said if you don’t believe him, just ask the llama.”

--Jay Leno, trying out a joke for “The Tonight Show” at Hermosa Beach’s Comedy and Magic Club. The barb didn’t make it onto TV.

THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Rancho Palos Verdes: The City Council will have a public hearing Tuesday on a proposed 3.5% utility tax to raise revenue for road maintenance and street repairs. Also under consideration will be the extension of fees--averaging $52 per household--for roadway and park landscaping and lighting maintenance.

LAST WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

Inglewood: Hordes of angry residents showed up Tuesday at a City Council hearing to complain about the service from the local cable television company, Continental Cable. Residents said calls to Continental often go answered, repairs take a long time, and costs keep soaring. The council told the company to draft a report replying to the complaints.

Los Angeles: Councilman Rudy Svorinich Jr. asked that all community advisory board members appointed by his predecessor, Joan Milke Flores, turn in their resignations by Friday so that he can decide which boards--and commissioners--should remain. Svorinich said the move was part of a re-examination of the boards that was launched by Flores.