ELECTIONS : School Board, Council Winners Outline Priorities : Municipalities: Candidates who cited their ability to cut budgets or find new funds generally were elected. Two library district contenders win a contentious race.

Hermosa Beach residents may see more businesses in town. City government may get leaner in Hawthorne. And Rancho Palos Verdes residents could see a new utility tax rolled back.

That is, if victors in Tuesday’s elections make good on their promises.

In four municipal races and one in a special district, candidates who promoted their ability to cut budgets or find new funds generally won office.

Voters in Hermosa Beach elected a pro-business majority to the City Council.

Hawthorne got a new mayor who wants to consolidate city departments.

And in Rancho Palos Verdes, voters elected two well-known members of city commissions who called for streamlining the city’s permit process and phasing out a utility tax.

In the contentious Palos Verdes Library District Board of Trustees race, meanwhile, two challengers ousted incumbents in a campaign that focused on a special committee’s report critical of spending on the expansion of the main library.

Here is a look at the results:

Hermosa Beach

John Bowler, a tavern owner, was the top vote-getter in a field of 12 for three seats on the City Council. He will be joined by two other pro-business advocates: electrical supervisor J. R. Reviczky and architect and planning commissioner Julie A. Oakes.

Bowler captured 17% of the vote, and Oakes and Reviczky garnered 11%.

Mayor Albert G. Wiemans, the only incumbent seeking reelection, finished 10th. He had denounced pro-business strategies as an attempt to bring more bars into town.

“I feel I have done the right thing in my four years,” said Wiemans, who accepted no campaign donations and kept a low profile throughout the race.

The new council members said they expect to bring a fresh perspective to a City Council mired in personality conflicts. They will replace Wiemans and Kathleen Midstokke and Robert Essertier, who did not seek reelection.

“This new council is not interested in casting aspersions on one another,” Reviczky said. “We’re interested in getting the job done.”

They will take office Nov. 23. The newcomers may have to deal with Los Angeles County, which has threatened to withdraw its lifeguards from city beaches. The county wants the city to provide $200,000 in cash and other concessions for continued lifeguard services, but city officials have resisted, saying they already pay more than their fair share in county taxes.

The new council members said they will try to reopen negotiations with the county. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider pulling lifeguards out of the city.

Voters also defeated an advisory measure on whether the city should raise the limit on building heights for condominiums and apartments.

Hawthorne

Councilman Larry Guidi, an import executive, won 40% of the vote in the mayor’s race, defeating Councilman Charles Bookhammer, who received 32%, and real estate broker Carol Mayer, with 29%.

Guidi, who will assume the two-year post later this month, plans to consolidate city departments and develop a community advisory board.

Residents “know me as the guy who is approachable,” he said. “You can’t be a two-day-a-month politician in this city anymore.”

Meanwhile, Hawthorne Mayor Steven Andersen and Ginny Lambert beat six others in the race for two council seats. Andersen got 23% of the vote, and Lambert, a retired aerospace worker who had served on the council from 1986 to 1991, captured 20%.

They will replace Bookhammer, who did not seek reelection so he could run for mayor, and Councilman David York, edged out by Lambert. Both were first elected in 1983.

In the race for city clerk, audit manager Daniel Juarez received 53% of the vote to defeat incumbent Richard Mansfield, who got 47%. City Treasurer Edelma Campos, who ran unopposed, was reelected.

Palos Verdes Peninsula

Planning Commissioner Lee Byrd and Parks and Recreation Committee Chairwoman Marilyn Lyon easily won the two seats open on the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council. They defeated Kim Wang, Barbara Ferraro and Luella Wike.

Byrd and Lyon will take the seats of Councilwoman Jacki Bacharach, who chose not to run after 13 years on the council, and Robert Ryan, who resigned in March after 20 years on the council to join the county Planning Commission.

Byrd captured 30% of the vote and Lyon received 27%. Wang, the nearest competitor, had 18%, even though she raised and spent the most money.

All candidates advocated phasing out a 3% utility tax that council members passed in September to finance road maintenance. Byrd and Lyon said if the tax is phased out, cuts elsewhere in the budget could pay for the street repairs.

But Byrd and Lyon said their experience on city committees set them apart.

Lyon pledged to donate her $10,000 allotment for council travel expenses to increase the city’s Neighborhood Watch program. Byrd, a retired Magnavox executive and Air Force colonel, called on the city to better explain how it is spending its funds.

In Rolling Hills Estates, Councilwoman Jacki McGuire and interior designer Susan Seamans were the only two candidates for two seats.

Voters also defeated a measure to eliminate height restrictions on fence posts and other yard structures.

But the most contentious race on the peninsula was for three spots on the Palos Verdes Library District board. Board President Janet Smith won a third term, but two challengers, Harold Jesse and Steve Peden, defeated incumbents Elliott Hahn and Teresa Sun.

During the campaign, Jesse, an information systems manager, and Peden, an attorney, had criticized the trustees for spending on the renovation of the main library, including the purchase of artwork and furniture.

Last week, a special Board of Trustees committee released a report echoing those criticisms. The report recommended that district officials scale back the expansion and improve the condition of two branches.

Times Staff Writers Carol Chastang and Kim Kowsky contributed to this report.