ELECTIONS / SAN FERNANDO COUNCIL : Each Vote Can Make a Difference

In the little city of San Fernando, where only about 6,000 of the 24,000 residents are registered to vote, City Council elections are an old-fashioned affair.

Since elections in the 2.4-square-mile city are usually decided by a few hundred votes, candidates comb the streets shaking hands, sharing stories and knocking on every door, knowing that each person could make a difference--literally. In 1992, only 1,887 people voted.

On this year’s April 12 ballot, there are eight candidates for three seats on the five-member council.

Three incumbents, Dan Acuna, Jose Hernandez and Doude Wysbeek, are hoping to retain their seats by touting their efforts to rebuild after the Northridge earthquake, reroute the ruptured Four Corners oil pipeline and clean up city government following the firing of parks Director Jess Margarito in January.

Five challengers, Joanne Baltierrez, John Becker, Raul Godinez, Ed Guzman and Arthur Kay, are hoping that the same emotional issues will bring new blood into the council.

After the election, the San Fernando City Council could be all Latino for the first time--or the 82% Latino city could lose its Latino council majority.

The oil pipeline broke in eight places during the Jan. 17 quake, including a fracture beside O’Melveny Elementary School that fueled a large fire. That sparked the ire of residents, who were unaware that the line ran under the school. The City Council has been trying to get the line rerouted but seems to have no jurisdiction over the matter.

The specter of Margarito, a popular Latino activist who was fired amid allegations that he falsified official documents and misappropriated city funds, hangs over the campaign and divides both residents and candidates. Some believe the firing is a sign that dirty politics are a fixture in the Mission City, while others see it as an indication that the city’s old, white power structure still exerts considerable influence.

Rebuilding after the earthquake is the main political issue in San Fernando, however. City officials say that 53 buildings need to be demolished at a cost of about $47 million.

DAN ACUNA, who is seeking a third consecutive four-year term, is one of the most popular figures in San Fernando politics. Currently the city’s mayor, Acuna, 53, said that jobs, crime, the pipeline and post-quake rebuilding are the major issues facing San Fernando. He thinks the current council is dealing with all of them well but feels that the city needs to be more active in state and national affairs.

“There are a lot of challenges today that we have never faced before,” Acuna said. “But as a city we are unique in that we’re economically sound.”

City activists launched an unsuccessful recall drive against Acuna in 1991, citing his history of financial problems, and the state Fair Political Practices Commission issued a warning letter to Acuna in 1992 after finding that he improperly filed economic-interest statements and misused campaign funds, but no punitive action was taken.

JOANNE BALTIERREZ, who once lived on welfare and struggled to support herself while getting an education, believes she can bring a unique perspective to the City Council.

Baltierrez, 37, said the two main issues facing San Fernando are literacy training and bolstering a business community that was badly shaken by the quake.

“I really feel the city needs to develop a plan to retain businesses and attract new businesses,” said Baltierrez, a social worker. “This is a good opportunity for us to lure businesses from surrounding communities to San Fernando.”

To help attract economic activity, Baltierrez has suggested waiving business fees in the city for one year. She has also proposed the creation of a literacy program where local college and high school students can volunteer to help others learn to read.

JOHN BECKER isn’t flashy. One of two members of San Fernando’s Transportation and Safety Commission running for the council (the other is Ed Guzman), Becker has refused campaign contributions, choosing to run a hit-the-streets campaign without a budget.

“A lot of the people from the church know who I am,” said Becker, a service representative for the Automobile Club of Southern California. “Money doesn’t win votes anyway.”

Becker, 42, was appointed by the City Council to the commission in September, 1993.

He believes that most people in San Fernando are unaware of key issues facing the city and that it is the responsibility of the City Council to keep them informed.

“I don’t think the City Council is letting residents know when an important vote is taking place,” he said. “You should don your tennis shoes and let people know yourself.”

RAUL GODINEZ says that “good, clean government” is what San Fernando needs after the scandal surrounding former parks Director Jess Margarito.

“The rumor is that there was a powerbroker in this town, that if you wanted something done, you went to Jess, and we can’t have anything like that in San Fernando,” said Godinez, an engineer with the Los Angeles Department of Public Works.

Godinez, 32, said his engineering background would be an asset in rebuilding the city. He believes the disaster has provided an opportunity for San Fernando to combat its image problem, and he suggests hiring a public relations consultant to help change the way people view the city.

“People in Orange County and other areas frown when I say I’m from San Fernando, and it’s not fair at all,” he said. “This city has a very rich history, a great Police Department, and many other attributes. People just don’t know.”

ED GUZMAN does not think the City Council has done a good job of dealing with the Four Corners pipeline crisis, spending the public’s money, preparing the city for an earthquake--or anything, for that matter, which is why he decided to run.

“My civic participation spans two decades,” said Guzman, a state employment representative. “I don’t think that the direction the council is taking is good for the city. They don’t have the energy and they have no vision.”

Guzman, 38, is strongly opposed to the construction of the Pacific Pipeline, a proposed oil conduit that would run through San Fernando. The City Council has also opposed the second proposed pipeline.

“It’s my opinion that poor communities are traditionally the chosen sites for prisons, pipelines, landfills,” he said. “It’s not good for the community, it’s not good for property values, and no one wants to live under a pipeline.”

JOSE HERNANDEZ is running for his second City Council term because there are things he “wants to see through,” such as creating a more livable environment in San Fernando and maintaining the current level of public services without raising taxes. Active in Latino affairs, Hernandez also motivated to run because after many years without strong representation, Latinos are finally at the forefront of San Fernando politics.

“It was very difficult to get Latinos elected in the 1970s,” said Hernandez, chairman of Cal State Northridge’s urban studies and planning department. “Historically, white voters have voted for white candidates, but as the Latino population grew, a Latino council became inevitable. I think I am qualified because I was a former mayor, I have experience in the Planning Commission and I’m a family man.”

Hernandez, 63, said he is a strong supporter of youth and senior citizens’ programs. He said the challenge for the upcoming council will be to balance social and economic-development programs with sound fiscal policy.

ARTHUR KAY sees his council bid as an extension of his work as a teacher, businessman, and currently, attorney for the injured.

“I’ve spent my entire life helping people,” said Kay, “and now I want to help San Fernando solve its problems.”

Kay, 53, believes the worst problem currently facing San Fernando is the lack of hope many of the city’s residents feel. He favors development of more arts, job-training and mentor programs, and would seek more federal Community Development Block Grants to finance the programs.

To prove he would listen to the public, Kay gave his home telephone number to the audience last Wednesday at a City Council candidates forum.

DOUDE WYSBEEK’s political philosophy has been to “give people the maximum service for minimum dollars. Money doesn’t always get the job done anyway.” Wysbeek was elected in 1980, lost a reelection bid in 1984 and then was appointed to the council to fill a vacant post in 1988.

Wysbeek, 55, said the major issues facing San Fernando are the same issues the city faced before the quake: maintaining good yet inexpensive public services, such as a strong police force and clean streets. He thinks San Fernando is in a unique position to lure businesses to the northeast Valley because it has an independent water supply and no utility tax.

The pipeline, Wysbeek said, is a major issue from an emotional standpoint, but is not something the council has jurisdiction over. The best the council can do is ask the state fire marshal to force Arco, which owns the pipeline, to institute the maximum safety standards--which the council has already done.

“The people recognize that I don’t play games,” said Wysbeek, who owns an electric motor shop in town. “I’m a no-nonsense person, and I do research before I open my mouth about something.”