‘Mayberry’ Turns to Mayhem in El Segundo City Elections : Politics: As usual, the tranquil community’s small-town charm suffered as tempers flared during City Council campaigns.

Residents in tiny, insulated El Segundo affectionately refer to the city as “Mayberry,” and often praise the town for its tranquil streets and small-town charm.

Then come the elections. Every two years, rival political camps square off over City Council seats. Signs are pilfered, accusations fly, aspersions are cast and “Mayberry” transforms to mayhem.

“It’s horrible,” said Wendy Wallace, owner of Wendy’s Place, a gathering spot in downtown El Segundo.

Wallace placed a sign in her cafe’s window recently chiding a resident who took out a political ad in the local newspaper. The ad suggested that incumbent Alan West, whose daughter was stabbed and strangled in February, might be reelected in last week’s election out of sympathy.

“I wanted to walk in here and put a ‘for sale’ sign in the window,” she said. Something that personal and painful should not be part of politics, she said.

Unlike the tame elections in many South Bay cities, El Segundo’s politics are often down-and-dirty.

During a candidates’ forum several weeks ago, City Councilman Michael Robbins sat in the front row of the audience and held up a sign reading “LIAR” when incumbent J.B. Wise spoke, many who attended the forum said. Robbins was not available for comment. At the same forum, Wise called one of the other candidates a “son of a bitch.”

Meanwhile, the Cable Advisory Committee convened an emergency meeting and voted to edit potentially slanderous comments from another candidates’ forum before it aired on the local cable channel.

“I am as thoroughly disgusted as I’ve ever been,” said Wise, a third-generation resident who, along with West, lost in last week’s election to two political newcomers. “For the first time in my life, after that forum, El Segundo didn’t feel like it was home.”

El Segundo’s 15,000 residents live in an enclave virtually cut off from the rest of the South Bay. Los Angeles International Airport blocks off neighborhoods to the north, Chevron’s oil refinery seals the southern side and, to the east, a cluster of commercial buildings separates the city from Hawthorne. On the west it is cut off from the ocean by the Hyperion sewage treatment plant.

The result is a Midwestern-style community that is both “Mayberry,” a cozy, small town where children still play hide-and-seek in their neighbors’ yards--and the self-proclaimed “Aerospace Capitol of the World,” where some of the world’s most sophisticated high-tech machinery is built.

Some attribute the often mean-spirited politicking to a heightened concern for El Segundo’s future. The city has been hit hard by the decline in the aerospace industry, and candidates debated how to fill the city’s many empty buildings.

Others say it’s just good old, small-town politics, where personality conflicts play as big a role in elections as policy decisions.

Liam B. Weston, 29, said raucous political fights are in his blood. The newly elected councilman’s mother campaigned for an El Segundo council candidate shortly after his birth in a similarly rough election.

“Maybe that helped prepare me for all the nasty business,” he said.

Weston said he was questioned by police when he tried to post campaign signs near those of a political opponent. “These are the scary things about El Segundo,” he said.

As the election neared, residents flooded the local newspaper with letters, wielding accusations and chiding candidates. When the letters were rejected for being too long, some took out ads and crammed pointed words into small boxes.

One group produced a spot for the city’s public access channel spoofing the incumbents.

The city’s politically active residents often can be divided into two camps--those who enthusiastically support new business and those who do not. Council members and candidates often deny an affiliation to a particular camp and maintain that the viewpoints are not mutually exclusive.

Weston campaigned on a pro-resident, pro-business platform. He said he avoided nasty campaign tactics by going door-to-door to discuss issues with residents.

Jane Waag Friedkin, who also knocked on residents’ doors as she campaigned for a council seat, said El Segundo is “cliquish.” She said she was frequently asked how long she has lived in the city.

“To be an El Segundoan you have to have practically lived your whole life here,” Friedkin said. Because she has resided in the city 23 years, Friedkin said she believes she passed the test: She won a seat on the council.

During her campaign, Friedkin criticized Wise for being argumentative and promised voters she would bring unity to a divided council.

She will have a couple of years to work on it before the next election in 1996. Then, three council seats will be on the ballot, and the hostile campaigning will begin again.