LOCAL ELECTIONS : History of Flukes in Assessor’s Race Draws a Crowd of Hopefuls

Can lightning strike a third time?

That’s what 15 of 16 candidates for county assessor are hoping for in the June 7 primary election.

After watching mid-level employees of the assessor’s office win the powerful post in back-to-back election flukes, the hopefuls are running long-shot campaigns and waiting for another bolt to blast them out of obscurity and into the $151,000-a-year job.

The campaign for tax assessor has been marked by constant mudslinging, a lawsuit and large field of competitors that includes 14 current and former employees of the assessor’s office who think they can do a better job than the boss.

Incumbent Assessor Kenneth P. Hahn won the election four years ago in an upset attributed to his having the same name as a popular county supervisor. He was a deputy assessor at the time and political neophyte.

He is trying to dampen any sparks from his competition by running an aggressive campaign with a war chest of more than $300,000 and endorsements from the political Establishment.

Hahn has been endorsed by all five members of the county Board of Supervisors, all 15 members of the Los Angeles City Council and groups ranging from the very liberal Service Employees International Union, Local 660, to the very conservative Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn.

He has even been endorsed by the other Kenneth Hahn, the retired longtime county supervisor who is not related to Assessor Hahn. “He won last time with the name and not 5 cents worth of advertising,” Supervisor Hahn said. He is now endorsing Assessor Hahn because “he’s run a smooth and efficient office. He’s the best man for the job.”

That’s a change from four years ago, when Supervisor Hahn and most of the political Establishment supported then-Assessor John Lynch.

Lynch won the seat in 1986 on what political analysts said was the strength of his ballot designation as “deputy assessor”--which looked impressive to voters but is actually a fairly low-level position in the office. He was one of 12 candidates running for the seat that was being vacated by two-term Assessor Alexander Pope.

Lynch narrowly lost to Hahn in 1990, pulling 48.5% of the vote to Hahn’s 51.5%.

Lynch wants the top job back and he has joined the pack in hopes of forcing Hahn into a runoff and another November showdown. “I can do a better job than the man who’s there,” Lynch said.

Under the rules of the nonpartisan race for assessor, a candidate must receive 50% of the votes plus one to win the post outright in the primary. If no candidate receives that much, the two top vote-getters will face off in a general election in November.

The assessor is primarily responsible for preparing property tax valuations. The department’s 1,800 employees locate taxable property in the county, identify its ownership and establish the value, including reassessments because of changes in ownership, market conditions, new construction or damage, such as in the recent fires and earthquakes.

The office lost much of its clout when California voters approved Proposition 13 in 1978. The assessor used to have wide latitude in determining the value of property, but Proposition 13 reduced most assessments to a simple arithmetic calculation based on the sales price of a property.

For Hahn and Lynch, the campaign is the continuation of political grudge match that began nearly a decade ago over some personal slights. Hahn said he ran in 1990 only to make the campaign difficult for Lynch.

After winning the upset election in 1990, Hahn proceeded to send half a dozen anonymous cards and applications to Lynch’s home. They were often insulting, and Lynch found them to be harassing. He filed a lawsuit against Hahn seeking an injunction and damages.

Hahn acknowledged sending the mail, saying Lynch deserved it after the bullying manner in which he ran the department when he was assessor. During his tenure, Lynch made headlines when kicked county auditors out of his office and when he allegedly roughed up an employee.

Hahn has publicly apologized and acknowledged that his actions were, at best, silly.

Harvey Englander, Hahn’s campaign manager, said he does not believe the episode has been politically damaging. Since the lawsuit was disclosed by The Times, Hahn has lost none of the endorsements he had received from more than 100 elected officials, Englander said.

But other candidates say Hahn’s actions show he is not fit for the job.

“Initially I just thought he was incompetent,” said Robert Burman, a principal appraiser in the assessor’s office and candidate for election. “But now I question his emotional well-being.”

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Burman, like many of the candidates, said the department is top-heavy and faulted Hahn for not fixing the problem-plagued computer system that was purchased and installed by Hahn’s two predecessors.

“He’s nothing more than a figurehead with a big salary,” said Marsha Tuton, a supervising deputy assessor who is in the race. “He got there on a name, someone else’s name,” she said, referring to the confusion with the former supervisor.

Most of the candidates are running shoestring campaigns with, at most, a few thousand dollars of their own money. Most have been making the rounds of business and political clubs, speaking wherever and whenever they can get an audience.

Some of the candidates privately acknowledge that they are running only to draw support away from Hahn, in the hopes that it will help Lynch. It is the same strategy employed by Lynch’s enemies, who packed the ballot with half a dozen candidates in the 1990 election.

Most of the candidates contacted say they are resentful of Hahn’s taking large campaign contributions from special interests and they are frustrated by their own inability to reach large numbers of voters.

But that doesn’t mean they have lost hope.

John Carl (Broggy) Brogdon, a retired assessor’s office employee, said he is the clear choice in a crowded field with better-known candidates.

“I’ve got the longest name, that’s how you can remember to vote for me,” he said. Despite high hopes and slogans, Brogdon received 6% of the vote when he ran in 1990.

Hahn defends his record, saying that the department is less top-heavy than when he took over and that the computer system’s problems are just about solved.

He said he went further than any assessor in the state to give lower property reassessments to homeowners hurt by the decline in real estate prices and the recent series of natural and man-made disasters.

And, Hahn says, morale has improved, despite the large number of employees challenging him.

“If I only get one term, I feel I’ve done a lot,” Hahn said. “If I get two terms, I can do a lot more.”

Candidates on the ballot are: Alan Bato, deputy county assessor; Burman, manager in the assessor’s office; Brogdon, taxpayer appeals representative; Roy Z. Cossio, supervising deputy assessor; Ruben Vasquez Chagoy, deputy assessor; Richard B. Forsch, attorney; Khalil Khalil, engineer; Dennis (Dan) C. Kumaus, deputy assessor; Roy R. Sharman, assessor’s chief appraiser; Tuton, supervising deputy assessor; William R. Lenney Jr., deputy assessor/contractor; Harley Lee Outten, assessor representative; Nick Stansfield, deputy assessor, and Janet Woods, businesswoman.