3 Newcomers Change Face of Pasadena Council : Election: Seven-person panel will get its first Latino member. Surprise victory for Streator linked to rival’s backing by controversial outgoing Councilman Isaac Richard.

Ann-Marie Villicana, a political newcomer who wore out some shoe leather going house to house, will be Pasadena’s first Latino City Council member, while in another race the specter of controversial Councilman Isaac Richard apparently hurt a candidate trying to succeed him.

Richard’s choice in the 1st District, Saundra L. Knox, was thrashed by Joyce Streator, a former aide to Councilman Chris Holden.

In Pasadena’s third council race, neighborhood activist Paul Little heavily canvassed homes in the 2nd District to overwhelm Mark R. Nay, the business community’s candidate of choice.

Villicana also hit the streets--personally contacting more than 5,000 households, she said--to score a narrow victory over Planning Commissioner William J. York Jr. in the 6th District.

The three seats came open when Richard and council colleagues Rick Cole and Kathryn Nack decided not to seek reelection.

The head-to-head runoffs were set up when none of the candidates in those districts received a majority of votes in the March 7 primary. William M. Paparian, who faced a single challenger in the primary, won reelection to a third term.

The three victors take their seats May 1, dramatically changing the face of the seven-member council.

1st District

Knox, the director of the nonprofit Pasadena Neighborhood Housing Services, finished ahead of Streator in the primary. So the margin of victory Tuesday for Streator, who received 62% of the vote, surprised political pundits.

Both candidates held similar positions, saying they would work to increase business opportunities and youth programs and reduce crime in the district, which has a large low-income population.

From the beginning, the influence of Richard, the contentious councilman censured three times for swearing at city officials, weighed in the race.

Porfirio Frausto, who finished third in the primary and was angered, in part, by Knox’s association with Richard, endorsed Streator.

At a council meeting late last month, Richard admitted taking down Streator’s campaign signs. He then got into a fight over the placement of a campaign sign with Streator’s brother, who suffered a broken nose in the scuffle.

Yet Knox declined to cut her ties with Richard. She received fewer votes Tuesday than she did in the primary.

“I think Isaac was a very negative factor for Saundra,” Streator said. “If she had ever stood up and condemned Isaac, it might have been different.”

Knox said she should have walked more precincts, but she wouldn’t change her responses on Richard. She acknowledged, however, that his image was a factor.

“I was overshadowed by . . . the phantom candidate,” Knox said.

Richard declined to comment on the outcome of the race.

2nd District

Little, communications coordinator for Pasadena’s Pacific Asia Museum, finished first in the primary and in Tuesday’s runoff, in which he garnered 73% of the vote--the largest margin of victory in any of the races.

He and Nay had similar platforms, pledging to improve recreation and after-school programs to engage youths and reduce crime. Both candidates also said they want to revive the sagging commercial corridors in the 2nd District, including Washington Boulevard.

But they had vastly different styles.

Little, a longtime activist in the Bungalow Heaven Neighborhood Assn., eschewed the practice of lining up scores of endorsements and big money in favor of walking precincts with several dozen volunteers. He did, however, have Cole’s endorsement.

“I wanted to prove you could run a campaign here using volunteers without going to special interests for a lot of money,” said Little, who raised less money than any of the other candidates in Tuesday’s runoffs.

Nay, an architect and chairman of the city’s Design Commission, secured support and donations from pillars of the business community and won the endorsement of the Chamber of Commerce’s political action committee.

Attributing his loss partly to Cole’s support of Little, Nay praised his opponent.

“He ran a first-class, grass-roots campaign,” Nay said.

6th District

Villicana, a 28-year-old political newcomer, scored a big upset by narrowly defeating York, a longtime planning commissioner.

“I know what the issues are, and I went out and talked to the people,” said Villicana, who alleged during the campaign that York was out of touch with most of the district’s voters. “People are tired of the bureaucracy.”

York said he lost the race because Villicana outspent him and could afford to take more time to walk the district. York noted during the campaign that Villicana, a lawyer and real estate broker, still lives with her well-to-do parents.

“She outspent me 2 to 1 on dollars and 5 to 1 on time,” said York, 51. “You can’t beat that.”

York, chairman of the Planning Commission and a manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, began the campaign as the clear front-runner among the candidates seeking to replace Nack. He finished first in the primary, just ahead of Villicana.

But Villicana pressed ahead with her pro-business, anti-crime platform. She wants to cut the red tape faced by businesses seeking to move into Pasadena and the fees paid by those that are already there.