ELECTIONS / REDONDO BEACH : Accusations Fueling City Treasurer Runoff

The race for Redondo Beach city treasurer has been narrowed to two candidates, but allegations and accusations continue to grow.

Incumbent Alice DeLong, 61, and challenger Ernie O’Dell, 51, are vying for the $78,600-a-year post in a runoff election May 16.

The runoff was set after the March 7 election when none of the three candidates in the race received more than 50% of the votes. DeLong garnered 37.3%, O’Dell trailed closely with 35.6%. DeLong, who has served as treasurer for 20 years, has been accused of mismanaging the department and working under the influence of alcohol. She has denied the accusations. “Anybody can make any allegations that they want to,” she said. “That doesn’t mean they are factual.”

DeLong said the rumors began after she found out that City Manager Bill Kirchhoff opened a city bank account for $6.5 million, normally the responsibility of the treasurer. Since then, she says, she has been the subject of libelous memos that Kirchhoff distributed.

In December she filed a libel suit against city officials, although she is not seeking monetary damages.

“I filed the lawsuit to restrain them from harassment, but it’s continued,” DeLong said.

Kirchhoff says any memos he distributed were truthful and necessary. He says he and other city officials have heard complaints from numerous employees. “I gave the City Council a report a year ago regarding the situation in the treasurer’s office and pointed out that the current financial dealings we were involved with put the city’s money at risk,” Kirchhoff said.

Armando Herrera, the third candidate in the March race, has endorsed DeLong, saying the allegations against her are false. He says that despite O’Dell’s claims that he has 10 years of business experience, he is not qualified for the position.

“His business experience is as a bar operator, which I don’t find a viable experience for the city treasurer,” Herrera said.

O’Dell did not return telephone calls requesting comment.

As of May 4, O’Dell had spent more than three times as much on the campaign as DeLong. O’Dell reported spending $17,245 to DeLong’s $4,985.

Kirchhoff has been accused of soliciting O’Dell to run against DeLong because of their longstanding antipathy, but he denied the accusation. “There’s absolutely nothing in it for a city manager to get tangled up in these kinds of politics,” Kirchhoff said. “Frankly, I don’t care who the city treasurer is.”

DeLong says her dedication to the position can’t be questioned.

“I really believe in representing the people, and they should be the ones to choose what form of government they have,” she said.