Kerkorian to Try to Oust Director : Autos: Chrysler’s largest shareholder wants to replace ex-Kmart Chairman Joseph Antonini with his aide, Jerome York.

Kirk Kerkorian, Chrysler Corp.’s largest shareholder, said Monday he will try to oust a company director and replace him with Kerkorian lieutenant Jerome B. York, a former Chrysler executive.

Kerkorian has been pushing the board for nearly a year to take steps he believes will increase Chrysler’s shareholder value. In April, he launched an abortive attempt to take over the company.

A meeting Monday between Kerkorian and Chrysler Chairman Robert J. Eaton apparently did not satisfy the billionaire investor from Las Vegas. The two had not met since last December.

In a statement after the meeting, Kerkorian’s Tracinda Corp. said it will file documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission to solicit shareholder support to unseat former Kmart Corp. Chairman Joseph Antonini from the Chrysler board at the company’s annual meeting next spring.

“In order to communicate our views directly to other Chrysler shareholders, it is required that we make appropriate filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, since the Chrysler board does not include a person affiliated with Tracinda,” the statement said.

Antonini could not be reached for comment Monday. He has an unpublished telephone number in Bloomfield Hills and a Kmart spokeswoman could not say how he can be reached.

Kerkorian owns or controls more than 14% of Chrysler’s stock. The proxy solicitation involves asking other shareholders to sign over the voting rights of their stock. Corporate directors are elected by shareholders, with each share of stock representing one vote.

A letter to Eaton from York, included in the statement Monday, said Tracinda would not solicit other shareholders’ proxies during the next two and a half months, but that it might after that.

Kerkorian proposed in October that York be given a board seat and that Tracinda be given veto power over two other seats. He also asked the Chrysler’s anti-takeover defenses be relaxed to allow a single shareholder to own up to 20% of the company. The defenses now have a 15% threshold.

On Nov. 2, Chrysler said its board would start a 90-day review of the company’s governance policies and evaluate Kerkorian’s proposals as part of that.

“The process will continue, notwithstanding the actions announced today by Kirk Kerkorian and his representatives,” Chrysler said in a statement Monday evening. “The process will enable the board to act in the best interests of all shareholders.”

Antonini, who was forced out of the top job at Kmart earlier this year, has been a member of the Chrysler board since 1989.

“While we imagine that Mr. Antonini’s perspective has been valuable to Chrysler, Tracinda believes that my broad background and experience in both the automotive industry and at Chrysler, including as [chief financial officer], would enable me to make a substantial contribution,” York said in the letter to Eaton.

York left Chrysler’s top finance job three years ago to become chief financial officer at IBM Corp. He left IBM this fall to join Kerkorian.

Kerkorian’s pressure on Chrysler, including the failed attempt at a $23-billion takeover last spring, is rooted in his contention that the company is too conservative in managing its cash and that it should share more with shareholders.