Voters Oust 2 Mayors, 17 Other Incumbents, but OK Tax Hikes

While voters reacted to the strong economy by approving numerous tax increases in this week’s elections, they ousted at least 19 city incumbents, including the mayors in El Monte and Baldwin Park.

Defying conventional wisdom that established leaders are easily reelected during good times, veteran council members in Monterey Park and incumbents in Glendora, South El Monte and Artesia also lost to newcomers.

Voters in 44 cities and four school districts went to the polls Tuesday. Final counts show they favored school bond measures in Whittier and Lancaster, a tax for the library in South Pasadena, and utility taxes in La Verne and Covina.

Meanwhile, both the elected mayor in El Monte and the appointed mayor in South Pasadena lost by large margins after pointed attacks by their local police officers associations.

Patricia Wallach, who has been targeted by the officers association since she became mayor of El Monte seven years ago, said the union swayed the election with negative campaigning.

In past weeks, Wallach has accused officers of intimidating her supporters and mailing fliers accusing her of suggesting a merger of the Police Department with the Sheriff’s Department.

“They’ve been planning this for two years,” said the three-term mayor. “Now, the city’s going to go back the way it was before.”

Wallach added that she will ask county and federal agencies to investigate the alleged intimidation.

The two council candidates endorsed by the union also won the election, signaling a power shift in favor of the officers association, which will now have a majority of supporters on the council.

Neither Wallach’s opponent, city clerk L. Rachel Montes, nor the spokesman of the Police Officers Assn. returned calls seeking comment for this story.

Alan Heslop, the director of Claremont McKenna College’s Rose Institute, which analyzes local politics and demographics, said it is common for unions to sway municipal elections.

“These public employee unions are capable of exercising tremendous clout in local races,” he said. “When one of these unions goes on a crusade, more often than not, they’re successful.”

In South Pasadena, Councilman Wallace Emory, who had rotated into the appointed-mayor position, lost after the Police Officers Assn. sent out a mailer and bought ads blaming him for a rise in crime.

“Emory’s lack of leadership has resulted in fewer officers on patrol, a dramatic increase in crime and hundreds of fewer criminals arrested from our streets,” the mailer said.

South Pasadena’s police chief and city manager have maintained that crime statistics show a decline. Emory said he did the best he could do while “taking the high road” in a “filthy, dirty race.”

Heslop also said incumbents in local elections are not as secure during elections as those in higher office, because they have less name recognition.

“When a newcomer comes in with a good campaign and appealing messages, the incumbents can be defeated easily,’ he said.

In South El Monte, both City Council incumbents lost to former council members. “I thought we had a progressive council that voters would approve of,” said appointed Mayor George Lujan, who was not up for reelection this year. “I guess I was mistaken.”

Voters there decided to establish an elected mayor position, but were equally split on whether to make it a two-year term.

In Artesia, where the city’s ailing economy was a key issue, voters rejected two candidates who had proposed to merge the city with its wealthier neighbor, Cerritos. Mary Ochoa and incumbent Tim Kelemen brought up the long-simmering idea that Cerritos, which almost surrounds Artesia, could better manage its neighbor and bring property values up in both cities.

“We’re so cash-strapped, we can’t make redevelopment work,” said Kelemen. “I’m just grateful I had a chance to bring up the issue of consolidation.”

In nearby Hawaiian Gardens, challenger Leonard Chaidez beat out Councilman Alan Colcote after a campaign also centered on dire city finances.

The one-square-mile city, which has considered declaring bankruptcy, has depended on monthly charitable contributions from the owner of a local bingo parlor to make up a roughly $2.4-million annual budget shortfall.

Chaidez, a former city manager, told voters that officials had exaggerated the city’s financial woes and need to restore canceled public services.

“The incumbents don’t have a clue how much expenses and revenues they have,” Chaidez said. “Voters are tired of the stories they get from them.”

Incumbent Ralph Cesena, however, hung on to his seat by a slim margin.

And in West Hollywood, all three incumbents, who were criticized for accepting donations from real estate interests, won reelection.

In the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, the Azusa election was an unofficial referendum on the 600-acre Rosedale housing development approved by the City Council recently. Anti-development candidates failed to oust incumbents David Hardison and Diane Beebe.

Just down the road, the Baldwin Park mayor’s race was a classic battle between two factions that want to control City Hall. Incumbent Bette Lowes, a member of a city old guard, lost to Councilman Manuel Lozano, a rising star of Latino politics in the San Gabriel Valley.

In Glendora, growing anger over the city’s handling of a development issues saw appointed Mayor Sue Bauer lose her seat to John Harrold, a deputy district attorney and outspoken critic of City Hall.

Also losing a job was Redondo Beach City Clerk John Oliver who earned a hefty $95,000 annually. Last August he pleaded no contest to forging a license plate tab--admitting that he had forged one of those stickers that go on a vehicle’s rear plate.

Only Gardena voters rejected arguments that city services desperately required another injection of funds, voting down a tax by nearly 2 to 1.

“It’s painful,” said Councilman James Cragin of the result. He said the city is $5.5 million in debt. “We have tightened and tightened and tightened our budget, and I just don’t know if we can tighten any more.”

Like many supporters of tax initiatives on Tuesday, Cragin blamed the state Legislature for his city’s financial difficulties, saying that Sacramento has squeezed municipal government to the point that local officials must beg voters for more money.

“All this decade, in the ‘90s, every time Sacramento has to balance their budget they do it on the backs of cities and counties,” he said.

Supporters of a measure to contract out Gardena’s fire services to Los Angeles County also stressed the city’s struggling finances. Arguments that contracting out would save money evidently made an impact in the successful campaign.

Correspondent Jack Leonard contributed to this story.

* ELECTION RESULTS: B4