6 Incumbents Fail to File for April Municipal Races

Key posts in several South Bay cities will be wide open for competition in the April 10 municipal elections following decisions by six incumbents not to seek reelection.

As of 5 p.m. Thursday--the filing deadline for the April balloting-- nomination papers had not been turned in by City Council members Irene Strobel of Avalon, Dan McKenzie of Lawndale, Hal Hall of Lomita and James Kinney and Edward Ritscher of Palos Verdes Estates. Lawndale Mayor Sarann Kruse, who announced Dec. 7 that she was leaving office, also did not file.

In cities where incumbents passed up the chance to run for reelection, the filing deadline for those races was automatically extended to Tuesday.

In all, 57 candidates have filed for the various seats at stake in the nine South Bay cities holding elections April 10--Avalon, Carson, El Segundo, Gardena, Lawndale, Lomita, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes Estates and Rolling Hills.

While Thursday’s deadline left several council seats open, it also left two South Bay mayors virtually assured of another term in office. As of 5 p.m. Thursday, mayors Hugh (Bud) Smith of Avalon and Don Dear of Gardena had not drawn opponents.

Barring write-in challenges, that guarantees the reelection of three South Bay chief executives. On Dec. 28, Torrance Mayor Katy Geissert made it past the filing period for her city’s March 6 municipal elections without drawing an opponent.

Inglewood Mayor Edward Vincent’s seat also is up for election Nov. 6, but that city does not hold its filing period until mid-July.

Although the mayor’s race seems decided in Avalon, four candidates have filed for the two council seats up for election there and the field may grow before filing ends next Tuesday. Incumbent Councilman Hal Host filed for reelection, as did three challengers--Barbara Doutt, a community volunteer who is married to Dan Doutt, executive vice president and spokesman for the Santa Catalina Island Co.; Dennis Reitinger, an Avalon businessman, and former Councilman George Scott.

In Carson, both of the City Council incumbents up for reelection, John Anderson and Sylvia Muise, filed for office.

But so did a crush of challengers--businessman Al Blanco, former Torrance-Carson NAACP President Mervin (Marvin) Clayton, retired Army officer Nathaniel (Nate) Riddick, educator and administrator Juanita McDonald, and business administrator Barbara Post.

Another challenger, accountant Jaime Punsalan, filed papers to challenge City Treasurer Mary Louise Custer. No candidates came forward to take on the fourth Carson incumbent facing reelection this year, City Clerk Helen Kawagoe.

Two City Council seats are up for grabs in El Segundo and both incumbents Alan West and H. R. (Bob) Anderson, have filed for reelection.

Meanwhile, four challengers filed nomination papers--J. B. Wise, an electrical contractor; Terry Ceretto, an aerospace test technician; Gerhardt Van Drie, a civil engineer, and Thomas A. Jolly, a designer and inventor.

Though Gardena Mayor Dear cleared the candidate filing process unchallenged, the two City Council members facing reelection, Mas Fukai and Gwen Duffy, drew a pair of opponents--Steven Bradford, an IBM marketing representative, and Curt Bryant, a Gardena businessman.

In Lawndale, the departure of Mayor Kruse and Councilman McKenzie from the political scene has acted like a magnet, attracting 11 challengers.

The only incumbents filing for reelection are Councilman Larry Rudolph and City Clerk Neil Roth.

Filing for mayor were Virginia Rhodes, an office manager; Michael Machado, a tow truck driver; Melissa Bergstrom, a health counselor, and Councilman Harold Hoffmann. (If Hoffmann wins, a successor will be picked for his council seat in a special election or by appointment of the City Council.)

Filing for the Lawndale council were Herman Wienstein, a real estate agent; Nancy Marthens, a TRW business data analyst; Ronald Maxwell, a former Lawndale parks and recreation commissioner; Norman Lagerquist; William Johnson, manager of a Ralphs grocery store, and Uffe Moller, a manager at Garret AiResearch in Torrance.

Yet another challenger filed papers to run for city clerk--Barbara Grimes, a former deputy city clerk.

In Lomita, Hal Hall was the only one of the three council incumbents up for reelection who decided to call it quits. Incumbents Peter Rossick and Robert Hargrave both filed for reelection.

As of Thursday, there were three challengers: Chuck Taylor, an advertising executive and city planning commissioner, Lawson Pedigo and Beverly Hart. Hart, a college administrator, is the former president of a local homeowners group that clashed with the council last year over a proposed 24-hour mini-mart licensed to sell alcohol. Under pressure from residents, the council rejected the project.

Both Manhattan Beach City Council incumbents scheduled to face voters in April--Mayor Connie Siever, a Delta Airlines flight attendant, and Larry Dougharty, an economist--filed for reelection. Lining up to challenge them were Dan Stern, an aerospace executive, and Steven Napolitano, a Loyola Marymount University art student.

In Palos Verdes Estates, only one of the three City Council incumbents up for reelection this year, Ruth Gralow, filed for office. So far, two challengers have filed--Michael Moody, an insurance broker, and Maurice Commanday, a businessman.

In Rolling Hills, the three incumbents facing reelection--City Council members Ginny Leeuwenburgh, Judy Murdoch and Gordana Swanson--have drawn three challengers: management consultant Martin Rosenzweig, retired firefighter Frank Hill and community volunteer Ann Carley.