ELECTIONS / CITY COUNCIL : Incumbent Faces ‘Vitality’ Issue; 1st Latino Is in Runoff

Voters on Tuesday will decide two City Council races--one that features the first Latino candidate to advance to a municipal runoff in the city and another in which a veteran incumbent’s vitality is being questioned.

Jean Sanders, whose campaign has emphasized that she is married to City Treasurer Wesley Sanders Jr., is trying to oust incumbent Jane D. Robbins. Jean Sanders says that Robbins, 71, is out of touch and lacks vitality. Robbins, a retired educator who has represented District 4 for 15 years, scoffs at any notion that her energy is lagging.

In District 1, Pedro Pallan, a 57-year-old bakery owner who is the first Latino candidate to make it into a council runoff, faces Omar Bradley, a 32-year-old Lynwood High School teacher.

Compton candidates must run in specific council districts, but they are elected by a citywide vote.

Bradley, who is making his second bid for municipal office, emerged as the top vote-getter in the six-way race in April. He was unsuccessful two years ago in a bid for mayor.

Pallan is among a group of leaders in the Latino community who in recent years have been actively pressing the city’s black leaders for a greater share of political power. The number of Latinos in the city has increased 131% since 1980, accounting for 44% of the city’s 90,000 residents. The change has not gone unnoticed by some politicians.

The election contest has been surprisingly quiet, however, and that has Pallan on edge. “It’s too quiet, it’s got me worried,” he said last week during a break in his door-to-door campaigning. Most of the candidates were out ringing doorbells last week, but Compton campaigns also are known for last-minute barrages of mailers often attacking a candidate.

Pallan’s campaign has been bolstered by an endorsement from Assemblyman Willard H. Murray Jr. (D--Paramount), whose district includes Compton. In the April election, Murray sent out mailers on Pallan’s behalf, and some political insiders speculate that Murray’s support was a key factor in propelling Pallan into the runoff. Late last week, Pallan also received the endorsement of Councilwoman Patricia A. Moore.

But Pallan’s campaign is an uphill effort. In April, Bradley received 2,040 votes, or 31%. Pallan finished second with 1,371 votes, or 21% of the total. Pallan estimates that there are only about 2,400 Latinos among the approximately 34,000 registered voters in the city.

Bradley has an influential supporter of his own--retiring City Councilman Maxcy D. Filer, who represented the 1st District for 15 years. Instead of running for reelection to the council, Filer made an unsuccessful bid for the mayor’s post.

Even though the city continues to face critical problems, including unemployment, crime, and a small tax base that barely pays for basic services, there are few issues in which the council candidates differ.

Bradley and Pallan agree that the most critical issue facing the city is how to generate tax revenues to continue paying for even basic city services. The two men also agree that the answer is to lure developers to the city. However, Pallan complains that city leaders have been favoring certain developers. That sends a message to others not to bother proposing projects because they will not be approved, he says.

Some city leaders have suggested that a short-term way of improving the city’s financial health would be to eliminate the Fire and Police departments and contract with Los Angeles County for those services.

Pallan said he would consider contracting with the county for fire protection if the city’s financial health becomes critical. But he is against replacing the Police Department with the county Sheriff’s Department unless city residents vote for such a change. “Police work requires a different kind of sensitivity,” Pallan said.

Compton’s minority population, he explained, views sheriff’s deputies as “extremely aggressive” and residents are reluctant to give up the local control they have over their largely minority Police Department.

Bradley did not respond to The Times’ request for an interview. However, during the April election campaign, he said he did not favor dismantling either department.

Bradley has said he supports affirmative-action hiring programs for Latinos. Pallan has been active for years in seeking such programs. Latinos want more jobs and bilingual services in the city and the school district.

In the 4th District, Sanders has questioned whether Robbins, 71, has the energy to tackle the city’s chronic problems.

“I believe the citizens of Compton are ready for a change, for people with new vision, new directions, new ideas.,” said Sanders, 45. Sanders manages Abby Memorial Park, a cemetery in the heart of the city.

Robbins is a retired teacher and school principal whose father was school district superintendent for years. Robbins, the only Anglo holding office in the city, and her husband, a retired commander in the Police Department, remained in Compton when it went from a predominantly Anglo city to an almost 100% minority community.

Political observers say she draws strong support from senior citizens who recall her work in the school district and her commitment to the city during the struggle over integration. In April, Robbins received 2,265 votes, or 38.5%, while Sanders finished a distant second, with 1,252 votes, or 20%, in the five-candidate race.

Robbins bristles at Sanders’ assertions, and recites a list of meetings she regularly attends as a council member. “I think my opponent needs to know the things I do every day,” Robbins said.

“I’m not out of touch with today’s problems in Compton,” Robbins said. “I’ve been trying to do something about them for a lot of years.”

Robbins complains that Sanders does not understand city politics, and that it takes a minimum of three council members voting together to accomplish anything.

Robbins says she is proud of what the city has accomplished so far in the way of redevelopment. “We have more things going than we have had in years,” she said. “It hasn’t been easy and it hasn’t been overnight, but we have been working on it for years.”

Q&A; With the Candidates

JANE D. ROBBINS, 71

incumbent

retired educator

Q: SERVICES: To keep the city budget balanced, would you vote to dismantle the fire or police departments and contract with Los Angeles County for those services?

A: No way.

Q: CRIME: Would you vote for a city ban on the possession of handguns?

A: I certainly would not. That would be going against the Constitution and illegal.

Q: BUDGET: Would you vote to give city employees a raise this year?

A: I would vote to go with a 3% raise for people who have not had raises in the last three years. JEAN SANDERS, 45

cemetery manager

Q: SERVICES: To keep the city budget balanced, would you vote to dismantle the fire or police departments and contract with Los Angeles County for those services?

A: Not unless there was no possible way to keep them.

Q: CRIME: Would you vote for a city ban on the possession of handguns?

A: No .

Q: BUDGET: Would you vote to give city employees a raise this year?

A: Yes, if we have the money.

PEDRO PALLAN, 57

bakery owner

Q: SERVICES: To keep the city budget balanced, would you vote to dismantle the fire or police departments and contract with Los Angeles County for those services?

A: I would seriously consider (that) for fire protection. I would not vote for it for police. Q: CRIME: Would you vote for a city ban on the possession of handguns?

A: No Q: BUDGET: Would you vote to give city employees a raise this year?

A: I feel they do need one. NOTE: Candidate Omar Bradley, 32, a high school teacher, did not respond to a request for an interview.