Old Issues Get New Life as 6 Vie for 2 City Council Posts : Election: Eminent domain, big business and local politics are all resurrected as points of contention in race.

Business is good. The city is making money. The budget is balanced and there are more police officers than ever.

It is a political incumbent’s dream, and even in Montebello, where political campaigns become personal vendettas, the combination has been nearly enough to silence even the most vocal of the City Council critics. Nearly.

In this city, politics are proof of the adage, “It may be over, but it’s never forgotten.” As election day draws near, residents have seen the resurrection of some of the most controversial topics from campaigns past: eminent domain; big business and local politics; South Montebello as the city’s stepchild, and the aging Whittier Boulevard business district.

Six candidates are vying for the two council seats held by Art Payan and Kathy Salazar, who are both running for reelection. Their four challengers are Jesus (Jess) Ramirez, a retired Montebello police officer with extensive administrative experience; Raymond Broguiere Jr., a well-known businessman who runs the family’s 46-year-old dairy; Larry Salazar, a marketing consultant who in 1987 helped lead a voter revolt against the city’s plan to use condemnation powers for redevelopment; and Ralph Ramirez, a mechanical engineer.

Last week, the nearly comatose campaign received an unexpected jolt when a small group of parents and coaches with the city’s baseball association descended on the council with charges that at least $100,000 of the association’s money is unaccounted for. The commissioner of the baseball association is candidate Larry Salazar (no relation to Kathy Salazar). Larry Salazar’s challengers were quick to jump on the issue.

“One of the big questions is why should Larry Salazar be running and be involved in the workings of the city if he can’t even keep up with the workings of the Montebello Baseball Assn.,” said Art Luna, campaign manager for Jess Ramirez (no relation to Ralph Ramirez).

Luna said that the Montebello Baseball Assn. board of directors failed to keep books, wrote several checks for “cash” for which there has been no accounting, and has failed to file financial reports with the state Franchise Tax Board.

Larry Salazar described the accusations as a “political move.”

“Come on, none of that stuff is real,” Salazar said incredulously. “These kinds of rumors about the baseball association have been going on for years, and they bring this stuff up two weeks before the election (Nov. 5). We forgot to fill out some forms, but it was nothing illegal.”

Meanwhile, the campaigning has been subdued compared to the name-calling and late-night sign stealing of previous years. The calm has most candidates wondering if it’s too good to be true.

“We are sitting at the end of our seats waiting for the big hit to occur,” Councilman Payan said.

Payan and Councilwoman Salazar have been criticized for what some candidates see as their pro-development stances. Jess Ramirez accused the pair of fiscal irresponsibility for supporting the $9,000 study of a hotel development next to the Quiet Cannon Restaurant. The study later showed that such a project would be unprofitable.

Ramirez also challenged the council’s apparent willingness to pay a $36,000-a-year electric bill for a giant Quiet Cannon Restaurant sign on city property just off the Pomona Freeway. The operators of the Quiet Cannon have been generous contributors to council members Payan and Salazar.

Both incumbents said that the city may discontinue paying the bill, but said $36,000 a year is a small price to pay. The Quiet Cannon provides the city with about $700,000 a year in sales-tax revenue. “Hey, when the Quiet Cannon makes money, the city makes money,” Councilwoman Salazar said.

But the two key issues in the campaign are a 2-year-old proposal to build a recycling plant in South Montebello, and the future of the last 450 undeveloped acres of the Montebello Hills.

The recycling plant has been attacked by candidates Broguiere and Jess Ramirez and Ralph Ramirez as a “dump” that will bring foul smells and heavy traffic to the south part of the city. The three candidates are asking why it was proposed for the southern rather than the northern part of the city. Most of the city’s new commercial development lies north of Whittier Boulevard, while the south is mostly industrial. Broguiere and Jess Ramirez said that most development money goes to north Montebello while the south is ignored.

The only candidate who openly supports the station is Larry Salazar, who was hired by a Montebello businessman to market the idea.

“My opponents would have you thinking that a dump is going to be popping up in the middle of the neighborhood,” Salazar said. “It’s nothing of the sort. It’s an $8-million automated plant that sorts trash indoors.”

The Montebello Hills project is the most important issue the city will face in the next few years, council members said. The hills make up the largest piece of undeveloped open space in Southeast Los Angeles County, and the owners of the property, Chevron Land and Development, want to build a $600-million “urban village” of homes, townhouses and condos.

All six candidates say that they want to keep as much open space as possible in the hills. But some challengers said they are skeptical that council members Payan and Salazar will fight to keep the open space.

All four challengers have attacked Payan’s and Salazar’s past support of eminent domain as a redevelopment tool.

“You wonder why we bring up these old issues?” Jess Ramirez asked. “Because a leopard never changes its spots. We are seeing shades of the past.”

But both Payan and Salazar said their challengers’ attempts to revive these old controversies are acts of desperation.

“They are bringing all this up because they don’t have any real issues,” Councilwoman Salazar said. “The fact is, this council is going slow on development in the hills. That’s our last piece of land, and we don’t want it overrun. Chevron has given us their wish list and we are preparing our wish list, but things are a long way from being resolved.”

Kathy Salazar and Payan are campaigning on the city’s growing financial strength. Sales and property taxes are up, and the city has about $2.2 million in general fund reserves. Neither incumbent, however, is leaving anything to chance.

Payan is running the most costly campaign with a war chest of at least $35,000. Kathy Salazar is not far behind with contributions of $26,000. Jess Ramirez has raised about $22,000; Larry Salazar, $21,400; and Broguiere, about $13,000. Ralph Ramirez has filed a statement with the city clerk saying he expects to raise less than $1,000.

Montebello City Council election

On the ballot: two incumbents and four challengers for two seats

INCUMBENTS

Kathy Salazar

Age: 53

Occupation: registered nurse consultant

Remarks: “This council is going slow on development, especially up in the hills. That’s our last piece of land, and we don’t want it overrun with houses.”

Art Payan

Age: 54

Occupation: retired U.S. probation officer

Remarks: “I’m just out there delivering the good news. We have a balanced budget; we’re attracting more development. We’ve increased our police and fire services. If I had to pick a year to run for reelection, this would be the one.”

CHALLENGERS

Jesus (Jess) Ramirez

Age: 63

Occupation: retired Montebello police officer.

Remarks: “I feel that the needs of all the citizens of Montebello are not being met. Certain areas, such as north Montebello, receive more attention, more effort from the City Council.”

Larry Salazar

Age: 34

Occupation: marketing consultant

Remarks: “These last two years have been good. But we are looking at some big development projects, and we need to be sure we have council members really interested in building something that fits our city. Some council members have shown they are more interested in developing every square inch of our city.”

Raymond Broguiere Jr.

Age: 46

Occupation: dairy owner

Remarks: “Two of the biggest tax suppliers in the city are in the south part of the city, but it seems the council only concerns itself with the north. I think the only time you see anybody from the City Council down here (in the southern part of the city) is during an election year.”

Ralph Ramirez

Age: 46

Occupation: businessman, mechanical engineer.

Remarks: “This city is in dire need of a blood transfusion. The council is just not doing some of its duties. They lack foresight and common sense. In the last few years we’ve gone from being a leader of cities to a follower.”