2 Faculty Hopefuls Win at Cerritos College; Incumbents Fall Elsewhere : College elections: A third candidate targeted for defeat by teachers is narrowly elected. Compton, Rio Hondo also elect new trustees.
Two candidates supported by the faculty at Cerritos Community College have been elected to the college’s board of trustees.
Challengers Ted Edmiston and Ada Steenhoek, who were endorsed by the faculty, were elected by narrow margins to the eight-member board for four-year terms, defeating incumbents Katie Nordback and Ruth Banda in Tuesday’s election. John Moore, a third incumbent targeted by the faculty for defeat, was reelected by a narrow margin.
Other incumbents were ousted in other community college district elections.
Incumbent Charlie M. Knight, a Compton Community College trustee since 1983, narrowly lost to challenger Kent Swift, a 30-year-old county probation officer, who will serve a four-year term. During the campaign, Swift had criticized Knight, among other things, for losing touch with the district by commuting to a job in Northern California. Knight, 59, is the superintendent of Ravenswood School District in East Palo Alto.
In the Rio Hondo Community College District, incumbent Bill Hernandez lost by a lopsided margin to challenger Maria Elena Martinez, an administrator at East Los Angeles College, who will serve a four-year term. Hernandez had been a board member since 1983.
In the Cerritos district, the faculty waged an active election campaign for the first time in the school’s 36-year history, spending $11,000 in support of winning challengers Edmiston, a Lakewood chiropractor, and Steenhoek, a business consultant.
“I hope this sends a message that it’s time for a change,” said Donna Miller, a spokeswoman for Concerned Faculty. “I don’t think our campus will ever be the same; (this) will help re-establish a climate of trust between the board and the faculty.”
Throughout the campaign, faculty members had argued for greater cooperation and trust between board members and teachers.
The issue had first flared up earlier this year when college President Ernest A. Martinez unilaterally announced the elimination of overtime pay for instructors who teach extra classes or summer sessions. The board endorsed the decision before receiving formal comments from the faculty.
Board member Nordback later admitted that the matter had been handled incorrectly. “There was an error in the way that happened,” she said. “It looked like an executive decision.”
Eventually the argument expanded to other issues, including allegations by teachers that the college has too many administrators, has forced teachers to bear more than their fair share of budget cuts, and that the board makes too many decisions without sufficient community involvement.
Complete Election Results
Southeast
ABC Unified School District 4 Elected 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) A. Cecy R. Groom *: 2,466 (15.8%) Dixie Primosch *: 2,454 (15.7%) Bob Hughlett *: 2,132 (13.7%) Jim Weisenberger *: 1,915 (12.3%) David L. Montgomery: 1,679 (10.8%) Daniel K. Wong: 1,665 (10.7%) Martin L. Stringer Sr.: 1,338 (8.6%) Noordeen Arooz Shariff: 1,080 (6.9%) Thomas S. Brachko: 863 (5.5%)
Bellflower Unified School District 2 Elected 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Phyllis John *: 1,447 (31.4%) Jay Gendreau *: 1,280 (27.8%) John J. Gomes: 759 (16.5%) Larry Myers: 709 (15.4%) Carla Colin: 416 (9.0%)
Cerritos Community College District 2 Elected 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Ted Edmiston: 6,980 (13.4%) Mary Loya: 6,816 (13.1%) John Moore *: 6,700 (12.9%) Ada Carol Steenhoek: 6,690 (12.9%) Katie Nordbak *: 6,386 (12.3%) Marty Supple: 6,361 (12.3%) Ruth Banda *: 6,129 (11.8%) Terry Lambros: 5,858 (11.3%)
Compton Community College District
Trustee Area No. 1 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Emily Hart-Holifield *: 1,940 (53.5%) Vernice M. Dredd: 1,254 (34.6%) Carroll White: 435 (12.0%)
Trustee Area No. 3 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Kent Swift: 945 (50.2%) Charlie M. Knight *: 938 (49.8%)
Trustee Area No. 4 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Ignacio Pena: 764 (47.2%) Herbert Collins: 322 (19.9%) Francisco J. Gonzalez: 254 (15.7%) William Schlitz: 169 (10.4%) Carmen M. Peterkin: 110 (6.8%)
Compton Unified School District 3 Elected 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Lynn Dymally *: 2,567 (19.2%) Amen Rahh: 1,908 (14.2%) Cloria L. Patillo *: 1,874 (14.0%) Mary B. Henry *: 1,704 (12.7%) Dwight Prince: 1,595 (11.9%) Carl E. Robinson Sr.: 931 (6.9%) Nabeehah Al-Uqdah: 913 (6.8%) Sadie R. Benham: 627 (4.7%) Otha Ray Scott: 456 (3.4%) Walter Goodin: 452 (3.4%) Basil Kimbrew: 213 (1.6%) Orion Moore: 163 (1.2%)
Downey Unified School District
Trustee Area No. 2 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Margo Hoffer *: 3,239 (100.0%)
Trustee Area No. 3 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Mary Tesoriero *: 3,254 (100.0%)
Trustee Area No. 4 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Donald E. LaPlante *: 3,087 (100.0%)
Trustee Area No. 5 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Betty N. Ferraro *: 2,566 (64.4%) Patrick McDermott: 1,420 (35.6%)
Trustee Area No. 6 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) D. Mark Morris *: 3,235 (100.0%)
El Rancho Unified School District 4 Elected 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Mary Eva Gomez *: 1,821 (21.5%) Cecilia M. Chavez: 1,482 (17.5%) John Joseph Garcia: 1,389 (16.4%) Raul P. Salcido *: 1,369 (16.2%) Vivian J. Kimbrough: 948 (11.2%) Jim Delgado: 846 (10.0%) Frank A. Yuchno: 596 (7.1%)
Hacienda La Puente Unified School District 2 Elected 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Norman Hsu: 2,225 (20.6%) Kenneth R. Manning *: 2,085 (19.3%) Robert Tsang: 1,854 (17.2%) William L. Torres *: 1,128 (10.5%) Lisa M. Batistelli: 1,069 (9.9%) Anita Perez: 1,057 (9.8%) Sally Ann Holguin-Fallon: 955 (8.9%) Manuel Maldonado: 405 (3.8%)
Little Lake City School District 3 Elected 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Louie Gonzalez: 1,303 (30.4%) Betty J. Putnam: 1,230 (28.7%) Sara P. Mendez *: 912 (21.3%) Alva J. Folsom *: 838 (19.6%)
Lynwood Unified School District 3 Elected 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Thelma Calvin Williams *: 1,151 (18.0%) Cynthia Green-Geter: 1,099 (17.2%) Richard Armstrong *: 1,096 (17.2%) Willard Hawn Reed *: 943 (14.8%) Errick R. Lee: 882 (13.8%) Ignacio Cortez: 543 (8.5%) Claude Law: 334 (5.2%) Saul E. Lankster: 329 (5.2%)
Montebello Unified School District 2 Elected 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Frank M. Serrano *: 4,100 (36.7%) Barbara L. Chavira: 3,567 (31.9%) Joseph A. Maytorena: 1,744 (15.6%) Ricardo M. Valdez: 1,156 (10.3%) Guadalupe Stern: 611 (5.5%)
Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District 3 Elected 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Rudy Bermudez: 2,858 (23.3%) Sal Ambriz *: 2,485 (20.2%) Bruce B. Butler *: 2,454 (20.0%) Mary Lou Gomez: 2,452 (20.0%) William M. Campbell *: 2,033 (16.6%)
Paramount Unified School District 2 Elected 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Vivian Hansen *: 1,162 (34.3%) Craig Olson: 948 (28.0%) Ken Teeples *: 734 (21.7%) Ann Krejci: 542 (16.0%)
Rio Hondo Community College District
Trustee Area No. 2 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Maria Elena Martinez: 1,989 (72.0%) Bill E. Hernandez *: 774 (28.0%)
Trustee Area No. 4 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Alex Morales: 1,638 (66.1%) Edward D. Ortell: 839 (33.9%)
South Whittier School District 2 Elected 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Teresa Halstead: 341 (33.2%) Sharon Stys *: 301 (29.3%) Jesse A. Aguirre *: 218 (21.2%) Richard Thomas Minjares: 166 (16.2%)
Whittier City School District 2 Elected 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) James A. Albanese: 1,185 (29.2%) Brigitta Weger: 1,111 (27.4%) Reed M. Wilson: 1,067 (26.3%) Diane Britton: 693 (17.1%)
Whittier Union High School District 2 Elected 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Cathy Warner: 4,356 (28.4%) Ralph S. Pacheco: 2,630 (17.2%) Joe F. Corey: 1,927 (12.6%) William W. Wise Jr.: 1,783 (11.6%) Richard Jaramillo Moore: 1,753 (11.4%) Richard J. Bries: 1,433 (9.3%) David Eugene Gonzales: 836 (5.5%) Bruce E. Sago: 611 (4.0%)
Lynwood
City Clerk 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Andrea L. Hooper *: 1,527 (66.7%) Ana Ventura: 764 (33.3%)
Treasurer 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Iris Pygatt: 1,022 (43.8%) Isadore Hall III: 721 (30.9%) David James Willis Jr.: 588 (25.2%)
City Council 2 Elected 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Louis Byrd: 1,293 (29.7%) Louis J. Heine *: 1,278 (29.3%) Robert Henning *: 1,057 (24.2%) Margaret Araujo: 732 (16.8%)
Montebello
City Clerk 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Mary Anne Saucedo *: 3,196 (62.9%) Norma M. Lambo: 1,889 (37.1%)
Treasurer 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Phillip M. Ramos *: 4,159 (100.0%)
City Council 2 Elected 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Art Payan *: 2,714 (28.2%) Jesus Ramirez: 1,998 (20.7%) Kathy Salazar *: 1,847 (19.2%) Ray Broguiere Jr.: 1,762 (18.3%) Larry Salazar: 1,020 (10.6%) Ralph Ramirez: 291 (3.0%)
La Habra Heights County Water District 3 Elected 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Ralph Bolles *: 256 (29.1%) Curtis Little: 251 (28.5%) Margaret R. Jessup: 200 (22.7%) William H. Robertson *: 173 (19.7%)
Pico Water District 2 Elected 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Fred L. Silva: 621 (27.4%) Michael Earl Mendoza, I *: 617 (27.2%) William M. Camarillo *: 590 (26.0%) Armando R. Sanchez: 441 (19.4%)
Sativa-Los Angeles County Water District 3 Elected 100% Precincts Reporting: Votes (%) Eleanor W. Gibson *: 56 (19.7%) Mamie E. Franklin: 52 (18.3%) Kiben C. Love: 47 (16.5%) Tony Hicks *: 44 (15.5%) Burnell Montgomery Sr.: 44 (15.5%) Jeffer Wilson: 41 (14.4%)
Key to Election Tables
* An asterisk (*) denotes incumbent candidate.
* Elected candidates and measures are in bold type.
* Partial Term indicates that the election is to complete the remaining term of a vacated office.
* Technical assistance: Paul Orwig and Victor I. Pulver, systems architects, Publishing Systems.
* Contributing: Times editorial researcher Michael Meyers, transcription typist Jim Walker, copy messengers Mike Alvarez, Garry Dunn, John Hernandez, John Malnic and Onna Young.
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