CITY HALL NEWS / ALTADENA : 59 Votes Give Dudley a Council Seat

In a hotly contested race for Altadena Town Council, former Councilwoman Camille Dudley easily overcame Jonathan Vos Post, who had been expelled from the panel in February.

In the election Saturday, in which six of eight seats up for grabs were not contested, residents showed little enthusiasm for the ballot box. Only 361 votes were cast, although Altadena has more than 24,000 voters.

The council for the unincorporated hillside community is an informal advisory body to the County Board of Supervisors. Its 14 members and seven alternates are elected from districts based on U.S. Census tracts.

Most votes were cast in Tract 4602, where the controversial candidacy of Vos Post highlighted the race. Aside from Dudley, other candidates were retiree Francis Crunk, former Forest Service engineer Gus Edmondson and bookkeeper Stacy Manning. Dudley garnered 59 votes, followed by Manning with 31. Vos Post received eight votes for the two-year term. Manning will serve as the alternate.

Dudley, a Los Angeles building and safety employee, said she wants to improve the relationship between council members who became divided over Vos Post’s expulsion.

At a March council meeting, Vos Post was arrested for refusing to stop a speech in which he accused the advisory board and former members of corruption and fraud. The district attorney’s office, however, did not file charges against him.

Vos Post had become an alternate after losing to Craig Hall last year. He was suspended in October for alleging election fraud and removed from office by a divided council in February for violating the terms of his suspension, which prohibited him from associating with the board for six months.

The other competitive race, in Tract 4603, resulted in Tom Cartwright outscoring Millie Lee, 70 votes to 23. Lee will be the alternate for a year.

In Tract 4613, where two seats were up for grabs, James Iamurriwon the two-year term, while runner-up Tom Jerman got a one-year term.

An additional four residents were elected in the uncontested races: Gregory Norden, Jacqueline Fennessy, Labarbara Madison and Ronald Spivak.