Inglewood Official Accuses Colleague of ‘Machine’ Politics

Inglewood City Councilman Bruce U. Smith has accused fellow Councilman Anthony Scardenzan of trying to establish a “political machine” after campaign disclosure reports showed that Scardenzan loaned $1,000 to one of Smith’s opponents in the city’s April 7 primary election.

Smith’s challenger, Ann Wilk, received 29.7% of the vote to force Smith into a runoff June 16. Smith received 45.2% of the vote.

Scardenzan’s loan was part of nearly $70,000 in contributions through March 21 reported by the various candidates and causes in the April 7 election, according to documents filed with the city clerk and county registrar of voters. A final report is due in July.

Contributions Statement

The filings also showed that Lois Hill Hale, a candidate for the Inglewood school board who is chief deputy to state Sen. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles), did not file a contributions statement by the March 21 deadline. The registrar has warned Hill Hale that she will be fined $10 for each day the report is late, and that the case will be turned over to the district attorney’s office if she fails to file by April 28.

Hill Hale told the registrar’s office that she has been unable to file her March statement because her treasurer had to make an emergency trip to New York, according to registrar records.

In her February statement, Hill Hale reported raising $7,909, of which $7,484 were loans from Watson. In an interview, Hill Hale said the statement will be filed this week and will show donations of about $10,000.

Fined $160

Hill Hale’s runoff opponent, incumbent William (Tony) Draper, was fined $160 by the registrar for filing his February report 16 days late.

Smith said it is evident that Scardenzan is trying to take control of the council because of his loan to Wilk in the 3rd District and an identical $1,000 loan to Garland Hardeman, who is in a runoff with Ervin (Tony) Thomas in the 4th District. The incumbent in that district, Virgle Benson, did not seek reelection.

Machine Politics Denied

Scardenzan denied that he is trying to set up a machine and said he opposed Smith because Smith declines to take stands on important issues. Wilk said Smith is part of what she called Mayor Edward Vincent’s “political machine,” the Inglewood Democratic Club. She said she has made no promises to Scardenzan in return for his loan.

Smith, who said he felt hurt by Scardenzan’s financial support of Wilk, said Scardenzan is upset because he once made a joke about Scardenzan’s Italian accent.

“When some kids were here from our sister city (Pedavena, Italy) we honored them with a community dinner,” Smith said. He said that Scardenzan, who came to Inglewood from Pedavena 24 years ago, went “on and on and on” in his introduction of the girl who was to speak on behalf of the children. “When she got up to give her speech, she said, ‘I’m so nervous I can hardly talk,’ ” Smith said. “I said, ‘If we can understand Tony, we’ll understand you.’ He’s never forgiven me for that.”

Scardenzan said Smith has embarrassed him about his accent on several occasions. He said that while he finds jokes about his accent rude, his only reason for not supporting Smith was his failure to take a position on Proposition 1, which would have raised the mayor’s salary from $10,800 to $49,621. The measure failed by nearly a 2-to-1 margin.

Warned Two Years Ago

Scardenzan, who opposed the proposition, said he told Smith two years ago he was going to support somebody to run against him because “he’s afraid to take positions on controversial issues.” Scardenzan said he supported Wilk because she was against Proposition 1.

Smith said he refused to take a stand on the proposition because he did not want to sway voters. After the election, Smith said he had been against it all along.

The councilmen also have clashed over Smith’s opposition to spending city funds on the sister city program and expanding the police force by 30 officers, both of which Scardenzan supports.

Smith reported receiving $14,965 and spending $5,297. Contributions to his campaign came from several sources in the city, including Jim Lynch Cadillac, which donated $1,000; Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital, which gave $500; Jerry Buss’ California Sports Inc. (owner of The Forum), which donated $250, and Western Waste Disposal, the city’s trash collector, which gave $500. Former U.S. Sen. John Tunney contributed $125.

Wilk Raised $4,229

Wilk reported raising $4,229, including $2,000 in loans, and spending $2,816.

Vincent endorsed both Smith and Thomas, but neither reported receiving campaign contributions from the mayor or the Democratic Club.

Hardeman had the largest war chest next to Smith’s, showing contributions of $10,356, of which he spent $7,112. He also had the largest single contribution of any council candidate (other than donations some candidates made to their own campaigns), a $2,500 donation from the Centinela (Hospital) Medical Staff Political Action Fund. The hospital battled the City Council last year over a fee imposed on doctors who operate in the city’s hospitals but do not maintain offices in the city.

“That issue was a long time ago,” Hardeman said. He said the doctors’ group has never mentioned the fee do him. “I’m sure they gave me the money merely because they felt I was the best candidate.”

$1,092 Deficit

The third-place finisher in the District 3 race, Claude Lataillade reported a $1,092 deficit in his campaign on receipts of $8,609 and expenditures of $9,701. More than $3,300 came from himself and his wife.

Thomas, who when he filed for office in January signed a statement that he didn’t expect to raise more than $500, raised $2,065, including a $1,000 loan from himself. He listed expenses of $300 through March 21.

William Jenkins, who finished third in the 4th District behind Hardeman and Thomas, reported receiving $1,720 for his campaign, although on a separate form he said he loaned his campaign $2,120. A spokeswoman for the city clerk’s office said Jenkins will have to file a corrected statement.

Joseph Young, who finished fourth, reported in January that he would not spend more than $500 and did not have to file an itemized statement in March.

Proposition 1 Campaign

In the Proposition 1 campaign, the committee supporting the measure reported receipts of $2,185 and expenses of $1,266. Among its biggest contributors were E. R. Logan, president of the Westside Cab Co., the city’s only licensed taxi company, who donated $200, and Ernest Shaw, the president of the Inglewood school board, who contributed $100. The campaign committee for city treasurer candidate Wanda Brown donated $100 to the Proposition 1 committee.

Several fliers and billboards in support of Proposition 1 were paid for by the Inglewood Democratic Club, but the club will not have to make its financial disclosure until July 31. School board member William Dorn reported on his financial statement that he spent $1,500 on his own for Proposition 1 without going through the committee.

One of the leaders of the No on Proposition 1 Committee said his group spent less than the $500 required for filing a disclosure statement. Sterling Gordon, who organized the committee, said his group depended on candidates in the other races placing a “No on Proposition 1” message in their literature and on volunteers talking to voters.

Treasurer Candidates

The two candidates in the runoff for treasurer, Wanda Brown and incumbent Stanley Jones, were about equal in fund raising. Brown raised $2,614, all in loans from her employer, Management Central Systems. Jones raised $2,800, including a $250 donation from Wells Fargo and $100 from county Supervisor Mike Antonovich. The third candidate, Pamela S. Fisher, raised less than $500.

In school board races, incumbent Draper showed donations of $1,683, $600 of which came from himself. The remainder came from donations of less than $100, which do not have to be itemized, and leftover funds from previous campaigns.

The third-place primary candidate for Seat 4, Loystene Irvin, reported receipts of $3,830, of which $2,000 came from Theodore Woodard, whom she listed as a self-employed resident of Los Angeles.

The other two Seat 4 candidates, Don L. Fields and Clarence E. Jones, each raised less than $500.

No Donations Reported

Dorn, the Seat 5 incumbent, reported receiving no donations. His spending in favor of Proposition 1 was his only reported expense.

His opponent in the runoff, Zyra McCloud, reported raising $5,220, including $300 from Councilman Scardenzan and $200 from Sen. Watson. McCloud showed several donations in the $100-to-$300 range.

Dexter Henderson, who finished third behind Dorn and McCloud, has also failed to file a statement with the registrar and has until April 28 to comply.

William Gill, who finished fifth, received $1,549. He was penalized $100 for filing his February statement late.

The other two candidates in the race, Gloria Grattan, who finished fourth and James Wilson, who finished last, raised less than $500.