Rumored Farrell Recall Drive Begins : Candidate Who Lost to South-Central Councilman Files Papers

In an atmosphere of City Hall intrigue, a recall movement is under way against City Councilman Robert Farrell, who has represented the South-Central 8th Council District since 1974.

Mervin Evans, a business development consultant who was an unsuccessful candidate against Farrell in elections last April, filed the papers needed to begin the campaign. He has four months to gather the 12,500 signatures needed to force an election.

Evans said he was unhappy over Farrell’s “lack of leadership” and what he considered the councilman’s failure to reduce crime, keep the streets clean and improve the economy in the district, which includes the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Leslie Winner, a Farrell political adviser, termed the recall “sour grapes” from a loser in the last election, and noted that Farrell won that contest in the face of similar charges presented by Evans and other opponents. Farrell got 54% of the vote compared to 19.2% for Tony Parent and 7.5% for Evans. They were the top finishers in a field of six.

Such recalls are part of City Hall life. Farrell, in fact, survived one in 1978. What makes this attempt more significant is the maneuvering around it, pitting old friends against each other in an atmosphere of apparently growing political discontent in poor to middle-class neighborhoods of South-Central Los Angeles.

Days of minor mystery preceded the filing of the papers. City Hall reporters were told each day by Farrell foes that the campaign would begin soon. There was, however, no sign of action. No papers were filed with the city clerk. Finally a reporter was advised to call a number and ask for someone named Janet. The person answering the phone identified the place as “CCFR.” The sound of a baby crying in the background left the impression that the office was in someone’s home, or at least was conducted with such grass-roots informality that people could bring their children to work.

Campaign Didn’t Surface

Janet was not there. Nor did the campaign surface last week, as promised by Farrell critics.

Finally, Monday’s Los Angeles Herald-Examiner classified advertising section contained the legally required notice of a bid to recall Farrell, and the arguments for the move. After that, a document initiating the recall was filed with the city clerk, as required by law. Evans’ name was on the petition, although he said later he would not run in a recall election.

CCFR, the Concerned Citizens for Farrell Recall, apparently is another group that has not yet surfaced.

Meanwhile, for days, a former aide to Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, Kerman Maddox, an aggressive young political operative, had been telling potential supporters that he intended to run against Farrell if there was a recall election.

If Maddox does run, it could be a minor political problem for the mayor, who would be asked for support by Farrell.

In another twist, Maddox is being advised by a well-known City Hall lobbyist and campaign manager, Rick Taylor. Taylor, until recently, was a partner with Winner, the Farrell adviser, in a firm known as Winner-Taylor, specializing in political campaigns and lobbying. This would be the first time the old partners were rivals.

Both are experienced in South-Central political campaigns, familiar with the twists and turns of an area that has been predominantly black for years, and now is becoming more Latino and Asian.

Their presence forecasts a tough, divisive campaign if the recall movement gets enough signatures.

Such campaigns have become the standard in the changing and often tense area. In the last election, Farrell was attacked strongly by foes for his support of a special tax to add more police officers to his district. In the opinion many campaign workers, only his decision to abandon that support saved him.

In the adjoining 10th District, which extends into southwest Los Angeles, the choice of the political Establishment, former police officer Homer Broome, was upset by Nate Holden, who campaigned on the same issues being raised by the Farrell recall movement.