Campaign for Torrance Mayor Heats Up--But Election’s a Year Away : Politics: Early fund-raising indicates the contest might be one of the most competitive and expensive in city history.

The race to succeed Torrance Mayor Katy Geissert is already shaping up as one of the most competitive mayoral elections in years--and there are more than 12 months until the vote.

It also threatens to be the most expensive contest ever in the city for an elective office. One candidate, City Councilman Bill Applegate, has already amassed $52,000. Last year, an unsuccessful council candidate spent $67,000, a record for the city.

Councilwoman Dee Hardison, the only other publicly announced candidate for mayor, has raised only $4,900. She said she will have a fund-raiser in May but does not intend to match Applegate dollar for dollar.

The early fund raising by Applegate and Hardison has created an interest rarely seen in Torrance campaigns this long before an election. That interest has been further kindled by the economic uncertainty facing the city and a resurfacing of political factionalism.

The March, 1994, election will determine who succeeds Geissert in the part-time post and who will fill as many as three open seats on the council. Geissert, a popular 66-year-old incumbent, is barred by city ordinance from seeking a third consecutive mayoral term.

Applegate, owner of a commercial real estate brokerage firm, is serving his fourth four-year council term and has attracted broad support from the area’s business community. He announced his candidacy for mayor 30 months before the election, amid speculation by city insiders that he hoped to get a head start on another perceived mayoral challenger, Councilman George Nakano. Nakano has since said he will probably campaign for a state Senate seat in 1994.

Hardison, 54, first won election to the council in 1986, when she garnered the most votes of eight candidates. She has traditionally run some of the council’s least expensive campaigns. Hardison, who works with developmentally disabled students in Torrance schools, is a Geissert ally on the council.

Geissert acknowledges encouraging Hardison to campaign for the mayor’s post and has offered her support.

“I think people who have supported me over the years will respect my opinion (about Hardison). Telling (voters) what I think, I believe, is the best way I can be of help to Dee,” Geissert said.

By contrast, Geissert and Applegate have clashed on several high-profile issues, including a dispute about city financing of the Torrance Cultural Arts Center.

Applegate, who declined to be interviewed, cast the only vote against the project when it was approved in 1985, saying he opposed the city going into debt to fund the arts complex.

The center’s $13-million cost was in large part funded through bonds that are being repaid from the city’s general fund. The bond money was supplemented by corporate and private donations.

Geissert has defended the center, saying that it was approved when the city’s finances were robust and that it fills a cultural void.

The two also sparred last year during discussions over scaling back a lucrative administrative leave program for top managers. Applegate, along with Councilwoman Maureen O’Donnell, said the council did not go far enough in shaving the number of leave days, from 36 to 24, that could be cashed out by top managers.

Applegate and Geissert were also on opposing sides of a debate on whether City Manager LeRoy J. Jackson provided the council with sufficient information about the program before it was approved in 1988.

Applegate publicly chastised Jackson for what he called an “unexplained failure to communicate” the full cost of the cash-out program, which is intended to offset the time managers spend attending night meetings and performing other duties.

Geissert and Hardison defended Jackson, saying he did not intend to mislead the council on administrative leave. “If there needs to be some blame laid,” Hardison said at the time, “I will accept it as one of the five council members that are still on the council from that time for maybe not asking enough questions, not going back at some point and questioning it.”

The filing period for mayor does not open until December, but Applegate has already compiled a formidable campaign war chest: $52,000, according to his most recent finance reports. Applegate has welcomed campaign contributions from developers, employee unions and companies that regularly do business with the city, which is neither illegal nor uncommon on the council.

From July 1, 1992, through Dec. 31, 1992, the last reporting period, contributions to Applegate included $2,000 from James A. Jones, president of the Torrance Co., which owns Del Amo Fashion Center; $1,000 each from Torrance’s police and fire unions; $500 each from the Walnut Land Co., Kelt Oil and Gas Inc., and developer Arthur L. Valdez, and $750 from the owners of Van Lingen Auto Body, which holds the city’s towing contract.

Hardison said she too welcomes contributions from developers but not if they have projects pending before the council. However, Hardison received no contributions during the last reporting period.

She said she hopes to persuade voters that she sticks to her principles. For example, Hardison has refused to accept an increase in her city car allowance that was approved by the council two years ago. Over the past four years, she has shunned out-of-town trips at the city’s expense.

“I hope that (the stands) tells the voters that I take this position with a lot of responsibility,” Hardison said.

Her background in civic affairs and strong support from Geissert in previous council campaigns have invited comparisons to the mayor. Geissert and Hardison were the first and second women, respectively, elected to the council and have shared support from homeowner groups.

Helen Doyle, a homeowners association representative, said Hardison and Applegate have different personalities.

“Applegate is very outspoken,” said Doyle, who claims to be a friend of both Applegate and Hardison. “Some people say he’s too abrasive. But if you know him personally, I think you know he means well.”

Hardison, according to Doyle, is a quieter person and not given to public outbursts.

Most longtime city observers say Applegate and Hardison are well-qualified. Those same observers, community activists, employee union leaders and homeowners association representatives said the election’s outcome will rest in large part on voters’ perception of who can better handle the city’s pressing budget problems.

Torrance has been hit hard by state funding cuts and flat sales tax revenue. Most employee unions are without a contract, including the largest, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. In fact, the council decided that no city workers would be given cost-of-living increases during the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.

And the city is projecting a $4.25-million gap between revenues and expenses in the next fiscal year, which begins July 1, Jackson said.

Council members recently took the unusual step of holding an open forum to solicit residents’ ideas and answer questions about the city’s budget situation on a live cable television broadcast. The forum, which resembled a call-in talk-show, encouraged dialogue with council members and city officials.

Many residents also worry that the single-family residential nature of Torrance has given way to dense commercial and condominium projects, adding to traffic woes in the area.

The mayor’s job pays only $1,200 a year in base salary. However, considerably higher compensation is available in perks, such as a $4,200-a-year expense account, a $5,352 annual car allowance and as much as $120 a month for attendance at Redevelopment Agency meetings.

The position has no more power than other council seats but carries tremendous influence in Torrance.

“The mayor is the spokesman for the city,” said Geissert, arguably the most popular Torrance politician over the last decade. “How the mayor expresses himself or herself to the general public is very important. It has a great deal to do with the overall perception of the city.”