Reformer Buries Foe in Inglewood Council Vote

Garland Hardeman, a self-styled reformer who vowed to shake up Inglewood’s City Hall, trounced former Councilman Ervin (Tony) Thomas on Tuesday in a court-ordered special election for Thomas’ old seat on the City Council.

Hardeman captured 917 votes to Thomas’ 412, sweeping into office with better than a 2-1 margin. The election ends a two-year contest fought as much in the courts as at the ballot box.

“I feel a lot of relief and excitement,” Hardeman, 32, said after clinching his landslide victory. “It’s been a very difficult two years. I wanted a decisive victory and I got it.”

Critic of Mayor

A Los Angeles police officer who is an outspoken critic of Inglewood Mayor Edward Vincent, Hardeman pledged to aggressively fight gangs and drugs, to increase the authority of council members and to introduce an ethics code for elected officials.

Critics charged that Hardeman’s campaign was an unnecessarily disturbing note in a “well-run” city that captured the National Civic League’s All-America City award this year for its fight against crime and drugs.

While Hardeman frequently criticized the current city leadership, Thomas, 48, reminded residents of the award and the progress Inglewood has made in fighting gangs and drugs, and in creating business opportunities.

Hardeman said Tuesday night that “it is a strong possibility” he will challenge Vincent for the mayoral post next year. “I think we need some different leadership,” he said.

Political observers see Hardeman’s victory as a clear blow to Vincent, 55, who backed Thomas.

Narrow Vote Margin

The dispute over the council seat began when Thomas, a 7-Up Bottling Corp. manager, defeated Hardeman by a 16-vote margin two years ago for the seat on the five-member council.

Hardeman, however, challenged those results in Los Angeles Superior Court, where Judge Leon Savitch annulled the election after ruling that Thomas’ supporters had intimidated voters and that absentee ballots showed irregularities.

Savitch ordered a new election, but Thomas remained in his council seat for two years while he exhausted court appeals.

Thomas was stung by a Superior Court ruling in August that he could not portray himself as an incumbent in the campaign because of the earlier annulment.

When Hardeman returned to court last week to argue that several of Thomas’ campaign brochures violated the court’s earlier injunction, Superior Court Judge Dzintra I. Janavs agreed, and ordered Thomas to return for a contempt of court hearing later this month.

Called a New Breed

Hardeman’s supporters call him a new breed of politician who will challenge Inglewood’s status quo and move the city’s balance of power away from Vincent, the city’s first black mayor, who is now serving his second four-year term.

Hardeman has pointed out that Vincent was already damaged by the court rulings in the dispute over the council seat, and that he was damaged even more by a state attorney general’s suit alleging that he billed both the city and his campaign for the same travel expenses.

Vincent recently settled the suit by paying about $5,000 in fines.

ELECTION RESULTS

Inglewood

City Council

100% Precincts Reporting

Votes % Garland Hardeman 917 69 Ervin (Tony) Thomas 412 31