The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 141

Council Elections Take Heavy Toll of Incumbents Nearly one in every three incumbents seeking reelection to city councils in the Southeast area were dumped by voters Tuesday, including all three incumbents in Lakewood and two of the three current officeholders seeking a return to office in Hawaiian Gardens. Among the 12 incumbents in 19 cities who lost bids for relection were the mayors of five cities: Montebello's Andrew. T. Lambo, Lynwood's Henry J. Liewer, Bellflower's Henry Kruid, Hawaiian Gardens' Leland Johnson and Lakewood's Wayne Piercy.

In Lakewood, the anti-development slate of Dan Branstine (who got 7,327 votes), G. C. DeBaun (6,876) and Donald Plunkett (5,871) easily toppled incumbents Piercy, William Young and Sheila Pokras. Piercy had the best showing of the three current officeholders, but still finished 1,605 votes behind Plunkett's third-place finish. The three newcomers will find a welcome ally in Councilperson Jo Bennitt, who had aided ill-fated recall efforts against the three incumbents last fall and had advocated the firing of City Manager Milton Farrell.

The three victors in Lakewood met Wednesday to plan strategy, says DeBaun. "We have to decide in what direction we want to go and how fast we want to move," said DeBaun. "Whatever we do, it will be well thought out "I feel the loss of communication between the incumbents and the voters, the passage of a housing inspection ordinance in 1974, and council support for redevelopment were the main reasons they lost and we won." DeBaun said he felt the endorsement of Bennitt and a citizen's group "was a great deal of help" to all three winners. "I campaigned on the concern that city government has become too big and too ineffective, and I will strive to cut through the bureaucracy and bring it down to a representative size. Changes will be made." DeBaun said the new council members will become "an instant majority." In Lynwood, George W.

Higgins' victory over Mayor Liewer is expected to bring a major shift in the balance of the council. Higgins ran on a slate with returning Councilmen James Rowe and E. Morris, who had both been openly critical of City Manager Stephen Wright and Asst. City Manager Maureen Cassingham. Voters in Maywood, where an area-high 61 of the voters turned out, rejected a plan to consolidate their city with neighboring Bell.

The vote was 812 in favor of the merger, 1,341 opposed. Improved pension and retirement plans for police in Montebello and Huntington Park won handily, and an upgraded pension plan for other Huntington Park city employes won by a somewhat closer margin. A measure in the East Whittier School District to increase taxes by 57 cents was defeated, 3,072 yes votes to And in the Compton Unified School District, a request by some residents in the northern section in the city of Carson that they be permitted to secede from the district and join the Los Angeles City Schools was turned down. The overall vote was 2,055 opposed to the Carson request and 1,541 in favor of the withdrawal. A breakdown of the districtwide election showed 918 of the 998 Carson voters had favored leaving the Compton District.

In Lynwood, a controversial City Council decision to establish the duties Please Turn to Page 7, Col. 4 REFORM DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD Uos angcles 2Times Irony Tinges Lakewood Defeat Southeast Edition 4 ft I i iiililiilli BY LARRY LANE Tlmtt Staff Writer LAKEWOOD Fierce winds pounded the heavy rain against the windshield as Norman Pokras hurried the family station wagon toward home along darkened residential streets. "God's crying," said the little voice of Pokras1 11-year-old son Larry from the back seat "Not for me," said Sheila Pokras. "Not for me." Election night swept reformers into office here Tuesday, just like it did four years ago. For Sheila Pokras, reform won her a City Council seat in 1972, and cost her a seat this week.

"I'd laugh at the irony if I weren't stunned by it all," she said. The phone book separates the names Donald Plunkett and Sheila Pokras by 132 listings. The voters separated the two candidates by 20 times that much, with Pokras on the trailing end. "Let's go to Palm Springs," Norman had said to Sheila when half of the returns were in. "Naw," said Sheila.

Later she said, "This is not a time for running away. It is a time to stand up for what I believe ia And I believe in myself too much to brood too long. "Nobody died tonight Only some hopes and aspirations that some of us had for this city, and for the roles we wanted to play." Pokras had been confident right up to the time the votes began to pour ia "I was worried last week," she had said Monday. "But I'm self-assured now." On election night, the Pokras family left its home shortly after the polls closed to attend a party at the home of QUITE A QUILT Claire Truxman, left, and Norma Perez, both 13, work on one of two Bicentennial quilts as an eighth grade class project at St. Gregory the Great School in Whittier.

The two girls made the eagle, shown in closeup below, as one of the squares depicting symbols or scenes in American history, with each of the students in the two eighth grade classes taking part. The quilts were later raffled off to benefit the class treasury for a gift to the school. Time photo by Steve Rice Change in Reading Scores Reporting Method Sought Montebello School Chief's Proposal Would Let Boards See Local Results Before General Release BY MARY BARBER Tlnws Stiff Writer He chuckled as the car headed once again toward its destination. The perfect touch," he said. The Pokras family was among the first to arrive at Van Nostran's, where a huge tally sheet hung from a bulletin board in the front room, and where Community Safety Director Terence Mangan huddled with a phone in the corner awaiting returns.

Van Nostran was cheerful and optimistic and tended bar, while Norman Pokras took a chair next to Mangan and Sheila Pokras chatted with the few campaign supporters who had arrived. Bill Young and family and Wayne Piercy and family arrived before 8 p.ia, a half hour before the first tallies were posted. One of the crowd pointed to a young woman across the room. "She's Cheryl Piercy Wayne's daughter," the woman said. "When she was in high school four years ago, she beat Dan Branstine (one of the council candidates) for student body president." The crowd nodded in agreement that Cheryl's victory then was a good sign for her father's chances now.

It wasn't The first precinct to report was from Pokras" home precinct, and all three incumbents led the field, with Sheila on top. "A good start," Sheila whispered nervously. Her husband left his seat at the tallying table and searched out their son, Larry. He gave him a kiss and hugged him. "Nervous?" Norman Pokras asked.

His son shrugged his shoulders. Please Turn to Page 7, Col. 3 Southeast I News Notes Streets Project Started BELL GARDENS The city began its $177,000 resurfacing project on four streets this week and announced that in June the widening of Gage Ave. will begia Resurfacing of Jaboneria Road, Loveland Garfield Ave. and a portion of Scout Ave.

is expected to be completed by the end of March. The $1 million Gage Ave. widening awaits acquisition of only one remaining parcel for right-of-way. Manager to Be Named CUDAHY City councilmen will announce their choice for a new city manager at a special meeting today. A successor to the late Ivan C.

Reese will be appointed at 7 p.m. at City Hall. Drain Project Planned PICO RIVERA The city is drawing up an agreement with the state for an $87,750 drain project along Rose-mead Blvd. between Burke and Ber-mudez Sts. Pico Rivera has budgeted $17,750 for construction of the drains and the State Department of Transportation, $70,000.

Panel to Study City Pool PICO RTVERA Construction of a municpal swimming pool will be studied by the City School Committee of the City Council. The suggestion that Pico Rivera build a pool was made by resident Modesto Bermudez. Development Chief Hired HUNTINGTON PARK Donald Otterman, the assistant director for community development in Lake-wood, was hired this week by the City Council for the new post as director of community development here Otterman, 28, will oversee the Community Redevelopment Agency, Planning Department Building Department and Housing and Community Development Office. He will begin the new job March 29. Board Appoints Trustee Trustees of the Los Nietos School District have appointed Mrs.

Juliette Vasquez to succeed Manuel Quintero on the Board of Educatioa Quintero, a 15-year veteran of the board, resigned last month, effective March 12, because he is moving outside the district Part VII THURSDAY. MARCH 4, 1976 Suit Charges Police Dept. Discrimination Action Claims Compton Officials Holding Back Non-Blacks on Force BY TOM GORMAN Tlitits Staff Writer COMPTON Formal charges that Police Chief Thomas W. Cochee has discriminated against non-black officers in the department are contained in a civil rights lawsuit filed this week on behalf of the Compton Police Officers Assn. (CPOA).

Named as a codefendant in the suit, filed Tuesday in US. District Court in Los Angeles, was James Lynch, the city's personnel director. The suit asks that Cochee and Lynch be restrained from pursuing "a policy of discrimination against non-black police officers and applicants for the position of police officer with respect to employment, promotion and transfer on account of their race." Specifically, the document charged that Cochee and Lynch: "Systematically" failed and refused to accept non-blacks "after such persons have taken and passed Civil Service examinations and have achieved higher passing scores than black persons who were given the same examinations." "Arbitrarily" added points to those achieved by persons taking exams for promotions to the rank of sergeant and lieutenant "to qualify black officers who would not otherwise be eligible." Made promotions to those ranks from lists of eligibles "in a manner which excluded all non-blacks, regardless of examination scores or positions on the list of eligibles from promotioa" Made appointments to an oral examination board which considers promotions "without regard to the qualifications of those persons selected with the purpose of achieving a bias in favor of black officers. Transferred or attempted to transfer police officers to and from assignments and work schedules "based on racial considerations with black officers obtaining transfer to preferred assignments and work schedules." In addition to seeking an injunction against Cochee and Lynch "from engaging in any racially discriminatory employment practice," the suit seeks "a sum of money equal to the salary" the CPOA members would have received "if promotion and transfer policies had been based solely on merit," and $1 million from each of the defendants as punitive damages. Neither Cochee nor Lynch could be reached for comment City Manager Allen J.

Parker said he could not comment on the action since he had not yet read the suit, "but I am in the process of investigating the allegations." The suit was not unexpected. Parker had met with CPOA attorneys Richard Goldman and Stephen Solomon last month in an apparent attempt to head off the legal action. At the time Solomon said, "If the matter is not resolved within a few days, the suit will be filed." Ninety-seven per cent of the 74 CPOA members had voted in favor of filing the suit, according to a CPOA spokesmaa The CPOA currently has about 82 members, of which 17 are black. Most of the other black officers in the department withdrew from the association earlier this year, alleging that the CPOA was not providing community service for Compton residents. Much of the dissension among white officers on the force surfaced last August, when Cochee publicly claimed there was a lack of support "from white racist police officers." VP 3 4 .3 holic existence," says program coordinator Jim Goodwin, "but I think that this is too mild.

The real alternative is between life and death." Foley and Goodwin, as well as the three resident counselors, are "recovering alcoholics," which is a level Foley describes as being "alive and sober." Yet while alcoholism might be the unifying thread between staff and residents, or "insiders" as the latter refer to themselves, dealing with alcoholism is a "terribly personal thing," says Goodwin. "You cant hold yourself up as too much of a model," notes Foley, "because you might humiliate an individual who isnt recovering yet, and alcoholics do quite a bit on their own to humiliate themselves. "What you can do," says Goodwin, "is help an individual indentify what he is going through, using expressions he can understand, like when you talk about "drying out a wet "You can also help them with being scared. I know I was when I started recovering five years ago. And that's what we're talking about not offering yourself as an example of competition, but as an example of hope" Please Turn to Page 6, CoL 1 Sheila Pokras Times photo Larry Van Nostran, another council member who was not running.

There they were united with William Young and Wayne Piercy, the other incumbents, to await the returns. Norman Pokras was nervous but happy as he drove toward the Van Nostran residence. A devilish smile crossed his face when he passed a raft of signs which read "Plunkett Lake-wood Needs A Housecleaning." Tve got to get one of those signs to carry into the party," he said, and he backed up from the intersection to the curb to allow one of the passengers to fetch his prize. "Get two," he shouted as the go-for plodded through the mud towards the signs. "The polls are closed.

We're not doing anything illegal" scores have been attributed to transiency, an increasing number of non-English-speaking and bilingual students, and low socio-economic areas. However, some of the schools, mostly in the district's northern sector, have ranked high. Their ratings have been compiled with the other schools to produce an average. Street Closures Sought to Ease School Crowding BY TOM GORMAN Times Staff Writer HUNTINGTON PARK It has gone past the point of school children overflowing into the streets here; the question now is, should the streets be turned over to the schools? That is the request of the Los Angeles City Schools, which is asking the City Council to deed to the district parts of three streets that bisect school campuses. School officials argue the extra space is needed for enlarged playgrounds and more portable classrooms.

Local residents, including 89 persons near Huntington Park High School who put their names on a petition, are opposed to the request, claiming partial loss of the streets would be an inconvenience. And the City Council, which held a lengthy public hearing on the matter this week, has asked for a report from the city's Engineering Department That report is due at the council's April 5 meeting. The streets that the school district has asked to be vacated are Belgrave St. between Miles Ave. and Oak St, which bisects Huntington Park High School.

That street is already closed during lunch and nutrition breaks. Passaic St between Gage Ave and Zoe which goes through the Gage Junior High School campus. That street is closed during school hours with barricades. 60th St. between Loma Vista St.

and Carmelita St, which is adjacent to the north side of Nimitz Junior High Please Torn to Page 5, CoL 1 CIDER Offers New Chance to Men Trapped by Bottle BT LARRY LANE Time Staff Writer The blows that fall on school districts with low reading scores each November may be softened by legislation requested by Supt. Warren Lin-ville of Montebello Unified School District Long a critic of media publication of test scores, Linville is asking that local school administrators be allowed to reveal their district ratings to boards of education immediately upon receiving them. Linville's proposal is written into Assembly Bill 3125 and is being introduced by Assemblyman Richard Ala-torre (D-Los Angeles). Linville and other district representatives are scheduled to meet with Alatorre and representatives of the State Department of Education on Monday, March 8, in Sacramento. Current state law now requires that results of state-mandated reading scores be sent to district administration but not revealed until November of each year, when the State Board of Education releases statewide test information to the news media.

The news hits hard in the Montebello district, which has seen a steady drop in its scores. The lowest point occurred last year when MUSD was rated in the ninth percentile, which means that 91 out of 100 districts in the state scored higher. Critics of the system pointed out last year that state scores are based on expectancy, which is a compilation of local school leaders' assessment of educational and economic levels. MUSD Board of Education President Art Velarde said then that the state does not give an accurate measure of the district's progress and he wanted local testing. Board member Art Payan charged that expectancy ratings tend to be self-fulfilling prophecies, a kind of "guessing game" that encourages low achievement The two men and Louis Moret new district affirmative action officer, will accompany Linville to Sacramento.

Assembly Bill 3125 would change the Education Code to require that results at all state-mandated testing programs be given to school districts within 90 days of the testing. Superintendents would be required to report the results of the next regularly scheduled meeting of the board. This would not improve the news if it is bad, but it would allow local analysis and action before the November publication date MUSD's continuing low reading NORWALK After a long period of avoidance, Jackie Foley came face to face with an alcoholic five years ago at the age of 34. Herself. Now she tells others who battle with the bottle "There is a way out of hell if you want to leave" Some make it Others cant maintain it Still others quit before getting there Such are the stories of success and failure at CIDER House here, a men's alcoholic treatment program where the results are as individual as the residents.

The "house" will celebrate its first anniversary on Saturday, March 6, and by that time more than 300 residents will have passed through its doors. Dozens have returned to soberly but not somberly participate in "house meetings" or the Christmas party, while others have walked away before their 30-day stay was up and have never been heard from since Foley is program director, the only woman on the premises of the two-story structure, located on the grounds of Metropolitan State Hospital, but leased by the state to CIDER's parent agency, the Southeast Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse "Our brochures say we are here to offer a sober alternative to an alco I.