LOCAL ELECTIONS / LAGUNA HILLS CITY COUNCIL : 6 Vie for 3 Seats as Young Town Charts Services

LAGUNA HILLS — Shaking up government may be the buzzword in politics this electoral season, but it is very rarely mentioned in connection with the City Council race here.

So far, no hot-button issues have emerged, with all but one of the candidates for the three open seats saying they want to maintain the city as it is--generally devoid of crime, graffiti and budget problems since its 1991 incorporation.

Six candidates, including Mayor R. Craig Scott and Councilman Randal J. Bressette, are vying for the seats. And a recent cable television debate, expected to be the sole candidates’ forum of the race, only attracted four of the candidates: Scott, Bressette, Cindy Greengold and Saeid Hariri. Candidates Grant Marcus and Charmane Riggs did not attend.

The next council will have several important issues to consider. Residents have complained about poor library service, since Laguna Hills has neither a county branch library nor its own city library.

Council members will also determine how quickly the city administration should grow and the breadth of programs and services the young city will provide its citizens. So far, the council has taken a conservative approach to expanding government services, introducing programs only when there is a strong showing of support. The city’s staff has been kept at only 14 employees. The city has an operating budget of $8.1 million.

Laguna Hills council members will be involved with plans for civilian reuse of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station once the military leaves the base in 1999. In addition, the city is still negotiating with the county over whether it can annex north Laguna Hills. The county has opposed the plan.

Scott and Bressette--the incumbents who were elected simultaneous with incorporation--are campaigning on their record of accomplishments, including new athletic fields and recreation programs, park improvements and a $4.2-million budget reserve. Both said they want to increase safety in the city and continue the privatization of services, which the two credit for the city’s solid financial picture.

Councilman L. Allan Songstad Jr., declined to run again, saying he is satisfied that he had helped the city of 22,000 establish itself through his one term on the council. He has endorsed Scott, Bressette and Greengold.

Of the non-incumbents, only Greengold has political experience in the city. The 41-year-old medical office administrator and registered nurse sits on the Parks and Recreation Commission and was heavily involved in the city’s incorporation effort.

She also is co-chair of the Laguna Hills chapter of Taxpayers for Responsible Planning, an organization fighting Measure A, which would require conversion of El Toro into a commercial airport. She said she wants to expand recreation opportunities and keep the community safe.

The sole voice of dissatisfaction is Hariri, 39, a property manager. His campaign has focused on promises to gain library service for the city and to take steps to keep gangs and drugs out of Laguna Hills.

Candidate Marcus, 26, is a real estate broker who said in his ballot statement that he wants to meet residents’ needs by protecting the beauty, safety and integrity of the “fine city” of Laguna Hills. He declined to return phone calls.

Riggs, who did not list her age on filing papers, describes herself as a homemaker with six children and 16 grandchildren who has lived in Laguna Hills for 22 years. Like Marcus, she praised the city in her ballot statement as a “wonderful community” that she wants to protect from the intrusion of drugs, gangs, homelessness and traffic congestion.

Riggs’ campaign has raised the most money so far, receiving $4,056 in loans from Riggs’ husband, but no other monetary contributions.

Scott has raised $3,469, including $1,650 in personal loans, while Bressette has raised $1,575, with $950 of that in personal loans.

Greengold’s campaign chest so far has $2,350, with $1,700 of that money coming from personal loans from herself or her husband. Marcus reported garnering $1,000 contributions from two companies, the Robison Co. in Laguna Hills and Los Angeles-based Western States Technologies.