Outspoken Critic Defeats Wells in Lynwood : City Council: The two-term official, who has been dogged by controversy over her murdered husband, loses to Robert Henning. Incumbents Paul H. Richards II and Armando Rea win reelection.

SOUTHEAST AREA —  Lynwood voters have ousted two-term Councilwoman Evelyn Wells, who became embroiled in controversy when her estranged husband was gunned down after accusing her of having an affair with the then-city manager.

Voters gave the nod to outspoken former Councilman Robert Henning, who had been Wells’ biggest critic and had made the scandal one of his key campaign issues. While most of the packed field of 18 council candidates refused to make the incident a campaign issue, Henning said Wells should withdraw.

Henning and incumbents Paul H. Richards II and Armando Rea were the top vote-getters Tuesday for the three council seats on the ballot.

In the only other city council race in the Southeast area, three incumbents glided to victory in Montebello, fending off one challenger in a low-key campaign.

The Lynwood campaign was anything but that.

Wells had to endure rumors and innuendo after her husband, Donald Morris, accused her of having an affair with then-City Manager Laurence H. Adams Sr., then was gunned down outside his home. Wells and Adams denied they were having an affair, and neither is a suspect in the slaying.

But Henning, who finished a distant second to Richards, insisted that the scandal cost Wells the election. “No matter what role she played, it was still very harmful to the community, and the voters saw that.”

Last week, a former city employee was convicted of murdering Morris.

Wells attended the council’s regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night, but hurried out of the council chambers, and did not return phone calls Wednesday.

Observers said Wells had taken a detached approach to the election, leaving much of the campaigning to her reelection committee. She had maintained a low profile since the scandal erupted in April, and missed several council meetings.

She placed fifth among the 18 candidates.

Two-term councilman Richards racked up his biggest victory margin, overcoming bitter attacks throughout the campaign.

A last-minute blitz of campaign mailers fortified Richards’ effort. Several voters reported receiving Richards’ campaign literature--including a full-color 14-page brochure--on a daily basis since early last week.

Richards said his decisive victory indicates that residents “approve of the programs that we have put in place,” and gives him a mandate to “proceed with (his) agenda of youth and social programs.”

Richards came under fire for supporting a city-financed business development academy that could not account for many expenditures. He said Tuesday night that most voters he talked to supported the academy’s concept and did not blame him for some of its accounting problems.

“When you are putting together so many programs, there is always going to be some errors and some rocky periods,” he said. “But in the end, (the programs) work. The voters recognized this and weren’t swayed by misinformation.”

During the council meeting earlier in the evening, Richards testily accused his colleague Rea of making misleading statements about the business academy and its finances.

“We have to stop playing games with this community and start being straight with our residents,” he said. “If you notice, there is one council member who is always at the bottom of these misleading statements.”

Rea, who narrowly outpolled City Clerk Andrea L. Hooper for the third council seat, did not respond to Richards’ comments other than to shake his head from side to side.

Rea said Wednesday that he will continue his self-appointed role as watchdog on the council. He said Henning’s return will create a “more workable chemistry” among the five council members.

“Now we will have more continuity, and maybe there will be a new agenda for the city of Lynwood,” Rea said. “I think we’ll start to see some different votes for a change.”

Some observers agreed that the election of the outspoken Henning, who was outpolled in a bitter 1991 campaign by challenger Louis Byrd, might create a different tension on the council.

“I don’t always agree with (Henning), but you will always know where he is coming from,” Councilman Louis J. Heine said while waiting for results into the early morning hours at City Hall. “There won’t be much waffling now.”

Montebello

Councilmen William M. Molinari, Arnold Alvarez-Glasman and Edward C. Pizzorno easily outdistanced one challenger, former city worker Alex Esquivel, to win third terms.

“It was obvious the community indicated it was satisfied with the way the leadership’s going,” said Molinari, the mayor, who was the top vote-getter. “They were saying . . . if it’s not broken, why fix it?”

The incumbents had emphasized the city’s financial stability, its growth in commercial development and a tough stance against crime. They were endorsed by the city’s police association.

Esquivel, 66, a retired human services manager, acknowledged that he was unable to generate much voter dissatisfaction with the council.

Community Correspondent Psyche Pascual contributed to this report.