Compton’s Moore Raised High Profile and Got Shot Down : Election: Controversial reputation may have cost her in mayor’s race against Omar Bradley, who had stronger local ties.

Compton City Councilwoman Patricia A. Moore may have a growing national reputation as an outspoken activist for minority causes, but back home it did not seem to be enough to convince voters that she should be mayor.

In Tuesday’s elections, voters went with Omar Bradley, a young city councilman with a lower profile but deeper roots in the community. After jockeying back and forth for the lead throughout Tuesday’s ballot count, Bradley beat the Louisiana-born Moore by 349 votes.

“She lost the confidence of the people; her loyalties have been outside the city,” said resident Marvin Kincy, who voted for Bradley. “Omar Bradley has been in Compton all his life.”

On Wednesday, Moore, who did not seek reelection to her council seat because of her campaign for mayor, accused Bradley and City Clerk Charles Davis of conspiring to steal the election through a variety of means, including possible ballot-box stuffing. She said ballot boxes from three precincts arrived at City Hall 1 1/2 hours after all the others. Bradley and Davis denied the charges and said Moore is simply a poor loser.

But Moore said she is filing complaints with the state attorney general’s office, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice demanding an investigation.

Moore barely lost, 3,483 votes 3,134, which was something of a surprise because she had been outspent and outmanned and ran a low-key campaign during the April primary. She made it to the runoff even though Bradley won 32 of 34 precincts, including all but one in her own district.

But in the six weeks between the primary and Tuesday’s election, Moore dramatically revved up her campaign, hitting the streets nearly every day with her staff and booking up to 20 kaffeeklatsches in homes a week. In Tuesday’s election, she won 17 precincts and picked up 1,000 more votes than she received in the primary.

In some ways, Moore was fighting herself as well as her opponent. As an anti-Establishment member of the Establishment, Moore has made numerous controversial moves that became ammunition in the campaign against her.

Moore, who has lived in Compton for about 25 years, was elected to the council four years ago after she organized a march on City Hall to protest the killing of a 2-year-old in a drive-by shooting. After she became a city councilwoman, she joined another march on City Hall, this time protesting the shooting of two Samoans by a Compton police officer.

She became involved in numerous high-profile cases involving African-Americans who she said were victims of a racist Establishment. She spoke out on the killing of Latasha Harlins and on the state trial of four Los Angeles police officers accused of beating Rodney G. King. She provoked an uproar in law enforcement circles when she made a speech at the funeral of slain Compton police officer Kevin Burrell that was interpreted by many as anti-police.

A last-minute flyer sent out by a group supporting Bradley accused Moore of climbing to the top “on the death, suffering and backs of others” and said she desecrated a hero when she spoke at Burrell’s funeral.

“The people who live in here, they are very conservative and they appreciate it when a person knows when to talk and when not to talk,” said Bradley, adding that his hometown advantage helped clinch his victory.

Moore acknowledged that her controversial statements made her vulnerable--not because residents disagreed with her, but because it made it easier for her opponents to attack her.

“I believe there has been a conspiracy beginning with the Burrell funeral to twist everything I said to stop me,” Moore said. “The community became confused with what is truth and what is bogus, and I couldn’t fight it.”

But Moore says the city has not seen the last of her. Even if she is unsuccessful in getting the election results overturned, she said she will press on with her initiative drive to force the City Council to allow voters to decide whether the city should have a card casino. The council last year voted, with Moore abstaining, to allow construction of such a club in Compton.