Ken Howard scored his second big victory this week. Screen Actors Guild members have elected the veteran character, who just won an Emmy on Sunday for his role in HBO's 'Grey Gardens,' as the union's new president, capping a bitter election campaign that divided Hollywood's largest union. Howard soundly defeated 'In the Heat of the Night' actress Anne-Marie Johnson, SAG's first vice president who was backed by the faction that swept outgoing president Alan Rosenberg into office four years ago. A coalition led by Howard consolidated its power on the national board, winning a majority of the 22 seats up for grabs on the 69-member national board. That further tilts the balance of power inside the 125,000-member union toward a group of moderate actors endorsed by Tom Hanks and George Clooney who led a revolt against the union's leadership. The group triggered the firing of the union's former union executive director, Doug Allen, and appointed former general counsel David White as interim executive director. A similar shift at the top recently occurred at the Writers Guild of America, West, where members tapped 'Southland' executive producer John Wells, over 'MASH' writer Elias Davis, who had been strongly supported by the former president, Patric Verrone. Verrone led the union during last year's bitter three-month long strike by screenwriters. The election results could portend less combative relations with the major studios, although anxieties that have fueled labor unrest -- how talent is paid in the Internet era -- remain. Moreoever, actors and writers are facing a substantially depressed Hollywood economy compared to when the last round of elections were held two years ago, with jobs for members vanishing as studios cut back the number of movies and TV shows they produce. At the same time, the rise of low-cost reality shows have displaced scripted dramas and comedies, key employers of talent. Howard, who starred in 1970s TV show 'The White Shadow,' advocated, among other things, having SAG merge with the smaller actors union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, to strengthen their leverage in negotiations. AFTRA suspended its longtime bargaining partnership with SAG last year after a dispute over turf, and then cut its own prime-time TV contract with the studios. The smaller actors union, which has played second fiddle to SAG, has emerged as the go-to union for new prime-time TV shows, weakening SAG's grip in area it traditionally dominated. Johnson, star of 'That's So Raven,' favored reviving the bargaining partnership with AFTRA, but opposed an outright merger, saying the unions' memberships are too dissimilar. About 44,000 actors belong to both unions, but AFTRA also represents broadcast announcers, recording artists and radio show hosts. Johnson was re-elected to the board, and drew some high-level supporters, including Ed Harris, Martin Sheen, and former SAG president Ed Asner, who also were elected to the board. But her close association with Rosenberg may have hurt her presidential run. Rosenberg waged an unsuccessful fight to defeat a contract negotiated by AFTRA, fiercely opposed a SAG contract that was approved overwhelmingly by members, and lost a battle to keep Allen in his job. Howard won 47 percent of the vote, compared to 33 percent for Johnson. The third candidate for president, Seymour Cassel, who was nominated for an Academy Award in the 1968 movie 'Faces,' won 18 percent of the vote; and Asmar Muhammad, a relative unknown who also ran as an independent captured less than 2 percent. Amy Aquino, a former board member who ran with Howard, was elected secretary-treasurer. 