2 candidates make way for Alarcon’s run

Two prominent candidates for the Los Angeles City Council’s 7th District seat dropped out of the race Monday and both said they would support their former opponent, Assemblyman Richard Alarcon (D-Panorama City).

Felipe Fuentes, the chief of staff to former Councilman Alex Padilla, personally distributed a statement in City Hall saying that he was quitting the race. Two hours later, former Assemblywoman Cindy Montanez sent an e-mail saying that she, too, would not run.

Both cited the same reason: they did not want to participate in a race against Alarcon -- a former councilman and state senator -- that Fuentes and Montanez said would fracture the 7th District in the northeast San Fernando Valley.

“It is in the best interest of this area to avoid a destructive and damaging situation,” Montanez wrote in her statement. “I strongly believe that the spirit of cooperation and collaboration are better recipes for social change and community improvement.”

Fuentes echoed that sentiment in his statement.

“When Richard Alarcon announced his decision to come home and run for City Council, I, like most others, was caught by surprise,” Fuentes wrote. “I am a realist. Among the candidates who were looking to run for this open seat -- myself included -- no one has more experience than Richard Alarcon.”

Alarcon represented the 7th District from 1993 to 1999. On the same day that he won election to the Assembly last month, voters in Los Angeles relaxed term limits for the council, meaning that Alarcon was eligible to serve at least one more full term.

“Clearly they are formidable opponents and are talented leaders already,” Alarcon said. “In conversations we’ve had over the past several weeks, there was a real desire for all of us to work closely together.”

Alarcon added that his seat in the Assembly would open up if he won and that Montanez -- who is still eligible for one more term -- and Fuentes have the talent to fill that job. Montanez could not be reached for comment; Fuentes said he did not back out because of any political deal.

Seven other candidates have filed to run. The best known of Alarcon’s remaining opponents is Monica Rodriguez, a former community deputy to former Mayor Richard Riordan.

Rodriguez said Monday that she still intends to run. Riordan is holding a fundraiser later this month and Rodriguez has hired political consultant John Shallman, who is known for his work boosting the chances of longshot candidates.

The race in the 7th District was being closely watched by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa because all of the candidates have been courting his support.

A fierce campaign might have posed a problem for the mayor if he had backed a losing candidate or took sides in a campaign that split the district. When asked if the mayor played any role in the candidates’ withdrawals, press secretary Matt Szabo would say only that “there were conversations” between the mayor and the candidates.

In 1993, Alarcon was the first Latino elected to the City Council in decades. But he left midway through his second term in 1999 after his election to the state Senate.

Returning to the council would mean a pay raise: Alarcon makes $110,880 in the Assembly and would make $171,168 if he were elected to the council. He moved into the district in November from Sun Valley in order to be eligible for the race.

*

steve.hymon@latimes.com