Lineup in Race for L.A. Mayor Has Echoes of 1998

Will an ugly chapter in Los Angeles’ political history be repeated in the new race for mayor?

Jewish and Latino leaders had to intervene six years ago to calm tensions between the two communities after a bitter election in the San Fernando Valley between former City Councilman Richard Alarcon and former Assemblyman Richard Katz, who were vying for a seat in the state Senate.

Leaders convened Jewish-Latino community forums and wrote op-ed pieces in the newspapers urging calm. Others organized the Valley’s first Latino-Jewish festival in an effort to repair damage to relations after mailers from both sides led to charges of race baiting.

“It was a very unpleasant situation,” recalled Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, western regional director of the American Jewish Committee. “It wasn’t easy to bring the temperature down.”

Now, state Sen. Alarcon and Bob Hertzberg, a Jewish political veteran and former assemblyman from Van Nuys, have launched campaigns for mayor of Los Angeles. Leaders of their respective communities say they will be vigilant but are hopeful that the same divisions will not emerge again.

“Hertzberg has such a long history of working in the Latino community, and Richard Alarcon has reached out to the Jewish community,” Greenebaum said. “I think there is a sensitivity on both sides.”

Tensions boiled over back in 1998 after many Latino residents took personal offense at a Katz mailer that featured a picture of dirty hands and the headline, “It’s more than Alarcon’s hands that are dirty.”

At the same time, a supporter of Alarcon’s sent out a mailer that falsely linked Katz to a 1988 Orange County incident in which Republicans posted security guards at polls to intimidate Latino voters. Greenebaum said the mailer was perceived by some Jews as “borderline anti-Semitic.”

Alarcon, who won the Senate seat, later apologized for the Katz mailer and was a lead organizer of the Jewish-Latino festival, called Fiesta Shalom. The senator, who traveled to Israel five years ago and recently attended the Israel Independence Day Festival in Van Nuys, said last week he was optimistic that the misunderstandings of six years ago will not be repeated.

*

U.S. Senate Race Looks Like a GOP Primary

California’s liberal reputation notwithstanding, the U.S. Senate contest between Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer and Republican challenger Bill Jones has seemed more like a GOP primary at times.

Jones recently called for prosecutors to seek the death penalty against the killer of San Francisco Police Officer Isaac Espinoza, saying, “Those who murder our public safety officers should pay the ultimate price.” In a swipe at Boxer, Jones went on to commend U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein for also supporting the death penalty in the case.

Just days later, on May 4, Boxer sent a letter to the U.S. attorney for Northern California, staking out her own position on the case.

“From what I know about this devastating crime, it may well have been related to violent street gang activity and I believe can be subject to the death penalty option under federal law,” Boxer wrote, adding she hopes “that the killer pays the ultimate price for his actions.”

A few days later, state Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer announced that he would take over the case and seek the death penalty because the district attorney in San Francisco would not.

Given Boxer’s liberal leanings, some people have been surprised by her position; an aide said they shouldn’t be.

“Sen. Boxer has been for the death penalty since 1985,” said spokesman David Sandretti.

*

Accident-Prone Supervisors in Ventura

In one of California’s most environmentally sensitive counties, the politicians are going down like endangered condors.

First it was Steve Bennett, chairman of the Ventura County Board of Supervisors and an architect of that county’s landmark growth-control laws. Training in March for the 100-mile Wildflower bicycle ride, Bennett took a bad spill and fractured his left elbow in six places.

That put him out of the race but not off the dais, where he showed up two days later sporting a full arm cast.

Then last month during the actual race, Supervisor Linda Parks, who helped save the 3,000-acre Ahmanson Ranch from being paved over, went end over end on her own bike. Despite a separated shoulder, Parks, too, gamely showed up for the next board meeting, her right arm in a sling.

Uninjured colleagues couldn’t help gently chiding Bennett and Parks.

Quipped Supervisor Judy Mikels: “I came here with the idea of introducing an urgency ordinance that prohibits board members from riding bicycles, at least until we get through the budget process.”

*

Cinco de Mayo at ‘Casa Blanca’

Admonishing his guests to “sientese” (sit), President Bush welcomed several Southern California Latinos to the “Casa Blanca” last week to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

Introduced by former Orange County Supervisor Gaddi Vasquez, director of the Peace Corps, Bush acknowledged several Latino administration officials at the fiesta, including “el juez” (the judge), White House Counsel Al Gonzales.

The crowd was entertained by Emilio Estefan, of whom Bush joked, “I always like to remind Emilio, both of us married really well.”

Bush said that the U.S. and Mexico have different histories, “but our journeys have led us in the same direction. We believe in the rights and dignity of everyone.” Some 24 million people of Mexican ancestry live in the United States, “and America is better off for it,” Bush said.

*

Points Taken

* Look for the moving vans to show up at the home of former Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Feuer in the near future. Feuer filed papers last week to raise money for a run for the 42nd District seat in the state Assembly in the March 2006 election. The seat is being vacated that year by incumbent Paul Koretz because of term limits. Feuer represented much of the Fairfax-Westside district as a councilman but lives a few blocks south of the Assembly district, so he plans to move into the district and begin campaigning early.

* Just call him “Snake Hunter.” Assemblyman Lloyd E. Levine (D-Van Nuys) was at a recent event to kick off Environmental Education Day and the L.A. River cleanup when a snake crawled out from under a dumpster. Levine used gloves and his jacket to pick it up and move it to a less-crowded grassy area nearby. Levine said he had a pet python when he was in college, so he knew where to grab the snake so that it wouldn’t bite him, according to an aide.

* Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was overseas last week, so he made a videotaped speech that was played at the annual California Chamber of Commerce Host Breakfast. But just as the governor signed off the video with, “See you soon,” who should walk into the room but Schwarzenegger himself, who flew all night from Germany to make a personal appearance as well as a digital one.

You Can Quote Me

“We went in the toilet because you didn’t show up.”

-- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, kidding the large crowd that attended the Travel Industry Assn. of America convention in Los Angeles, saying his movie “Hercules in New York” would not have tanked at the box office if all of the travel industry audience had gone to the theaters.

Regular columnist Patt Morrison is on vacation. Contributing this week were Times staff writers Jean Pasco and Catherine Saillant.