Only Two Members of Council Are Facing Serious Challenges

In a generally quiet election year for the Los Angeles City Council, eight council members are seeking reelection, but only two, Peggy Stevenson in the 13th District and Joy Picus in the 3rd District, are facing serious opposition.

Two council members, Zev Yaroslavsky in the 5th District and Marvin Braude in the 11th District, are running without opposition. Council members Joan Milke Flores in the 15th District, Howard Finn in the 1st District, Ernani Bernardi in the 7th District and Gilbert Lindsay in the 9th District all are being challenged.

Stevenson, 60, has held office since 1975 when she took over the council seat held by her late husband, Robert Stevenson. To win reelection she must triumph over a field of five candidates led by Michael Woo, a 33-year-old aide to state Sen. David A. Roberti, who forced Stevenson into a runoff in 1981 before losing to her. This year, Woo again has been waging a well-financed campaign and has gained several noteworthy endorsements, including those of Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner, Rep. Henry Waxman and Secretary of State March Fong Eu, all Democrats.

To avoid a June runoff, Stevenson must receive more than 50% of the votes cast during Tuesday’s primary.

As Election Day draws near, a generally polite campaign has acquired a harder edge with a Woo mailer charging that “Peggy Stevenson sold Pacific Palisades to Occidental Petroleum for $17,000,” a reference to the councilwoman’s vote in favor of a controversial oil drilling project after receiving campaign contributions from Occidental lobbyists.

Stevenson, in turn, has sent material to voters challenging Woo’s credentials as an environmentalist, a community activist and a professional planner. One of her mailers states that Woo was not endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters even though he is a member of the group’s board of directors. Another says that Woo’s poor attendance record led to a request that he be dropped from the board of a local fair-housing group. The mailer also says that Woo’s claims to be a city planner are based solely on classroom experience.

Besides Woo, Stevenson’s challengers are:

Michael Linfield, a 34-year-old high school teacher whose reputation as an activist on behalf of renters, labor and gay rights has helped win the support of several environmental and political groups in the district; Arland (Buzz) Johnson, 49, a restaurant owner in Hollywood who is known in his community for efforts to fight crime and blight; Bennett Kayser, 38, a health firm systems manager and Silver Lake resident who has worked on a variety of neighborhood improvement issues, and James Duree, 33, a consultant and devotee of Lyndon LaRouche, the far-right former presidential candidate.

The 13th District runs west from the Pasadena Freeway to Fairfax Avenue south as far as Temple Street and north to Griffith Park and Mulholland Drive.

In the 3rd District, which encompasses the largely white, middle-class west San Fernando Valley, Picus, a two-term incumbent and the council’s most vocal feminist, faces a challenge by five opponents who argue that Picus, a Democrat, is out of touch with a district that has traditionally supported conservative candidates and causes.

Money Raised

Picus, 54, has raised more money than her opponents combined. And while her opponents have attacked her for supporting rent control, Picus has received substantial financial support from real estate interests.

Among the most aggressive of her opponents, Jeanne Nemo, a 56-year-old schoolteacher, has touted her Republican ties in the district, which supported President Reagan’s reelection last year by 62%. The council is a nonpartisan office.

Taking no chances, a Picus mailer containing a letter of support from Maureen Reagan began arriving at Republican homes in the district Saturday.

Another challenger, Gil Eisner, 52, a former deputy to ex-county Supervisor Baxter Ward and now an adviser to businesses seeking government approval for their projects, hired political consultant Harvey Englander, known for his hard-hitting campaigns, to send out a mailer accusing Picus of being anti-police.

The mailer referred to a remark made by Picus to Police Chief Daryl F. Gates to “stand up like a man.” Picus, who made the statement at a 1983 council hearing, said she felt Gates should assume responsibility for alleged abuses in the Police Department’s now disbanded spy unit, the Public Disorder Intelligence Division. Gates has taken no position in the race.

The other challengers are Jon Lorenzen, 29, son of the late Councilman Don Lorenzen, whom Picus defeated in 1977; Gary Klein, 38, former deputy to Councilman Hal Bernson and now a lobbyist for developers, and Matt Lynch, 50, an attorney.

In other Valley races, Finn is opposed by Noel Horwin, a public relations consultant; Elton (Skip) Michael, a Los Angeles police detective, and Louis Cichelli, a painting contractor, while Bernardi is opposed by Paul Goldener, an auto worker, and Marty Israel, who lists his occupation for the ballot as “television consumer advocate.”

Other Districts

Elsewhere in the city, Flores, whose district includes the harbor area, is opposed by write-in candidate Joe Collins, who describes himself as a computer sorter. Lindsay, at 84 the council’s oldest member, is being challenged by Donald L. Barnett, a postal employee, and by write-in candidate Tom Chung, a business consultant and formerly the director of the Community Youth Gang Services Project, which worked with police to reduce gang violence. Lindsay’s district includes the Central City.