W. Hollywood Race : Tenant Group Refuses to Back Schulte

The Coalition for Economic Survival, a tenant activist organization that has strongly influenced West Hollywood politics, has dealt a blow to incumbent Councilman Stephen Schulte by refusing to endorse him for the April 8 municipal election.

The coalition, which is backing incumbent Mayor John Heilman and Councilwoman Helen Albert, decided last week not to endorse a third candidate in the City Council race.

Schulte, Heilman and Albert are the only three council members up for reelection.

Schulte had lobbied hard in recent weeks to win the coalition’s endorsement. Although the coalition’s refusal to back him means the loss of a well-organized grass-roots organization, further damage to Schulte’s campaign may have been averted by the coalition’s pledge not to work against him in the final weeks of the campaign.

‘Not a Bad Reflection’

“We’re not going to tell people to vote against him,” said Larry Gross, coalition director. “We’re supporting John and Helen and leaving the third choice up to the voters. It’s not a bad reflection on Steve. People on the steering committee generally liked Steve.”

Schulte still hopes to convince the coalition to endorse him in the waning days of the campaign. “I’m hoping they’ll change their minds down the road,” he said. “I think it’s a mistake for them not to support the three incumbents.”

The ultimate factor weighing against Schulte was his acceptance of an endorsement by the West Hollywood for Good Government group, an organization of political moderates and businessmen, Gross said. The group has criticized the tenant coalition’s strong influence on council policy, particularly its emphasis on rent control issues.

Gross and other tenant coalition members perceive Good Government members as political foes in this campaign and insist that they have indirect ties to landlords trying to weaken the city’s stringent rent control law.

Return to Special Interests

“They (Good Government leaders) want to turn back the clock and go back to the days when special interests and landlords ruled West Hollywood,” Gross said. “We just couldn’t work (on behalf of) someone who has accepted an endorsement from a group that clearly has stated that we’re the enemy.”

Once the Good Government group offered to back him, Schulte said, he was in no position to turn them down. “They represent a broad spectrum of the community--the business community, homeowners, condominium owners,” Schulte said. “These are the people the council needs to reach out to more. I would have offended a lot of people if I refused.”

The coalition’s reluctance to work with Good Government-backed candidates also denied an endorsement to challenger Ruth Williams. Coalition members said Williams, a former coalition activist who is now a city Rent Stabilization Commissioner, also did not have as many supporters as Schulte on the steering committee.

Coalition members also said there was strong sentiment for challenger Ron Stone, who led West Hollywood’s incorporation drive in 1984. Stone’s public positions on rent control are more in line with the coalition’s than Schulte’s. But Stone said he did not get the endorsement because coalition members were afraid that by backing him, they would antagonize Schulte.

Rent Voting Record Cited

“The reality remains that Schulte has a lot of name recognition,” Stone said. “If CES (the coalition) opposes him and all the incumbents are reelected, they would only have John and Helen to count on in council votes.”

Schulte, in fact, joined Heilman and Albert on several key rent control votes last year. Schulte was instrumental in the council’s decision to further reduce the city’s first-year rent increase from 4.75% to 3% after the council already had agreed on the 4.75% figure.

Schulte’s rent control votes were not enough, in the end, to win the coalition’s endorsement. Gross added that Schulte’s backing by the Good Government group was not his only liability. Schulte also lost points among coalition steering committee members for what Gross called “questionable (city) commission appointments,” particularly the councilman’s decision to appoint landlord Grafton Tanquary to the Affordable Housing Commission.

But Schulte did well in endorsements announced last week by three West Hollywood political clubs. The Stonewall Democratic Club and the West Hollywood Democratic Club both voted to back Schulte, Heilman and Williams, while the Harvey Milk Democratic Club endorsed Schulte, Heilman and Albert.

Other Candidates Named

Other candidates in the April race are Jeffrey Cole, an actor; Tom Larkin, a real estate agent; Stephen D. Michael, a car salesman; Alan R. Mulquinn, a computer software consultant, and Mark Werksman, an attorney.

The endorsement votes at the Stonewall Democratic Club came after a day of deft political hardball played by Schulte, with some assistance from Councilwoman Valerie Terrigno.

According to Stonewall members and others involved in the votes, the turmoil started when the club’s nominating committee recommended the endorsement of Heilman, Williams and Stone.

By the end of the day, Schulte--helped by Terrigno--managed to turn the vote around, persuading more than a dozen new members to join the political club just in time to cast crucial votes for him.

Schulte was gleefully coy after flexing his political muscle. “We brought in a few new members,” he chuckled. “I lost count how many.”