Specht Won’t Run for Davis’ Seat in Assembly, Backs Westwood Lawyer

Citing personal reasons, Lisa Specht, a runner-up for Los Angeles city attorney last year, said Friday that she will not enter the race to succeed Assemblyman Gray Davis (D-Los Angeles) and endorsed Westwood lawyer Terry B. Friedman.

“I think it’s a tough life being in Sacramento . . . when your husband is in Los Angeles,” Specht explained. Along with Specht’s endorsement, Friedman quickly won the support of Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City) and one of Berman’s allies, state Sen. Herschel Rosenthal (D-Los Angeles).

Friedman said he expects to obtain support from other politicians who are part of the loose-knit political organization headed by Berman and Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles).

Because of Berman’s and Waxman’s influence and because the solidly Democratic 43rd District is home to many liberal campaign contributors in Beverly Hills, Bel Air and Brentwood, it has been regarded as part of the Westside political turf.

However, Valley legislators point out, nearly half the district’s voters live on the other side of the Santa Monica Mountains in Encino, Sherman Oaks and Studio City.

Political Geography

State Sen. Alan Robbins (D-Van Nuys) Friday reminded potential candidates of the district’s political geography.

“My interest will be to make sure that the candidate who’s elected in that district is someone who either comes from the Valley portion of the district or is concerned about issues affecting the San Fernando Valley,” Robbins said.

Robbins acknowledged that he has spoken to Los Angeles school board member Roberta Weintraub, a Republican and longtime friend, about the possibility of running for the seat.

Robbins said he thought she would make a strong candidate, but stopped short of endorsing Weintraub, who expressed an interest in seeking the GOP nomination.

Contacted by GOP Leaders

Weintraub said Friday that Republican leaders have approached her to run but she said they must provide a hefty campaign war chest before she will add her name to the list of potential candidates.

The speculation about candidates heated up on Friday when Davis officially announced that he would run for controller, paving the way for a potential political dogfight in his district.

Davis was elected to the Assembly in 1982, after the seat was vacated by Berman, who went to Congress. Davis had been chief of staff to former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. and could tap into major Westside campaign contributors to add to his $1-million campaign war chest.

Friedman, 36, said he expects Davis will support his candidacy. Friedman is executive director of Bet Tzedek Legal Services, which furnishes free legal advice to the poor, elderly and disabled.

In announcing his candidacy, Friedman indicated that he hopes to line up a large number of endorsements to show other candidates that he will make a strong race.

Friedman, who lives in Westwood, said he will give equal weight to the Westside and Valley portions of the district and will work hard to preserve open space in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Friedman is a former president of the California Young Democrats and was president of the Young Democrats at UCLA, where he met Assemblyman Burt Margolin (D-Los Angeles), who is also associated with Berman and Waxman.

Other Possible Candidates

Among the other Democrats whose names are being mentioned as possible candidates are Steve Saltzman, a lawyer who lost the 1982 Democratic primary in the neighboring 44th District to Assemblyman Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica); Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn., and Barry C. Groveman, head of the environmental unit of the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Saltzman expressed a strong interest in entering the 43rd District race but must determine whether his West Los Angeles home is in the district. Since his 1982 defeat, the district lines have been redrawn.

Saltzman, a former aide to Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, for the last three years has headed the Greater Los Angeles Energy Coalition, a nonprofit energy conservation group.

Close, 41, a lawyer and bank director, said that if a candidate from the Valley fails to come forward, he may enter the contest.

The filing deadline has been extended to Wednesday because Davis is not seeking reelection.

According to the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder’s office, three candidates have filed papers to run in the district. They are Republicans Mark Philip Schuyler, a business executive; Lou Steeg, a retired Naval Reserve commander, and Peace and Freedom Party candidate John Honigsfeld, an aerospace computer programmer.