Eastside Race for Assembly Holds Spotlight in Elections

Voters in the Eastside’s 55th Assembly District went to the polls Tuesday to choose the successor to Richard Alatorre, who left the Legislature last December for the Los Angeles City Council.

Turnout at the polls was expected to be low, but the County Registrar had no official estimates of how many would vote in the district that includes Boyle Heights, Lincoln Heights, Highland Park, El Sereno, much of Pasadena, Mt. Washington, Atwater, Elysian Valley, Elysian Heights and a section of Eagle Rock.

Besides the special election in the Assembly district, voting on ballot issues and in City Council races was under way in 59 Los Angeles County cities.

The race among nine candidates for the Assembly seat quickly concentrated on two, Richard Polanco, 35, and Mike Hernandez, 33. Both Democrats and with few issues to divide them, the competition turned into a personal battle fought at the voters’ mailboxes.

An extensive mailer campaign launched by Polanco ranged from criticism of Hernandez’ lack of experience in government jobs to a blistering attack on Hernandez’ job as a bail bondsman. Hernandez later fought back with mailers that pointed out that Polanco had recently moved to the district and owned a home in Duarte outside of the district. Hernandez attacked Polanco as a tool of Alatorre and special interests.

Polanco’s controversial mailer program, which Hernandez called “dirty campaigning...attacking me for what I did as a professional,” was at one point criticized by Mayor Tom Bradley, who had endorsed Polanco.

The mailer that miffed Bradley was one with a headline, “Lewd and Lascivious Act Upon the Body of a Child Under the Age of 14.” On an inside page, the brochure said those were the words used to describe the crime “committed by a man that Political Candidate Mike Hernandez bailed out of jail.” That brochure did not state that Hernandez was a bail bondsman, though others did. Included with the brochure was a Bradley letter endorsing Polanco.

Bradley never saw the brochure that was included with his letter, an aide said, adding, “The mayor does not condone those kind of camapaign tactics.” Polanco later apologized, calling the Bradley letter’s inclusion with the brochure “a mistake. “

Polanco’s mail campaign was the brain child of campaign manager Richard Ross, chief of staff to Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco).

From the beginning of Polanco’s campaign, Brown was a factor. When Los Angeles School Board member Larry Gonzalez was seriously considering running to replace Alatorre, Alatorre reportedly told him that Brown, an Alatorre friend and one of the state’s major Democratic fundraisers, would support Polanco. Gonzalez later took himself out of consideration, citing family and school board considerations. Brown’s chief aide later joined the Polanco campaign “on his own time,” Ross said.

Polanco, although not well known with district voters, managed to raise $233,000, with “at least 50%” going to finance his mail campaign, he said. He also received the lion’s share of endorsements in the race, including those of Alatorre, State Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles), Bradley and police unions.

Hernandez, also not well known among most voters, entered the race as an underdog and remained one until the end because of Polanco’s superior political connections and fund-raising ability. Once Gonzalez decided not to run, Polanco was hailed for a while as the “consensus” candidate, one that Alatorre, Torres and the rest of the Latino political leadership could support. Latino politicians who had watched or been a part of past infighting were anxious to avoid another split in community loyalties at the polls.

But Hernandez, who as a businessman had contributed money for years to various Latino politicians, decided to run anyway. He garnered the support of Assemblywoman Gloria Molina (D-Los Angeles), who had run against Polanco in another Assembly race four years ago. And when he was endorsed by Rep. Edward Roybal, (D-Los Angeles), the senior legislator among Latinos, Hernandez began to gain more attention. Mostly from his family’s bail bonds and insurance business and immigration lawyers, he raised $114,000.

Hernandez campaign staff included a former aides to Alatorre and Molina. In his mailers, he charged Polanco with being a “carpetbagger” from outside the district, although Polanco said that from childhood to his adult years when he worked for Alatorre, Los Angeles County Supervisor Ed Edelman and former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., he had been part of the East Los Angeles community “all of my life”.

The other Democratic candidates were Lowell (Ernie) Akui, Gonzalo Molina, Thomas Williams and Clarence Clayton Moore. The lone Republican running was Loren Lutz. Michael Zinzun ran for the Peace and Freedom Party, and Sarah E. Foster for the Libertarian Party.