Moore Unopposed in Primary Bid for 5th Term

Assemblywoman Gwen Moore, who faces only long-shot competition in the 49th District from the Republican and Peace and Freedom parties, is running unopposed in the June 3 Democratic primary for a fifth term in the Legislature.

Moore, however, said she is not taking her opposition lightly although the district is heavily Democratic. “I will be running on my record, which I think is excellent in terms of being responsible for the people I represent,” she said.

The 42-year-old legislator was elected to the Assembly in 1978 after defeating a field of nine candidates vying to replace Julian Dixon, who was elected to Congress in the 28th District. The 49th Assembly District includes Culver City, Marina del Rey, Westchester, Los Angeles International Airport, Playa del Rey, Baldwin Hills, Ladera Heights and parts of Mar Vista and Venice.

Moore’s district, centered in the predominantly black, middle-class community of Baldwin Hills where Moore maintains her headquarters, contains a mixture of ethnic, economic and age groups.

Heads Utility Committee

She is chairwoman of the Assembly’s Utility and Commerce Committee and a member of the Finance and Insurance and Public Safety committees.

Republicans Eric Givens and Allan Feldman will compete in the June GOP primary. Moore is also being challenged by Peace and Freedom Party candidate Susan Gong.

But these candidates are given little chance of unseating Moore. According to the county registrar, the district has 110,747 registered Democrats, 28,696 Republicans and 674 Peace and Freedom Party members.

“It’s a long shot,” said Republican Givens, 28, “but that is not going to stop me from putting forth my best effort to win this race.”

Givens, an independent contractor, said the issues he intends to press are the same as those that Republicans have raised on the national level. “Basically, the issue is free enterprise,” he said. “We want to keep down wasteful government spending and we don’t want to over-regulate business. We want to maintain a good economic atmosphere where business can survive.”

Afro-American Post

Givens has worked to recruit blacks to join the Republican Party. He was appointed by Gov. George Deukmejian to the board of directors of the Afro-American Museum of History and Culture in Los Angeles and is the state youth chairman of the California Black Republican Council.

Givens has never met Feldman, who also lists his occupation as independent contractor. Feldman could not be reached for comment.

Jackie Haynes, the executive director of the Los Angeles County Republican Party, said the party’s research and development committee tries to interview all candidates before the June primary but has been unable to reach Feldman.

Gong, 36, is a clinical psychologist. She said her party’s platform promotes full employment, bilingual education and nationalized health care.

“The district is a very mixed area,” said Gong, who lives in Culver City. “I want to bring independent politics into the area, because I don’t think the Democrats provide it.”

Gong is from Northern California, where she said she was active in the movement to provide mental health services for Asians and Latinos.