The 55th Assembly District Race : 2nd Part of Double-Header Voting May Determine Control of Key Seat

In the Eastside’s 55th Assembly District, June 3 is the date for an election double-header, and it’s not one for voters with a short attention span. There is a lot to remember in this one.

Former legislative aide Richard Polanco is all but assured of winning the seat for the rest of this year, but in a more important race that will probably determine who holds the seat for at least the next two years, he is facing a stiff fight from Mike Hernandez, a bail bonds and insurance agent.

The unusual dual election is taking place because Richard Alatorre, who represented the Eastside and Northeast Los Angeles 55th assembly district for 13 years, resigned last December when he was elected to the Los Angeles City Council. Polanco, a former Alatorre aide who moved to the district from Duarte, ran against Hernandez and seven other candidates in April to fill the remainder of Alatorre’s term, which lasts till Dec. 1.

State law mandated that if no candidate won a majority, a runoff--scheduled to coincide with the regular primary--would be held among the top vote-getters from each political party.

Polanco and Hernandez are both Democrats. So, although Hernandez’s 37% of the vote was a close second to Polanco’s 39%, the runoff for the unexpired term is between Polanco, Republican Loren Lutz, Libertarian Sarah E. Foster and Michael Zinzun of the Peace and Freedom Party. Because the district has a 68% Democratic registration, Polanco is all but assured of winning.

On a second spot on the June 3 ballot, meanwhile, voters will hold a conventional primary to pick a Democratic nominee for a full two-year term. The Democratic nomination is considered the bigger prize because its winner would become the heavy favorite to win the full two-year term in November, and would have a good chance at taking control of the seat for years to come. Competing in the Democratic primary along with Hernandez and Polanco are Lowell “Ernie” Akui, Thomas Williams and Gonzalo Molina.

Under these circumstances, Polanco could wind up winning the special election June 3 and taking office for six months--but losing the primary and being replaced in December.

Could Be Embarrassing

That would prove embarrassing not only for Polanco, but for the major powers behind him--his former boss and longtime friend, Alatorre, and Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco), whose top aides are running the campaign and who is now personally campaigning for Polanco.

The competition between the well-connected Polanco and the once-obscure Hernandez first emerged in the heated April campaign. It was characterized by Polanco mailers that attacked Hernandez as a bail bondsman who released “child molesters, drug smugglers and rapists.” Many observers theorized that Polanco’s unexpectedly narrow victory margin indicated a backlash against the campaign tactics.

One Polanco supporter, who asked not to be identified but whose words were echoed by many others, said of the April effort: “Polanco blew it before with that stupid mail campaign, people backlashed against it. He had lost before (when he ran in an adjacent district in 1982 against Assemblywoman Gloria Molina), and he just wanted to do what he had to to win. He should have won that hands down.”

For June 3, Polanco has made a complete turnaround. Now his mailers are upbeat, extolling his experience and endorsements. The literature exudes nothing but sweetness, showcasing Polanco in pictures with children and quoting him as saying, “In the end we’re not judged by the wealth we leave behind but by the legacy we give to the children we love.”

Stepped Up Approach

Hernandez, meanwhile, has stepped up the approach he used in April, citing his roots in the district and criticizing Polanco for only recently moving to the area. In contrast to the last campaign, the only mail attacks this time around have come from Hernandez, whose mailers call Polanco “imported from outside our community and financed by Sacramento special interests.”

On Wednesday, the Polanco campaign obtained a court order to stop Hernandez from calling himself the Democratic “nominee” instead of merely a Democratic candidate. And on Friday, Polanco sued the Hernandez campaign for $1 million, saying it had committed “libel and slander” in literature saying that Polanco was “convicted of election fraud” two years ago.

Polanco was, in fact, fined $3,000 in 1984 by the state Fair Political Practices Commission for two 1982 campaign law violations--inflating the amount of contributions and accepting a cash contribution of more than $100--but there was no actual “conviction” involved in the noncriminal proceeding.

In his high-road approach this time, Polanco appears to be taking pains not to offend anyone. “I want to talk about providing better child care, service to the elderly, auto insurance,” said Polanco in an interview. He is holding “town hall” meetings to ask voters about their concerns. “I’m focused on issues now, not my opponents,” he added, although he said he is “not conceding we did anything wrong before. That was a different campaign.”

Using Big Supporters

He also is drawing heavily on his big supporters, such as Alatorre and Brown. Last weekend, Brown appeared at a Polanco rally in a largely black area of Northwest Pasadena. The area, which forms the northern tip of the district, has been targeted for special attention by the Polanco campaign because it offers large numbers of traditionally loyal Democratic voters. Afterward, Brown spoke at a $150-per-person Polanco fund raiser in Los Feliz.

Providing an intriguing subtheme to the contest is what appears to be a personal battle between Brown and Hernandez’s campaign consultant, Clint Reilly, who has been openly critical of Brown and his influence on state Democratic politics.

In a brief interview, Brown contended that Reilly, a veteran Democratic campaign manager from San Francisco, is running Hernandez’s campaign “because he’s a Willie Brown hater. He hates me. . . . I don’t know why.”

Reilly said he is running the Hernandez campaign only because of “high regard for Mike” and because of friends he and Hernandez share. But Reilly in the past has been critical of Brown’s influence on the image of the Democratic party, calling it “a combination of Calvin Klein and Miami Vice. This is what the working man’s party has been reduced to, this man who is walking around in $1,500 suits, who’s driving $100,000 cars. You like to read about these people, but don’t want to be represented by them.”

Hernandez insists the race is between him and Polanco, not their backers. “I’m from the district and I have a demonstrated interest in being active in community affairs. I’m not hand-picked. If Alatorre or Willie Brown choose to make this their battle, that’s their choice.”

Brown Mentioned in Mailers

But now, it appears Hernandez’s mailers have made Brown an issue, too. One recent mailer touted his community roots, but another said Polanco was “bought” by special interests including “power brokers like” Brown.

While no money came directly from Brown to Polanco in the April campaign, Brown’s chief aide, Richard Ross, said he “donated” his time to devise Polanco’s mailers. Assembly Democratic leader Mike Roos (D-Los Angeles), a close ally of the Speaker, lent or gave $30,000 to Polanco, and an additional $20,000 came from Alatorre.

Hernandez was his own largest contributor, lending himself $45,000. He has the endorsements of two prominent Latino legislators, Assemblywoman Molina and Rep. Edward R. Roybal (D-Los Angeles). Molina has contributed $10,000 to the campaign.

Molina, who narrowly defeated Polanco four years ago in a bitter race, recently urged the Assembly Democratic Caucus to stay neutral in the primary, but the Assembly Democrats endorsed Polanco for both races anyway.

But Polanco lost points with the Mexican American Political Assn., which endorsed him only for the special election against nonDemocrats. For the all-important primary, MAPA endorsed Hernandez.

Polanco, Molina said, is “a man in search of a district to get elected.” Asked if her advocacy of Hernandez had strained relations with Brown, she said: “It does put me in a precarious position with the Speaker and the leadership, but I felt they were wrong on this issue and I told them so. . . . Why should Willie Brown be telling me and my community what’s best for us?”

Brown said Molina’s support of Hernandez has made for “no problems in the relationship.” But, he added, “it won’t improve it.”