California Elections : Incumbents Win Easily; Voters Slam Door on Rent Proposition

Santa Monica voters rejected a controversial proposal to soften that city’s rent control law and a bespectacled public interest lawyer named Terry B. Friedman trounced his key opposition in the 43rd Assembly District primary in two of the major Westside political contests Tuesday.

On a day when voters trickled to the polls, incumbents also emerged victorious in about a dozen Westside primaries for state and federal office. Los Angeles County Supervisor Edmund D. Edelman, in a nonpartisan race, was easily reelected to his 3rd District post.

In another closely watched race, businesswoman Gloria J. Stout beat economist William Mundell in the GOP primary for the 44th Assembly District. Stout will face two-term Assemblyman Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica) in November.

Voters Reject Rent Measure

In Santa Monica, apartment hunters will not face higher rents. Seventy percent of the voters rejected Proposition M, a plan that would have allowed landlords to raise rents on vacant apartments in return for sharing their profits with tenants. It was the second victory in a row for the rent control law. Last week, an appeals court rejected the primary legal challenge to rent control.

Landlords said they will redouble their efforts to weaken the rigid law. But the one-two punch delivered by the voters and the courts was seen as a major setback to their cause. Santa Monica City Councilman Dennis Zane, one of the major rent control supporters, said the housing law has been vindicated.

“Rent control has the confidence of the community and it deserves the confidence of the community,” Zane said. “Opponents are a fringe group.”

Geoffrey S. Strand, a spokesman for the city’s major apartment owner group, blamed the defeat of Proposition M on an image problem. Exit polls revealed that most Santa Monica voters do not trust apartment owners, he said.

“Most voters in the city feel that landlords are undeserving, untrustworthy and evil,” Strand said. “The comments were very caustic.”

The Proposition M campaign was heated from the start. In January, when the effort began, apartment owners said they would rally support for the plan to abolish the portion of Santa Monica law that prohibits them from raising rents on vacant apartments by cutting tenants in on a portion of the profits.

Opponents, including the entire City Council and city Rent Control Board, said the offer amounted to bribery, and the plan sparked four lawsuits before it even appeared on the ballot. Later, apartment owners further irritated their rivals by offering a chance at a Hawaiian vacation, bicycles and other prizes to anyone who returned a mailer in support of the initiative.

By late Tuesday, however, as they huddled before a big-screen television in a small meeting room at the Miramar Sheraton hotel, about 30 Proposition M supporters seemed to sense that their efforts had failed. Strand called the exit polls extremely discouraging. Many others wore sullen expressions.

The mood was not sullen in Sherman Oaks, where a large crowd gathered to toast Friedman’s resounding victory in the Democratic primary for the 43rd Assembly District. Friedman captured 56% of the vote in the three-way race. Rosemary D. Woodlock came in second with 25% and Bruce Margolin had 20%.

The 43rd District, which straddles the Westside and affluent parts of the San Fernando Valley, is a Democratic stronghold and Friedman is expected to easily win the general election in November. Standing amid supporters at his campaign headquarters, bedecked with red, white and blue streamers, Friedman gave a cautious victory speech as the early results become known.

“At the risk of being optimistic, which goes against my nature, it looks as if I’m going to win tonight,” said Friedman, dressed in a gray suit.

Friedman was considered the front-runner for the seat being vacated by Assemblyman Gray Davis (D-Los Angeles) because of the support of the Berman-Waxman organization, an influential political group headed by Reps. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) and Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City).

Friedman raised nearly a quarter of a million dollars, far more than his opponents, and vigorously campaigned for the seat that has become known as a political springboard. Woodlock, a Woodland Hills attorney, could not be reached for comment on the outcome of the race. Margolin, a West Hollywood attorney who finished third, pledged his support to Friedman.

Opponent Is a Student

Friedman’s Republican opponent will be Marc P. Schuyler. Schuyler, a student, received 58% of the GOP vote in a two-way race. Lou Steeg, a retiree who was supported by arch-conservative Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr., won 42%. The Peace and Freedom Party’s John Honigsfeld, an aerospace engineer, received 57 votes.

In the 44th Assembly District, which stretches from Malibu to Century City, Assemblyman Hayden easily defeated Democratic primary challenger J. Alex Cota, a businessman. Hayden received about 77% of the vote to Cota’s 23%.

Stout, who is Hayden’s GOP opponent in November, easily captured her party’s nomination. Observers had called the race between Stout and Mundell too close to predict. But the longtime GOP activist ended up with 56% of the vote, handily defeating Mundell, a political newcomer, who received 44%.

Neal Donner, a teacher, was the Libertarian candidate. Carol Berman, a free-lance writer, was the Peace and Freedom Party’s representative. Each received about 150 votes.

45th Assembly District

Assemblyman Burt M. Margolin (no relation to Bruce Margolin) was unopposed in the 45th District Democratic primary, which takes in the Pico-Robertson area, Fairfax, Hollywood, Laurel Canyon, parts of West Hollywood, North Hollywood, Los Feliz, Burbank and Studio City. He received 28,331 votes.

Margolin’s GOP opponent in November will be advertising executive Jana Olson, the victor in a race against Gerald Broderson. Olson captured 54% of the vote to Broderson’s 46%. Donald Meyer, a courier who was the Libertarian Party candidate, received 134 votes. Sylvia F. Kushner, a retiree running for the Peace and Freedom Party, got 83 votes.

In the 49th Assembly District, which includes Culver City, Venice and Marina del Rey, incumbent Gwen Moore was unopposed in the Democratic primary. She received 35,555 votes.

Republican Eric Givens, a private contractor, outpolled Allan L. Feldman for the right to face Moore in November. Givens received 67% of the vote, Feldman, 33%. The Peace and Freedom Party is represented by Susan M. Gong, a clinical psychologist, who got 56 votes.

State Senate Races

There were three state Senate races in the Westside. All of the incumbents and many of the challengers were unopposed. All unopposed primary candidates move on to the general election in November.

State Sen. Gary K. Hart had no opposition in the 18th District Democratic primary. He received 46,354 votes. DeWayne Holmdahl, a supervisor, was the lone GOP candidate in the district, which includes Malibu and Topanga. He got 42,796 votes. J. C. Wood, a retiree, was the Libertarian candidate. He received 221 votes.

State Sen. Herschel Rosenthal, also a Democrat, was unopposed in the 22nd District, which includes Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades and Beverly Hills. He garnered 72,380 votes. The other candidates for the post also had no primary opposition. They are Republican Daniel Ward Sias, a businessman, with 32,789 votes; Libertarian Joseph A. Russell, an engineer, with 268 votes; and the Peace and Freedom Party’s Abby Kirk, a medical transcriber, with 179 votes.

Rounding out the field of unopposed incumbents was Democratic state Sen. Diane Watson of the 28th District. She received 66,478 votes. Republican Armand Vaquer, a businessman, was the only other candidate in the race for the area that includes Culver City, Venice and Marina del Rey. He had 14,645 votes.

Congressional Results

There were four Westside congressional races on Tuesday’s ballot.

In the 23rd Congressional District, which includes Beverly Hills and Malibu, Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson received 88% of the vote against two Democratic primary opponents. Student Eric C. Jacobson got 8% of the vote and teacher William J. Kurdi garnered 4%.

The other contenders had no primary opposition. They are Republican George Woolverton, a businessman, 23,002 votes; Libertarian Taylor Rhodes, a marketing executive, 185 votes; and the Peace and Freedom Party’s Tom Hopke, a counselor, 95 votes.

In District 24, the Hollywood-Fairfax area, Democratic Rep. Henry A. Waxman was unopposed. He received 41,122 votes. The two other candidates also had no primary opposition. They are Libertarian George Abrahams, a stock options trader, 197 votes; and James Green of the Peace and Freedom Party, who listed himself on the ballot simply as a worker, 145 votes. There was no Republican candidate.

Levine-Scribner Rematch

Rep. Mel Levine, with 50,723 votes, was unopposed in the Democratic primary in the 27th District, which includes Santa Monica, Venice and Hermosa Beach.

Rob Scribner, a financial adviser, handily defeated his opponent for the GOP nomination, receiving 86% of the vote. Alvin Froehlich, a construction salesman who is affiliated with LaRouche’s political organization, had 14%. The Scribner victory sets the stage for a rematch with Levine, who won a bitter 1984 race.

The Peace and Freedom Party candidate is Thomas O’Connor Jr., an accountant. He received 177 votes. Larry Leathers, an insurance executive, is the Libertarian candidate. He received 250 votes.

In District 28, which includes Culver City, Rep. Julian C. Dixon easily defeated his lone Democratic challenger. Dixon received 93% of the vote. Joe Alcoset, an analyst, got 7%. George Adams, an engineer, emerged as the GOP nominee with 44% of the vote in a three-way race. Lionel Allen, an insurance executive, received 39%, and Aileen Cline, a contractor, got 16%. The Libertarian candidate is Howard Johnson, an attorney. He received 72 votes.