A Few Tough Races Spice a Bland Campaign Menu

Hard-fought City Council campaigns in Santa Monica and West Hollywood, a controversial effort to protect fireworks sales in Culver City and the second round of a grudge match between Democratic Rep. Mel Levine and Republican Rob Scribner have enlivened an otherwise dull political season on the Westside.

Democratic incumbents, including Levine, are heavily favored in all of the legislative and congressional races on Tuesday. In the only open race, attorney Terry Friedman is expected to capture the 43rd Assembly District seat easily.

Local elections should provide more drama.

Control of City Hall is at stake in the Santa Monica City Council race, which pits three incumbents from the moderate All Santa Monica Coalition against three challengers from the liberal Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights. Mayor Christine E. Reed and Councilmen David G. Epstein and William H. Jennings are the coalition candidates. The renters’ rights group is represented by Julie Lopez Dad, an Ocean Park activist; David Finkel, a member of the city’s Rent Control Board, and Dolores Press, a former City Council member.

The council is split 4 to 2. Members of the All Santa Monica Coalition hold four seats. Two seats belong to people aligned with Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights. The seventh seat is occupied by Alan Katz, an independent. A victory by one renters’ rights candidate would even up the scales. Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights will gain control of the council if two of its candidates win.

‘Close Election’

“We’re feeling pretty good,” said Charlotte Houghton, a campaign organizer for the renters’ rights slate. “But we think it is going to be a close election. We are up against incumbents who are outspending us 2 to 1.”

Houghton’s group expects to spend about $100,000 on the race. The coalition is spending about $250,000. Although the two organizations are arch rivals, they hold similar position on two key issues in the campaign. Both groups support the city’s rigid rent control law and both oppose runaway development.

Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights contends that the coalition is only feigning support for rent control in order to trick the voters, most of whom are tenants. But Colleen Harmon, the coalition’s campaign manager, said the incumbents have clearly demonstrated their allegiance to the housing law.

“Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights has made an effort to make rent control the only issue in this city,” Harmon said. “But it is a manipulation of voters. Tenants feel that rent control protections are well taken care of.”

Both groups have done extensive canvassing and mailing. In its final campaign volley, the coalition mailed voters a cassette tape in which Mayor Reed expressed her and her colleagues’ commitment to “accessible and responsible” government. Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights countered with mailings that focused on the group’s longstanding commitment to rent control and low growth.

In a separate campaign for a two-year council term, Councilman Alan Katz is heavily favored to defeat Zora Margolis, a Mid-City neighborhood activist.

West Hollywood Council

The West Hollywood City Council race pits millionaire discotheque owner Gene La Pietra against tenant activist Abbe Land and furniture dealer Stephen Michael. The winner will fill the seat vacated by Valerie Terrigno, who resigned this year after her conviction on federal embezzlement charges.

The race has been lively. Land, who is supported by the liberal Coalition for Economic Survival, has charged that La Pietra is unfit for public office because of convictions on state and federal obscenity charges and his poor relations with people living near his club, the Circus Discotheque. La Pietra countered by criticizing Land’s acceptance of a $200 check for her work on an AIDS benefit.

La Pietra and Land are seen as the front-runners. La Pietra has raised about $280,000 for the campaign. Land, by comparison, has raised about $20,000. Michael has raised only $3,400.

La Pietra said he favors new parking structures and has billed himself as the candidate most knowledgeable about business. Land has run on a strong rent control platform. Michael favors a softer rent control law and said the city should consider opening poker and bingo clubs as a revitalization move.

Culver City Fireworks

There is only one local issue facing Culver City voters on Tuesday, but it is an explosive one. Proposition K would remove the City Council’s authority to ban the sale of fireworks. Two council members, 10 veterans groups and a large fireworks company support the measure. Several public officials oppose it.

Culver City is the only Westside community that permits fireworks sales. Supporters contend that “safe and sane” fireworks are a unique tradition in Culver City, and benefit the community groups that sell them. Opponents maintain that the fireworks are dangerous. If Proposition K is defeated, the council has pledged to pass a law prohibiting their sale and use.

More than $500,000 worth of fireworks are sold in Culver City each year, with $25,000 to $50,000 going to the community groups that man the sales booths. Red Devil, the company that manufactures the pyrotechnics, has spent about $10,000 in support of the campaign. Opponents have spent about $5,000.

The 27th Congressional District race between Levine and Scribner repeats the 1984 race. The liberal Levine (D-Santa Monica) handily defeated the conservative Scribner in that election. But Scribner, a pension planner from Pacific Palisades who also serves as a lay minister in the Church of the Foursquare Gospel, is trying to build on the support he generated two years ago.

Diametrically Opposed

Scribner and Levine are diametrically opposed on most issues. Scribner has criticized Levine for supporting California Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird. He has also accused Levine of ignoring pollution problems in Santa Monica Bay. Levine, in response, cited his effort to place the bay on a federal Superfund cleanup list. He characterized Scribner as a “very fanatical” person with an “extremist point of view.”

Both candidates are seeking support from voters in the rival parties. Levine has circulated a campaign letter with several prominent GOP names listed under the heading “Republicans for Levine.” Scribner, meanwhile, is targeting much of his campaign at dissatisfied Democrats living in the South Bay.

The other candidates in the race in the 27th District--which includes Mar Vista, Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades and Venice--are insurance executive Larry Leathers, a Libertarian, and accountant Thomas L. O’Connor Jr. of the Peace and Freedom Party.

In the 23rd Congressional District, which includes Beverly Hills and Malibu, Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Los Angeles) faces Republican George Woolverton, a businessman; Libertarian Taylor Rhodes, a marketing consultant, and the Peace and Freedom Party’s Tom Hopke, a musician.

The 24th Congressional District race has no Republican candidate. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) represents the Hollywood-Fairfax district. His opponents are Libertarian George Abrahams, a private investor, and the Peace and Freedom Party’s James Green, a social services worker.

Two Opponents

Rep. Julian C. Dixon has two opponents in the 28th Congressional District, which includes Culver City. They are the GOP’s George Adams, an engineer-businessman, and Libertarian Howard Johnson, an attorney.

There are three state Senate races on the Westside. Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara) of the 18th District, which includes Malibu, faces Republican DeWayne Holmdahl, a businessman, and Libertarian Jay C. Wood, an educator.

State Sen. Herschel Rosenthal (D-Los Angeles) has three opponents in the 22nd District, which includes Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades and Malibu. They are businessman Daniel Ward Sias of the GOP, engineer Joseph A. Russell, a Libertarian, and medical transcriber Abby Kirk of the Peace and Freedom Party.

State Sen. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles) has one opponent in the 28th District, which covers Culver City, Venice and Marina del Rey. He is Republican Armand M. Vaquer, a businessman.

There are four state Assembly races on the Westside. In the 43rd District, which includes Beverly Hills, Bel-Air and Westwood, Democratic newcomer Terry Friedman faces Republican Marc Philip Schuyler, a UCLA law student, and the Peace and Freedom Party’s John Honigsfeld, an aerospace computer programmer. The seat has been vacated by Democrat Gray Davis, who is running for state controller.

Assemblyman Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica) faces four opponents in the 44th District, which stretches from Malibu to Century City. They are Republican Gloria J. Stout, a businesswoman, Libertarian Neal Donner, an educator, and the Peace and Freedom Party’s Carol Berman, a writer-activist. J. Alex Cota is running as a write-in.

45th Assembly Race

In the 45th District, which covers the Pico-Robertson area, Fairfax and Hollywood, Assemblyman Burt Margolin (D-Los Angeles) faces Republican Jana Olson, a businesswoman, Libertarian Donald Meyer, a courier, and the Peace and Freedom Party’s Sylvia F. Kushner, a human rights advocate.

In the 49th District, which includes Culver City, Venice and Marina del Rey, Assemblywoman Gwen Moore (D-Los Angeles) is running against businessman Eric Givens, a Republican, and Susan M. Gong of the Peace and Freedom Party.

There are three other races in the Santa Monica-Malibu area.

Four people are running for three seats on the Santa Monica Rent Control Board. Incumbents Wayne Bauer and Eileen Lipson and former board member Susan Packer Davis are backed by Santa Monicans for Renters’ Rights. Thomas Allison is running as an independent.

Seven candidates are running for four seats on the Santa Monica College Board of Trustees. They are incumbents Fred L. Beteta, James M. Bambrick, Carol L. Curry and Colin C. Petrie. The three challengers are Carol E. Hetrick, Pat Nichelsen and Robert M. Neff.

And eight candidates are competing for four seats on the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education. The incumbents are Della Barrett and Bob Holbrook. The other candidates are Dorothy Koutouratsas, Catherine Williams, Patricia Hoffman, Stephanie Oranger, Dan Ross and Susan Bogdanow.