3 Incumbents Face Minimal Opposition in Council Races

Shortly after the Los Angeles City Council redistricting stripped him of most of his political base, putting him in an almost entirely new, semi-rural northeast San Fernando Valley district, Councilman Joel Wachs bought himself a pair of cowboy boots.

It was just one of the many steps that Wachs, a skilled, well-financed politician, swiftly took to gain a foothold in his new 2nd District after last September’s remapping.

Thanks to his efforts--and a little luck--Wachs appears in a strong position to be reelected April 14. He faces three little-known, poorly financed opponents.

Councilmen Hal Bernson, who represents the northwest Valley, and John Ferraro, a mid-city councilman who gained the southeast Valley in the reapportionment, appear headed for easy reelection campaigns. Each faces only one opponent.

At first, Wachs was expected to face the toughest race of his 16-year career.

Redistricting left the liberal councilman with a conservative working-class district, taking in all of Sunland-Tujunga, including Shadow Hills and La Tuna Canyon, most of Van Nuys and parts of Mission Hills, North Hollywood, Sepulveda, Studio City and Sun Valley. Wachs also faced a possible challenge from Bob Ronka, a popular former councilman from the northeast Valley.

Luck Changes

Then Wachs’ luck changed. Ronka withdrew as a possible candidate, citing his mother’s illness, and Wachs got the endorsement of Anne Finn, whose late husband, Councilman Howard Finn, represented the northeast Valley.

Wachs also has continued to build up his nearly $600,000 campaign fund.

To bolster his position, he has spent almost every day since reapportionment introducing himself to community leaders and speaking to community groups.

“I think that we’re going to have as much support in the new district as in the old district,” Wachs bragged last week. “I just really feel very good.”

Wachs’ opponents are:

Jerry Hays, 49, a past president of the United Chambers of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley. Hays ran against Wachs in 1983 in the old 2nd District and finished second in a field of six candidates with 10% of the vote. Wachs won with 75%.

Hays said he has a better chance this year because he has become better known through community activities. He appears to be Wachs’ most formidable opponent.

Hays, a self-employed businessman, has been campaigning full time, and said he has raised $15,000, including a $5,000 loan of his own money to his campaign.

Jack E. Davis, 63, a retired railroad brakeman from Studio City. This is his first try for public office.

Davis, who answers the phone, “Taxpayer,” is an admirer of the late Howard Jarvis. He decided to run for the council out of disgust with what he sees as freewheeling spending by government officials.

“Wachs has had 16 years in there, and he seems to be unaware of the problem,” Davis said. “He seems to think these outlandish pensions, perks and salaries are all right.”

Georgetta Wilmeth, 64, a Tujunga homemaker.

A naturalized American citizen from Romania and a newcomer to politics, Wilmeth said that she decided to run for the council because she wanted to do something for the community. She pledged to accept no campaign contributions.

Wachs said he will refuse to appear with any of his opponents at candidates’ forums because such events typically aid the challengers, and “I’m not willing to give my opponents any help.”

Sought to Gain Recognition

Even before the redistricting plan was formally approved, Wachs, 47, was working hard to make himself known--and popular--in what was to become his new district.

He was ever-present at demonstrations attended by hundreds of northeast Valley residents to protest the plan. Then and even now, Wachs has told voters that he and they share a common bond of anger over the plan: It assigned them a representative whom they did not elect, he said, in an attempt to hurt him.

Voters should reelect him, he has repeatedly said, as a way of rebuffing the “old boy” network at City Hall.

Wachs said he does not expect his advocacy of such liberal causes as gay rights and rent control to hurt him in the conservative district, an assessment shared by several homeowner leaders.

For one thing, residents of Sunland-Tujunga are more concerned about preserving their rural life style. Proposition U, the slow-growth initiative on last year’s ballot, was overwhelmingly approved in the 2nd District. Wachs, who was first elected on an anti-development platform, was an early Proposition U supporter.

For another, Wachs and his staff have been working hard to respond to requests for services.

Gene Hardy, a member of the Van Nuys Homeowners Assn. board of directors, said Wachs responded quickly to his complaints about big trucks parking for long periods on his residential street. “I called (Ernani) Bernardi for months. He did nothing,” Hardy said. “I called Wachs, and the problem was gone right away.”

A former Finn aide said, “When you fill people’s potholes and keep their streets clean, nothing else really matters.”

Still, Wachs has come under criticism.

Ronka, while withdrawing as a possible candidate, took a swipe at Wachs for what Ronka said was a record of neglect and unreturned phone calls to constituents in Wachs’ old district. Ronka asserted that Wachs will return to his “old ways” once the election is over.

Wachs asked, if he was so unpopular in his old district why had he received 75% of the vote in the last election?

Despite complaints from former Wachs constituents, some homeowner leaders in the new district said they would rather make up their own mind on Wachs. “So far, Mr. Wachs has done nothing over here that would support what they say,” said Sylvia Gross, vice president and land use chairman for the Sunland-Tujunga Assn. of Residents.

Off to Bumpy Start

Wachs got off to a bumpy start in the new district when he failed to carry on a popular program instituted by Bernardi for fighting prostitution on Sepulveda Boulevard. Wachs said he could not afford to use part of his $550,000-a-year office budget, as Bernardi did, to pay for a special police task force. Wachs said he needed to use the funds to get to know his new constituents.

Wachs, however, pointed out that he recently co-sponsored a measure approved by the council that provided additional money to the Police Deparment for crime problems, including prostitution on Sepulveda Boulevard.

Police officials decided that prostitution on Sepulveda had been reduced and opted to use the money for other problems. Wachs, however, said police officials assured him that they will divert personnel to the boulevard when necessary.

More recently, Wachs has come in for criticism for flooding the district with what critics call self-promoting mail, including renters’ and senior citizens’ guides to city services, a “pothole diploma” good for repair of potholes, a calendar featuring 17 photos of Wachs and a letter attacking redistricting.

‘Some Going to Backfire’

“I think some of it’s going to backfire,” Hays said. “Some of the mailers that he’s done at taxpayers’ expense have offended a lot of people.”

In defense of the mailers, Wachs said, “I’ve sent them every year in my old district. The people love them.” Wachs deputy Mark Siegel estimated the cost of the mailers at between $45,000 and $50,000.

Wachs--like the other incumbents up for reelection this year--enjoys a huge fund-raising advantage over his three opponents, thanks in large part to the city’s campaign reform law. He can draw on the $636,958 he has amassed over the last four years, while his challengers are limited by the 1985 law to accepting no more than $500 per donor. The law allows incumbents to use unspent campaign funds, but requires them to obey the $500 limit for new contributions.

In the 4th District, Ferraro, a 20-year councilman, appears headed for an easy reelection.

Although gaining a portion of the San Fernando Valley for the first time, Ferraro, who was reelected in 1983 with 87% of the vote against two opponents, retained his Hancock Park political base in the council redistricting. He also is widely known to Valley voters from his 1985 mayoral race.

District Described

The district includes Toluca Lake and part of North Hollywood and Studio City, as well parts of Atwater, Echo Park, Los Feliz and the Wilshire District.

Ferraro, 62, is opposed by Sal Genovese, a 41-year-old Hollywood-area resident who operates a drug treatment facility. Genovese collected less than 1% of the vote in a losing race for mayor in 1985.

“I just think it’s time for a change,” Genovese said in an interview. He contended that the 4th District has deteriorated under Ferraro’s leadership.

In the 12th district, Bernson, 56, is opposed by Richard K. Williams II, 48, assistant dean of student programs at California State University, Northridge.

The district, which includes Chatsworth, Northridge and Granada Hills, was unaffected by the council redistricting. Bernson, first elected in 1979, was reelected in 1983 with 64% of the vote against two opponents.