Our Council Choices

There are no easy questions ahead for members of the Los Angeles City Council. For example, where will the city find the money to expand the Los Angeles Police Department? How can the city collect garbage, trim trees, clean streets and provide other basic services evenhandedly in poor and affluent neighborhoods, coastal and inland areas, urban and suburban communities?

Because we believe that they will work hard to find answers to those and other questions, we endorse the six incumbents who are running for reelection in the April 14 primary. In the open seat, the 10th District, we recommend Ken Orduna.

In the 2nd District--which covers Sunland, Tujunga and Van Nuys--City Councilman Joel Wachs has proven a quick study. He lost 92% of his base when new district lines were drawn last year, but has made friends fast. During 16 years on the council he has kept a sharp eye on development, written a pioneering AIDS discrimination ordinance and served as council president. Wachs merits reelection.

In the 4th District--which covers Hancock Park, Los Feliz and parts of Hollywood and North Hollywood--City Councilman John Ferraro, an incumbent for 20 years, has provided stable representation to his constituents. Ferraro, who faces a minor challenge, helped bring the Olympic Games to Los Angeles and supported a special citywide tax to finance more police. We endorse his reelection.

In the 6th District--which covers Westchester, Venice and Crenshaw--City Council President Pat Russell, who has held office for 18 years, faces five challengers, the most attractive among them being Ruth Galanter, a Yale-trained planner and environmentalist. Our choice is Russell, who, instead of allowing developers to have their way, forced concessions on projects in the western area of her district and, in an area with less potential for developer profit, guided the $100-million expansion of the Crenshaw Shopping Center. Russell deserves another term.

In the 8th District--which covers most of South-Central Los Angeles--we recommend City Councilman Bob Farrell. Although we oppose his proposal for a police tax covering only his district, we applaud his efforts to put more officers on some pretty tough streets and would like to see the proposal become an argument for more police for the entire city. Elected in 1974, Farrell faces minor opposition. We endorse his reelection.

In the 10th District--which covers Palms, Mid City and parts of Crenshaw, Koreatown and the Mid-Wilshire area--the open seat has attracted 13 candidates. We recommend Orduna, who left as chief of the Washington staff of Rep. Mervyn Dymally (D-Calif.) to run for the council, although there are other good candidates in the large field. One is Geneva Cox, a longtime council field deputy who knows the district and its needs. We found Orduna both realistic and compassionate. He favors more police to battle pockets of crime, but regards drug abuse as a disease. He favors developing affordable housing on vacant lots and by reclaiming boarded-up houses while protecting the uniqueness of stately Victorian neighborhoods.We believe that Orduna would serve the ethnically diverse 10th District well.

In the 12th District--which covers the West San Fernando Valley--City Councilman Hal Bernson, in office since 1979, has been a moderating force on the council. He has tackled earthquake preparedness and has protected areas of single-family homes from encroaching mini-malls. Bernson, who chairs the council’s Police, Fire and Public Safety Committee, is also working to find money to pay for more police. He should be reelected.

In the 14th District--which covers most of the eastern and northeastern parts of the city--Councilman Richard Alatorre faces two challengers, neither of whom can match him in visibility or campaign money. That’s too bad, because he needs a serious election challenge. After 13 years in the Assembly, Alatorre joined the council last year in a special election and now maneuvers as adeptly in City Hall as he did in Sacramento. His new career was tarnished when he commingled funds raised for his city campaign with money from his state fund-raising committee--an act that carried a $140,000 fine. Alatorre apologized and promised to be careful in the future. Alatorre says that he has dealt with nearly 60,000 resident inquiries during his year in office, continuing a tradition of service that kept his predecessor, Arthur K. Snyder, in office for so long. We endorse Alatorre in the hope that he will maintain the level of service that Snyder did, but with far less public turmoil.