Eastside Election for Molina Seat Stirs Only a Few

Voters in a large portion of the Eastside went the polls Tuesday to select a new Assembly representative to replace Gloria Molina, who left the Legislature in February to join the Los Angeles City Council.

Turnout in the special election, which seeks to fill the remainder of Molina’s term that expires in 1988, was low, as expected. The county Registrar’s office estimated that only about 8% of the district’s 55,256 registered voters had gone to the polls by late afternoon.

Attempting a Comeback

Ten candidates, six of them Democrats, sought the seat. Charity administrator Lucille Roybal Allard, who had never before run for office, had Molina’s endorsement and the backing of her father, Rep. Edward Roybal (D-Los Angeles).

Other Democrats running in the mostly Latino district included former state Sen. Alex P. Garcia, seeking to return to Sacramento after he lost a reelection bid almost five years ago; Commerce City Councilman James B. Dimas and Monica Delgadillo, former aide to Rep. Matthew G. Martinez (D-Monterey Park).

If no one candidate receives a majority, a runoff between the top finishers of each political party will be held July 7. But the Democratic winner in this primary would be considered all but elected because of the district’s 77% Democratic registration.

Allard, 45, was considered an early front runner because of her father, who has represented parts of the Eastside as a councilman or congressman for almost 40 years. Her Roybal affiliation, and the support from Molina, other prominent Latino politicians and from major contributors, made Allard the candidate to beat in a race lacking new or striking issues to set the candidates apart.

The district covers Civic Center, part of Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Boyle Heights, unicorporated East Los Angeles and the cities of Commerce, Maywood, Vernon and Bell Gardens. The area includes the site of a proposed Eastside prison, which Molina fought vehemently when she was in the Assembly. Each candidate has pledged to carry on the fight against any prison site in the district.

The major controversy of the campaign centered on Allard, a planner with United Way, who described herself as one who “works real hard and concentrate(s) on my objective. . . . My style is not confrontation. It’s more diplomatic, respectful.” She decided to run, she said, after a Molina aide decided not to run “and I thought, why not?” But rivals said she sought to virtually inherit the seat.

“There’s a lot of resentment about elected officials handing it to someone, deciding behind closed doors that there is a consensus candidate,” said Garcia. “Whose consensus? Lucille is not known.”

But Latino politicians’ near unanimous backing of Allard did serve a purpose. It forged agreement, at least temporarily, a struggle between Molina and two fellow Democrats, Councilman Richard Alatorre and State Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles). Alatorre and Torres had placed all their political weight behind school board member Larry Gonzalez, Molina’s opponent in her February council race. Several hundred thousand dollars later, Molina won, but not without damaged feelings on both sides.

The special 56th District Assembly race, on the other hand, inspired no such tug-of-war. But Allard’s opponents united in their criticism of her as a political novice taking advantage of her family connections.

Allard raised $108,000, far more than other candidates, according to her April 25 campaign contribution report. That total does not include several more recent contributions to Allard, including $2,500 from Molina, $2,500 from the Women’s Political Committee, and several thousand from union political action committees.

Focus on Experience

Garcia reported raising only $7,676 and spending $7,877. He considered his experience of 14 years in state government, three terms in the Assembly and a two terms in the Senate, as an advantage because many voters were already used to seeing his name on a ballot. But with that familiarity came negative publicity, most notably during a bitter reelection race he lost in 1982 and published reports of what another state senator termed Garcia’s “drinking problem.” Garcia, 57, has denied having a drinking problem, saying reports were “never proven.”

In the current race he did not campaign actively, shunning the endorsement meetings that several candidates attended. “I’m seeking only the voters’ endorsement,” Garcia said.

Second to Allard in fundraising was Dimas, who reported $21,526 in contributions. Dimas, 46, is a Los Angeles County deputy sheriff and a city councilman in Commerce. A recent $50-per-person fundraiser yielded $10,000 and accounts for the bulk of his contributions.

Dimas received endorsements from several officials in Commerce, Maywood, Vernon and Bell Gardens. He banked much of his hope in the election on a proportinately higher turnout expected in Commerce, where he is best known.

“The people in this district don’t want anyone to tell them who to vote for,” Dimas said. “I’ve lived here more than half my life and people want help for their businesses, redevelopment, education. Not someone telling them who to vote for.”

Democrat Monica Delgadillo, a former aide to Rep. Martinez who is now a contract compliance representative for the Southern California Rapid Transit District, said she represented “new blood, new leadership” for the district. Delgadillo, 37, reported contributions of $5,424, in addition to a recent $1,500 contribution from Democratic activist Lucy Casado.

Other Democrats were Craig Freis, 43, who ran for Los Angeles County tax assessor last year and who said he would give back his salary at the end of a term if he could not reduce crime 50%. Lowell (Ernie) Akui, who described himself as an anti-prison coordinator, also has run for office before.

Three Republicans sought the office. Tomas Alvarado, 39, a former legislative aide in Sacramento, who opposes sex education clinics in schools, concentrated his campaign in heavily Republican pockets within the district. Victor Chuck Valencia, 49, a businessman, said he wanted to promote welfare reform. Hank Ramey, a 22-year-old student, said he ran because he is “tired of machine politics.”

Gloria Garcia, 32, the candidate for the Peace and Freedom Party, said she hoped to appeal “to people who are fed up with the Republicans and the Democrats.”