Doctors Seek More Time in Hospital for Galanter

Doctors treating Los Angeles City Council candidate Ruth Galanter have asked for a postponement of a Monday court hearing, which Galanter had planned to attend, in the case of the man accused of assaulting her May 6, according to lawyers in the case.

Galanter, who faces 6th District Councilwoman Pat Russell in Tuesday’s City Council election, was critically wounded in her home by an intruder who stabbed her twice in the neck.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Dale Davidson, the prosecutor in the case, said Friday that he was told that Galanter’s doctors want to keep her in the hospital “under observation, possibly for a couple more weeks.” Davidson said the doctors felt that the stress of traveling and attending a highly publicized court hearing might not be good for her.

Davidson said he was not aware of any complications in Galanter’s recovery and added that he had spoken to her Friday morning and that she sounded “fine.”

Attorney Agreeable

Davidson and defense attorney James M. Epstein both said that they were agreeable to postponement of the hearing. Epstein said he was “sure” that the defendant, Mark Allen Olds, 27, would have no objection to the postponement. Olds, who has a history of gang membership and drug use, lived in a boarding house across the street from Galanter’s home in Venice.

Jeff Robinson, a political consultant working for Galanter, insisted that “there are no additional medical problems.” Asked whether she might have to stay in the hospital another two weeks, Robinson said that her doctors want her to stay “through Monday.”

A week ago, at the sole press conference Galanter has held since the assault, she told reporters who visited her at UCLA Medical Center that she was confident that she would be physically capable of holding office. If elected, she would take office July 1.

At the press conference, Galanter spoke audibly, but her voice was tremulous and her speech was slightly slurred.

Condition Upgraded

Galanter nearly died from the stabbing, which severed one of her carotid arteries and injured her throat. She has undergone two operations, and her doctors have said that she suffered no permanent damage. Her condition has been upgraded from critical to fair to good.

Meanwhile, in a last-minute move Friday, Assemblyman Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica) endorsed Galanter and said that he will wage a limited, independent campaign on her behalf, even though she has asked him not to.

Hayden’s political organization, Campaign California, announced that it will spend about $15,000 on the pro-Galanter effort. The group will send out one mailer. Hayden supporters also plan to man telephones and campaign on foot for Galanter.

“We are concerned about the future of the 6th District,” said Bob Mulholland of Campaign California. “And we feel Ruth offers a fresh alternative.”

Galanter spokesman Jim Bickhart declined comment on Hayden’s involvement. But he confirmed that Galanter has repeatedly asked Hayden to stay out of the campaign because of fears that the liberal lawmaker and former radical will cost her votes among conservatives.

Mulholland claimed that Galanter’s fears about Hayden are unfounded. He said that a Campaign California poll showed that Galanter actually gained voter support when she was described as an “anti-growth radical.”

Russell’s staff had also encouraged Hayden to remain neutral. Kam Kuwata, a Russell spokesman, said he was disappointed by Hayden’s move. He accused the assemblyman of grandstanding. “He has made himself some kind of a sideshow,” Kuwata said. “He likes the limelight . . . so now he’s center stage.”

Hayden was attending his sister’s wedding in Michigan on Friday and could not be contacted to respond to Kuwata’s accusations. But Mulholland said Hayden was motivated to become involved by several factors, including his support for Galanter’s slow-growth policies and his opposition to Russell’s “smear tactics.”

Hayden, who had pledged to stay out of the race if Russell refrained from unfairly attacking him or Galanter, was apparently upset by a Russell campaign mailer that characterized Galanter as a pawn of Venice’s left-wing activists.

Staff writer Terry Pristin also contributed to this story.