Council Agenda Under Way : Galanter Gradually Takes Hold of the Job

It was a show of solidarity--and became something more. Frustrated by two years of contract negotiations, more than 250 paramedics and their supporters filled Los Angeles City Council chambers on a recent day, forming a human backdrop for a union leader’s speech.

Few expected the council to respond; state law prohibits council members from discussing ongoing labor negotiations. Even so, the newest council member had something to say.

“I want to to thank you for saving my life,” Councilwoman Ruth Galanter told the paramedics, her hoarse whisper amplified by the chamber’s public address system. “I wouldn’t be here if not for the paramedics and I am very grateful.”

There was a long, loud ovation. It told Galanter, in effect, “You’re welcome. And thanks.”

Under normal circumstances, the transition from office-seeker to officeholder is usually difficult. But for Galanter, the circumstances are far from normal.

Only 2 1/2 months have passed since May 6, the night that an intruder attacked Galanter in her Venice home, leaving two near-fatal knife wounds in her neck. Galanter was in her bed at UCLA Medical Center when voters elected her to succeed longtime incumbent Pat Russell.

On July 1, the day after Galanter checked out of the hospital, she checked into City Hall in an emotional swearing-in ceremony before a standing-room-only crowd of supporters. The attack had left her with damaged vocal cords and two long scars on her neck. She had lost 30 pounds, was visibly weak and was prone to nausea. She walked slowly and spent much of her time in a wheelchair to conserve what little energy she had.

Thus far, Galanter has only attended a few council meetings and cast a few votes, and she has always left early. Some constituents have wondered whether she will be able to perform council duties regularly. After one television report, “We got a bunch of phone calls, maybe six or seven, from people saying they heard she was going to resign,” press aide Rick Ruiz recalled. “But her health is good. It’s her stamina that needs work.”

Appearances are deceiving, say Galanter and her supporters. Although full recovery is months away, Galanter’s agenda for the 6th Council District is well under way, they say, with the councilwoman performing most of her duties from home.

Galanter’s weak voice and appearance “does not reflect at all her strength inside and her ability to do things,” said Councilman Marvin Braude, a friend and political ally. “She’s really a tough, gallant woman to come through this as amazingly well as she has.

“She’s eager to work--and she’s working more than any of us who are close to her expected her to. We (council members) only want to her to come in to meetings when there’s something crucial.”

In a recent interview at her home, Galanter appeared much stronger than she had in her early council appearances.

Although Ruiz said a request for a half-hour interview “is asking a lot right now” because of the strain on her throat, Galanter talked for about an hour.

She sat on a patio chair and sipped tea, her voice occasionally drowned out by neighborhood sounds--a passing jet, a lawn mower next door. She saw her listener edge forward. “This is as loud as I can go,” she said, smiling. “I keep going, though.”

Another time, it was pointed out that the red onions in her vegetable garden were overdue for harvest. “I know. I’ve been in the hospital!” she said in mock exasperation. “Gimme a break!”

The former California Coastal Commission member, whose council victory has coincided with the rise of the city’s slow-growth movement, sought to allay concern that her condition is hindering her response to the needs of the 6th District. Planning and public safety, she said, are the key issues in the diverse Westside district that includes Westchester, Playa del Rey, Venice and stretches inland to Mar Vista, Baldwin Hills and Crenshaw.

While her strength varies from day to day, Galanter says she has been able to work an average of six hours a day--mostly in meeting with staff members in her home, talking on the phone and reading reports.

Hiring and organizing her staff have been top priorities. Sixteen staff members have been hired and efforts are being made to fulfill a campaign pledge by opening a field office in Venice, joining existing offices in Westchester and Crenshaw, she said.

Volunteer Network

The staff, headed by chief deputy Marcela Howell, a longtime activist who was Galanter’s campaign manager, is expected to include a network of volunteers who became involved in her underdog campaign.

The campaign, she said, showed her that “citizens who wanted to participate in government found it very difficult to do so.” Her office and staff, she said, will be “designed to make it easier for people to participate in governing their own lives in their communities. My impression is people want to do that.”

Although Galanter has asked the City Council to delay votes on some district issues, she and her deputies have spoken out on pressing concerns. A Galanter aide recently addressed the state Coastal Commission, speaking out against Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s plan to drill for oil in the Pacific Palisades.

Jim Bickhart, one of Galanter’s legislative deputies, addressed the Culver City City Council recently concerning a planned 18-acre development by Prudential Insurance of America in Culver City, near Los Angeles city borders. Culver City officials “were very positive about working together” to limit the development, Galanter said.

Meanwhile, Bickhart also is soliciting community advice for local coastal plans. The plans were requested by the Coastal Commission in 1976 but were not completed under Russell’s tenure, she said.

There has also been some time reserved for City Hall politicking. Galanter recently had her first private meeting with Mayor Tom Bradley, who had supported Russell. Galanter said she asked for the meeting “to tell him specifically that I’m not at war with Tom Bradley.” The meeting, she said, was “cordial.”

Galanter, who has a master’s degree in city planning, met with council President John Ferraro to lobby for much-coveted appointments to the council’s Planning Committee and Police, Fire and Public Safety committees.

Ferraro, who has not made the appointments, said Galanter’s condition will be a factor in determining committee posts. He has discussed the possibility of acting as an alternate to help her with committee duties. “I’m not going to overburden her,” Ferraro said. “But every time I’ve seen her she looks much stronger.”

Galanter’s expression of gratitude to the paramedics helped fuel speculation that her ordeal could make her a soft touch to vote more funds for police and public safety agencies at budget time. “I feel I was sensitive to those issues since before this happened,” she said, noting that she was a member of her Neighborhood Watch program since it began and was “a woman living alone.” (In an earlier interview, she divulged she had been a rape victim 20 years ago.)

“I think what this has done is to make me more sensitive,” she said.

Protection Provided

The Los Angeles Police Protective League has provided round-the-clock protection with off-duty officers since the attack, giving her peace of mind, among other things. “I have gotten to meet a lot of police officers in less stressful situations,” she said.

Throughout, Galanter seemed much more interested in discussing the future rather than “the day I got hurt.”

Last Monday, however, Galanter took time off from council duties for a unusual chore--to testify at the preliminary hearing for the 28-year-old man accused of the attack. Mark Alan Olds, who lived in a boarding house across the street from Galanter’s home, was ordered to stand trial for attempted murder and burglary. Police say he admitted to the attack under questioning.

Before testifying, Galanter said she spoke with a trauma counselor.

“It was difficult. It was hard,” she said of her appearance on the witness stand in the presence of Olds. “But it was something I felt I needed to do.

“I’m glad I have it behind me. I really can’t say more than that.”