Politicians Are the Life of the Party

Every once in a great while politicians manage to look like real people--you know, have a nice dinner, tell a few stories, share a little ho-ho.

And, in fact, it happened Thursday night when political consultant Joe Cerrell and his wife, Lee, filled “one big head table” at a private room at Perino’s in honor of City Council President John Ferraro and his wife, Margaret.

Looking down the pink linen-covered table, across the pasta, past the centerpieces, one could see a significant piece of Los Angeles’ political life, its interactions and interconnections. There were elected powers, like City Council members Joel Wachs, Bobby Farrell, Gil Lindsay, Joy Picus and Nate Holden, and City Controller Rick Tuttle. There were appointed powers, like Maria Hummer, Airport Commission president; and there were privately-appointed powers, like Occidental Petroleum’s Rosemary Tomich, Democratic State Chair Peter Kelly, mega-lawyer Neil Papiano (back from being honored as the outstanding graduate of his Salt Lake City high school) and attorney-about-politics Wally Karabian. Even a couple of Republicans, like State Sen. Bill Campbell.

Food Jokes

There was a good time--and there were several good lines, including the now almost de rigueur Campbell-and-food jokes about the portly Hacienda Heights state senator. Said the not-so-slim Cerrell, “Campbell has a bumper strip on his car that reads ‘Honk if you have groceries.’ ” Or, “A lot of people have mirrors on the ceilings in their bedrooms. Campbell has mirrors over his dining room table.”

There were political dinner jokes. “Don’t stand up. There’s no invocation.”

There were cynical Karabian quips. Picus: “The best stories are true stories.” Karabian: “I don’t know about that.”

There were political-money jokes. Cerrell: “I got a letter from Rick Tuttle. I thought I made his list. Then I opened it and it was a letter asking if I paid my business license tax.”

A good time--signifying the quick trip back to power for Ferraro, from the political doghouse to the City Hall penthouse.

Several months ago, with redistricting, Ferraro seemed like a councilman without a district. He was forced to run in a district that had been partially moved into the San Fernando Valley from his Hancock Park stronghold. Running there, he pulled a surprising 82% of the vote--and then went on, July l, to win the council presidency.

Ferraro, who lost his City Council presidency once before, a half-dozen years ago, is clearly trying hard to hold his coalition together this time around. Gracious toward Picus, loving toward Lindsay, courtly toward Holden (including asides from Margaret Ferraro, “I love Nate”), respectful toward Wachs and thankful toward Farrell (whom Ferraro credited with urging him to line up Picus’ support). Ferraro even pointed out that he met Lindsay on a charter plane flying to Harry Truman’s inaugural. “My friend picked up the tab,” the irrepressible Lindsay added.

Joke’s on Ferraro

And, as all good politicians do, Ferraro made jokes on himself, pointing out that when he ran for mayor two years before, “it was one of the greatest secrets of this city.”

When his wife was felled by a stroke several years ago, Ferraro made it his major work to help her back to health, insisting that she go out and see people, and once kiddingly saying, when Margaret needed assistance getting around, “I’ve been in more ladies’ rooms than any other man in town.”

It was obvious from her looks and demeanor that Margaret Ferraro is back stronger than ever. Certainly credited with being an on-going part of Ferraro’s winning team, she had (as she usually does) the last word. Looking up and down the long table, she announced: “Welcome to Clifton’s Cafeteria.”

Mayor Tom Bradley swung by the Ferraro party on his way to the Hillcrest Country Club fete celebrating the new business venture of his longtime staffer Fran Savitch.

The veteran City Hall operative has gone into partnership with Hope Boonshaft-Lewis (whose public-relations business is set to expand into government relations) and more than 250 friends and even some clients showed up to celebrate the new venture.

The mayor was clear that Savitch’s leaving was a major loss: “I need six people to replace Fran.” Among those catching the partnership party were a number of City Council people (on their way to Perino’s), former Sen. John Tunney, Community Redevelopment Agency’s John Tuite, downtown builder Rob McGuire, former Police Commissioner Reva Tooley, the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Assn.’s Marcia Hobbs, State Sen. Hersch Rosenthal (D-Los Angeles), AFL-CIO honcho Bill Robertson and developer Nathan Shapell.