Coalition Comes Out on Top in W. Hollywood

It may have lacked a dominant issue, but Tuesday’s City Council election in West Hollywood was not without a message: the feisty Coalition for Economic Survival, a tenants’ rights group, is as strong as ever.

That much was clear after incumbent Abbe Land and newcomer Paul Koretz, each with the coalition’s stamp of approval, easily defeated three other candidates to capture City Council seats.

With all 21 precincts reporting, unofficial results placed Land, a long-time coalition member, and Koretz, the beneficiary of a last-minute endorsement from the group, well ahead of their rivals in the general elections, winning 4,226 (40%) and 3,429 (32.5%) votes respectively.

They will serve four-year terms.

Expectations Upset

Community activist Ruth Williams, who had been expected to challenge Koretz in what many observers had predicted would be a close scramble for second place, finished a distant third, with 1,619 (15.3%) votes.

Steve Michael and Teresa Garay won 673 (6.4%) and 606 votes (5.7%) respectively, to complete the field.

“I think the outcome says something about the sophistication of West Hollywood voters . . . and it proves that (the coalition) has broadened its base in this community to encompass issues beyond just rent control,” said Larry Gross, the group’s executive director.

He was among dozens of jubilant supporters on hand to help Land celebrate what turned out to be a more impressive victory than some of her closest advisers had expected, with the councilwoman winning by a wide margin in every precinct.

“We expected to do well, so I can’t really say that I’m surprised. . . . I’m just very, very, pleased,” she said. Land joined the council two years ago after winning a special election to fill the unexpired term of Valerie Terrigno, who was ousted after being convicted of embezzlement.

Meanwhile, the coalition’s endorsement of Koretz helped trigger a nasty round of last-minute political attacks between the former aide to Mayor Alan Viterbi and Williams.

Smear Campaign Charged

As it became clear late Tuesday that she had lost a third bid for the council, a disappointed Williams said she was the victim of a last-minute “smear campaign” by Koretz and the mayor.

“They lied about me. . . . It was a real smear campaign where they said every filthy thing they thought they could get away with, and I guess it worked,” she said. She said she will never run for public office again.

She was upset over mailers sent by Viterbi on Koretz’s behalf in the campaign’s final days that targeted renters and property owners. In a letter to renters, the mayor accused her of being “the Republican-Landlord candidate,” while the other mailer portrayed her as the enemy of property owners.

Koretz was irate over a last-minute flyer delivered to voters’ doorsteps on Election Eve which attacked him for “his lies and double talk” concerning rent control, and implying that Williams had the coalition’s support.

“Ruth Williams outdid herself in gutter politics this time around,” Koretz said. “Her flyer said that (the coalition) knows a true renters’ rights candidate from a fraud, and I think the vote indicates she was at least right about that.”

Endorsement ‘Devastating’

Jim Campbell, Williams’ campaign manager, acknowledged that the coalition’s endorsement of Koretz was “fairly devastating” to his candidate, and defended the controversial flyer as “nothing compared to what (Koretz and Viterbi) did to us.”

The coalition, which had previously given little hint that it planned to endorse anyone other than Land, decided last Thursday to add Koretz to the slate.

While acknowledging that some of the group’s more influential members were “uncomfortable” with the prospect of Williams being elected, Gross denied that the endorsement’s timing was part of a “stop Williams” movement.

Williams, a former member of the coalition’s influential steering committee, had a falling out with the group in 1984, but maintained that her support for tenants’ issues never waned.

Mayor Backed Koretz

Viterbi, who has held a City Council seat since West Hollywood was incorporated in 1984, has been an ardent supporter of Koretz since announcing in January that he would not seek reelection.

In her disputes with Koretz, Williams’ attacks often seemed as much directed against the mayor as against her challenger.

Last month, she criticized Koretz for accepting $10,000 from Viterbi’s defunct campaign committee at a time when the mayor was several weeks late in reporting the source of the funds, as required by state law. He later complied.

More recently, as she and Koretz stepped up their efforts to win the city’s all-important renter constituency, she turned to more direct attacks on Koretz, accusing him of being the tool of landlords, big developers and special interest groups from outside West Hollywood.

Some observers suggested that the coalition’s belated decision to back Koretz reflected concern from some of the group’s more influential members that Williams’ sharp attacks were making inroads among renters.

Group Angry Over Flyer

It was no secret that the coalition’s leadership was angry with Williams’ final mailing, which, while not saying so directly, strongly implied that she, along with Land, had the group’s support.

Land, who along with council members John Heilman and Helen Albert, sits on the coalition’s 25-member steering committee, was a heavy favorite to win reelection. Because of her popularity and the solid support she enjoyed from the coalition, she largely escaped any criticism from the other candidates.

About 28% of the city’s 19,710 voters cast ballots Tuesday compared with a 40% voter turnout in the last regular city election in 1986.

Election Results

(Inc.) designates incumbent office holder. Winners are in bold type, runoff candidates italics and the voter turnout will follow the precinct report. West Hollywood 21 of 21 precincts 28% CITY COUNCIL 2 vacancies

Vote % Abbe Land (Inc.) 4,226 40.0 Paul Koretz 3,429 32.5 Ruth Williams 1,619 15.3 Steve Michael 673 6.4 Teresa Garay 606 5.7