Opponents Say Antonovich Is Trying to Avoid Election Forums

The failure of Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich to show up at candidate forums became an issue among challengers Wednesday when the two-term incumbent did not attend two such events.

The supervisor’s nine political opponents in the June 7 primary repeatedly accused him of trying to duck close examination of his actions. Community activists warned that the supervisor is risking alienating their ranks by staying away.

Baxter Ward, the former muckraking supervisor who hopes to regain his old post, called Antonovich’s no-shows a “slap in the face” for voters.

“I’d would like to raise issues with him,” lamented Ward at a Wednesday night forum sponsored by the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization. “Some of the questions I’d like to raise deal with his judgment, some of the questions deal with his character.”

Pleads Prior Engagements

Roger Scott, Antonovich’s campaign spokesman, said Antonovich is not avoiding appearances with other candidates. Prior commitments prevented Antonovich’s attendance at the two forums Wednesday as well as the first one held last month in the San Fernando Valley, he explained.

Antonovich attended a dinner honoring UCLA’s athletic director Wednesday night. Earlier in the day, he attended a Mission Hills Chamber of Commerce luncheon, while most of the other candidates showed up at an Agoura-Las Virgenes Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

“The campaign is not avoiding anything,” said Scott. “It’s much ado about nothing.”

Scott said Antonovich will debate his opponents in the Antelope Valley over Memorial Day weekend, less than two weeks before the primary. Other events may be planned if Antonovich can juggle them, he said.

Antonovich could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The candidates said they suspect the supervisor also is staying away to divert attention from them. They are depending heavily upon forums to spread their messages and believe crowds would be bigger with Antonovich as a draw.

Frustration Widespread

Forum organizers across the district expressed frustration that Antonovich will not commit to appearances. Planning is under way for a number of candidate forums in the weeks ahead.

“He’s been very, very selective in what he has attended that hasn’t been strictly controlled by his campaign,” complained Lewis Snow, chairman of the Lake View Terrace Home Owners Assn. “People will get the feeling since he has a million dollars in his campaign chest . . . he’ll campaign on TV and he doesn’t give a damn about the voters.”

Like Snow and other debate coordinators, Joanne Peters, president of the West Covina/San Gabriel Valley National Organization of Women, received a form letter saying Antonovich may or may not show up.

“He evidently thinks he’s a shoo-in,” Peters said. “He’s not a shoo-in. People are angry.”

John Hood, vice president of the Agoura-Las Virgenes Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored the forum Wednesday attended by approximately 100 members, was discouraged that his invitation never was acknowledged by Antonovich’s staff.

“I thought he’d at least have the wherewithal to say he was busy,” Hood said. “He didn’t even have the courtesy.”

Scott said the failure to respond was a “simple screw-up. . . . It was nothing intentional.”

At Wednesday’s forums, the challengers hammered away at Antonovich’s pro-development policies. They contended his actions have eroded the quality of life for residents of the sprawling 5th District, which includes most of the San Fernando Valley, all of the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys, the Las Virgenes area and Glendale and Pasadena.

“Mike Antonovich doesn’t have time to work on problems of the community because he has troops of developers coming in seeking favors,” said candidate Don Wallace, a Calabasas fire captain who has been endorsed by Rep. Howard Berman (D-Panorama City.)

The candidates also united in ridiculing Antonovich’s proposal to build a monorail along the Hollywood and Ventura freeways. Monorails, they said, are best left in amusement parks.