Antonovich Tries to Outdo Foe in Slow-Growth Arena

Seeking to blunt the antipathy of slow-growth voters, Supervisor Mike Antonovich attempted to portray himself Friday as more concerned about sprawling development, traffic congestion and even the fate of oak trees than his challenger, Baxter Ward.

Ward, in turn, ridiculed Antonovich as a “born-again environmentalist” whose acceptance of large campaign contributions from builders and support for their proposals made him “a tool of developers.” He vowed to review all pending construction projects if elected.

Political hardball, personal attacks and sarcasm marked the second and third debates of the bitter rivals as they sparred over their respective records at a Calabasas Chamber of Commerce breakfast and later at a taping of “Newsmakers” on KCBS-TV. It will be broadcast at 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

A combative Antonovich accused Ward of using “Gestapo tactics” while investigating county programs as a supervisor in the mid-1970s. Ward repeatedly questioned Antonovich’s veracity, alleging his opponent’s “factual instability has become chronic.”

The November contest is critical because Antonovich is part of a conservative 3-2 majority on a board that has been charged with being pro-development. He was forced into a runoff when, in the June primary, he failed to defeat an organized attack by slow-growth activists.

Ward, a long-time television newscaster who lost to Antonovich in a nasty 1980 contest, placed second in the 5th Supervisorial District primary.

Antonovich, on the defensive about the explosive growth issue for months, went on the offensive Friday.

“In 1973, Mr. Ward initiated the opportunity for developers to have (county master) plan amendments at your expense. . . . I made developers pay for those. . . . I reduced the density in (the West San Fernando Valley) by 6,000 homes in 1983 over the plan that Mr. Ward had approved as a supervisor in 1980 and the urban sprawl plan he approved in 1973.”

But when queried about pending projects, only Ward took strong limited-growth positions.

He said, for instance, that he supports the county master plan that calls for construction of 138 homes on a Calabasas tract where the Baldwin Co. proposes to build 1,507 homes. Homeowners groups oppose the proposal.

Antonovich said, “No plan will be adopted by the Board of Supervisors unless there’s a consensus reached by the developer and the community.”