Yaroslavsky Ducks One Fight but Faces Second in Bid for Reelection

When Zev Yaroslavsky backed out of one political fight, he ran into another.

Deciding against a race for mayor of Los Angeles because he thought he would lose, he announced that he will seek reelection as a councilman in the traditionally friendly 5th District, which covers much of the Westside.

But Friday, as he was bowing out of the mayoral election, it was clear that he will have opposition in the council race. Three candidates for his seat--including a co-chairman of his 1985 reelection campaign--said that Yaroslavsky is vulnerable and they will run against him. A fourth candidate, Yaroslavsky ally Lisa Specht, said she will drop out.

All the candidates had entered the council contest thinking Yaroslavsky would be running for mayor in the April city election.

Despite the determination of most of the candidates to stay in the race, incumbents traditionally are difficult to unseat in city races because they have access to large amounts of campaign contributions and their names are well known. However, two years ago, entrenched incumbent Pat Russell was beaten in the adjoining 6th District on a wave of homeowner discontent similar to that beginning to emerge in parts of Yaroslavsky’s district.

“The overwhelming message I’ve gotten in the last 18 months has been that the people of the 5th District believe the quality of their lives has deteriorated over the last four years,” said candidate Steve Saltzman, a former aide to Mayor Tom Bradley and co-chairman of Yaroslavsky’s 1985 campaign.

Slow-growth advocate Laura Lake and transportation planner Ryan Snyder also said they are still in the running. Lake, president of Friends of Westwood, said that as word of Yaroslavsky’s decision spread on Thursday, supporters urged her to “keep going.”

“He has let everybody down,” Lake said. “There has been chaos and gridlock. . . . The people want somebody who will be their advocate, who has the interest of the community at heart.”

Specht, who had been considered the leading contender to succeed Yaroslavsky, said she would support the councilman’s reelection. Specht bought a condominium in Century City last year and moved into the district to become eligible for the contest.

Saltzman and Lake, both of whom have been raising money and walking precincts for months based on Yaroslavsky’s assurances that he would run for mayor, said the councilman has lost touch with his constituents. Saltzman accused Yaroslavsky of spending “the past two years as a candidate almost full-time for mayor.”

Saltzman said he hopes to capitalize on a comment by Yaroslavsky’s wife, Barbara, that the councilman “is getting really bored” with his council job.

At a City Hall press conference Friday, Yaroslavsky said he is confident of winning reelection.

“If you think I’m bored, then you’ve got to have your head examined, and that includes Barbara,” he said.

The 40-year-old Yaroslavsky, who was elected in 1975, was unopposed for reelection in 1981 and 1985. He needs 50% of the vote plus 1 to win the April 11 primary. Otherwise, the top two vote-getters will meet in a June runoff.

The 5th District includes the Beverly-Fairfax area, Century City, Bel-Air, Westwood, West Los Angeles and parts of Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys and North Hollywood.

Despite easy reelection victories in the past, Yaroslavsky is vulnerable this time, Lake said, because he has been “on the wrong side” of several important growth battles in in his district, ranging from a struggle over how many hotel rooms to allow in Westwood Village to parking requirements at the Ma Maison Sofitel Hotel.

Lake predicted voters will be looking for a council member with a strong environmental background who will be tougher on development issues.

Several other homeowner leaders who have clashed with Yaroslavsky over specific projects in his district also said the 14-year incumbent could face a tough reelection. Harald Hahn, vice president of the Westside Civic Federation, a coalition of 15 homeowner groups, said Yaroslavsky has alienated many homeowners in two crucial parts of his district: the Beverly-Fairfax area, where Yaroslavsky lives, and Westwood.

In the Beverly-Fairfax area, Yaroslavsky was harshly criticized by Hahn and others for not pushing the developer of the Ma Maison Sofitel Hotel to provide more parking. In Westwood, Lake and others have accused Yaroslavsky of going easy on the developer of a proposed expansion of the Westside Pavilion shopping mall.

“There is a lot of dissatisfaction in the district,” Hahn said. “I think he is going to have a hard time now. He has to convince us that he does mean well.”

But other homeowners disagreed. Sara Berman, who lives near the Westside Pavilion, said many residents in that area view Yaroslavsky as a hero, not a villain, and Richard Close, president of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn., said homeowners there were elated to learn that Yaroslavsky will not be leaving the district.

“He is the best thing to hit Sherman Oaks in years,” Close said. “We are happy with his decision. It was good news from our part.”

Yaroslavsky’s decision to seek reelection has placed some of his supporters and allies in awkward positions. Venice-area Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, who endorsed Lake in September but has worked with Yaroslavsky on the council, would not comment Friday on Yaroslavsky’s announcement, nor would she say whether she will continue to support Lake.

Bradley said he will endorse no one in the race.

“I expect there’s going to be a contest in that district, and I would prefer to stay out of it and let the people of the 5th District make that decision,” he said.

Filing for the odd-numbered council seats and city attorney, controller and mayor’s offices begins Wednesday and ends Jan. 14.