Quake-Response Team Leader Dumped; Picus’ Critics Blame Politics

City Councilwoman Joy Picus has removed from a leadership post a Reseda volunteer credited with winning broad support for a Los Angeles neighborhood earthquake-readiness program, prompting angry claims that pre-election politics have replaced preparedness.

Paula Elefante--a 40-year-old bank teller who supporters said is seldom without her hard hat, green Emergency Response Team vest and flashlight--was asked last fall to coordinate emergency response teams in the council’s 3rd District.

At a meeting Wednesday, Picus praised Elefante, who supports Peter Ireland, Picus’ opponent in the April 11 election. Then Picus told Elefante that she was being replaced.

Asked if her politics had led to her dismissal, Elefante said, “I would hope not.” She said the election was never discussed at Emergency Response Team meetings.

She acknowledged that she may have been naive in thinking that she could keep her emergency response efforts and political activities separate.

Sue Pasternak, a Picus spokeswoman, said an aide who has completed the 17 1/2-hour Los Angeles Fire Department disaster preparedness training program will begin coordinating the five 3rd District emergency response teams.

“The program has really taken off” and requires a full-time coordinator, Pasternak said. She credited the emergency response teams, rather than Elefante, for the success.

Pasternak denied that Elefante’s support for Ireland had led to her ouster. She did say that “some misunderstandings” between Elefante and Picus’ office contributed to the decision.

The decision caused an immediate outcry among volunteers, who said Elefante had generated broad support for the preparedness effort.

“I think it’s unconscionable,” said Paul Hjortsvang, the leader of an Emergency Response Team in West Hills who was at the Wednesday meeting in Picus’ office.

“The only reason the response teams have done so well in the 3rd District is because of her dedication and her leadership,” he said.

Elefante “proved it could work and now the council office wants to take credit for it,” said Marc Weiser, a Northridge Emergency Response Team leader.

The City Council established a Fire Department disaster preparedness division in 1987 after the 5.9-magnitude Whittier earthquake killed three people and caused widespread damage. The division last year trained 62 emergency response teams, with 18 to 25 volunteers each, in the use of fire extinguishers, basic search-and-rescue techniques and first aid.

Capt. Chris Burton, commander of the disaster preparedness division, said seven City Council districts have Emergency Response Team coordinators. Until this week, only Councilman Hal Bernson’s 12th District had a paid coordinator.

Not Appointed by Picus

Burton sent Picus’ office a letter urging the appointment of a district coordinator in November. Burton would not say who appointed Elefante, but several emergency response volunteers said she was selected by top disaster preparedness officers, not by Picus’ office.

Elefante said she feared that the shake-up would hurt the program.

“There’s a lot of positive people in the community who happen to truly care, and they need positive reinforcement,” she said. “They need responses to their questions . . . , and I don’t think that is going to happen now.”