Hall, Bernardi Exchange Salvos in War Over Latino Support in Council Race

In a duel of endorsements aimed at Latino voters, Los Angeles City Council candidate Lyle Hall announced support from state Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles) while incumbent Councilman Ernani Bernardi touted a long list of backers from his northeast San Fernando Valley district.

Hall, in a move to bolster support among Latino voters, called Torres “one of the best known and best respected” Latino officials in the state. Torres’ senatorial district includes portions of East Los Angeles, Eagle Rock and Maywood, but does not include the council district that Hall and Bernardi are competing to represent.

Hall said his affiliation with Torres will enable him to “become involved with the Hispanic community on a broader scale . . . Hispanic issues are going to be a concern.” Hall added that Torres, who is chairman of the Senate Toxics and Public Safety Management Committee, could help him deal with the district’s environmental concerns, such as ground-water pollution.

Torres said he will do “whatever I’m asked to do” to support Hall’s campaign, including walking precincts and speaking at community functions. A recently enacted state law prevents Torres from contributing money from his campaign coffers to Hall.

He said he supports Hall, a Los Angeles Fire Department captain who is on a leave of absence, because Hall’s tenure as president of the Los Angeles Firefighters Union and his other labor movement support “transcends ethnic and council boundaries.”

“I believe it’s time we had some new blood in the city,” Torres said.

Bernardi dismissed the Torres endorsement, calling him an outsider with little influence in the northeast Valley.

“I think what is important is that I have support from many community leaders,” Bernardi said. “I have a beautiful list of endorsements from a cross-section of the Latino community.”

Bernardi’s list, announced last month, includes about 35 Latino educators, social service workers and community activists, such as neighborhood crime watch leaders.

“If Lyle Hall has noteworthy Latino support, why is he going outside the district?” asked Sylmar attorney Raymond Magana, a Bernardi supporter and campaign volunteer. “This is a local election.”

Latino voters could be a key factor in the June 6 runoff because the majority of the population of the district, which was redrawn during 1986 reapportionment, is Latino.

For his part, Bernardi said, he has the support of several politicians who represent portions of the East Valley, including state Sen. Ed Davis (R-Valencia), Assemblywoman Marian W. La Follette (R-Northridge) and Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich. Los Angeles Councilwoman Gloria Molina also backs Bernardi.

Hall said former Rep. Bobbi Fiedler will announce her support of his candidacy today at Olive Vista Junior High School in Sylmar, when the two will discuss school safety issues. Los Angeles Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner announced Friday that he too supports Hall.

Staff writer Amy Pyle contributed to this story.