Precinct Study : Bernardi Won Strong Latino, Black Support

Precinct breakdowns from Tuesday’s Los Angeles City Council election show that Councilman Ernani Bernardi made a strong showing in black and Latino areas of Pacoima and Lake View Terrace, apparently backing up his claims that he had strong grass-roots support there.

As expected, Bernardi also retained strong showings in the few Van Nuys neighborhoods that remain of his original district, which was drastically redrawn toward the north in 1986.

There were few surprises in the results for challenger Lyle Hall, either. He did best in Mission Hills--where he is captain of the local fire station--and near his Panorama City home, in Arleta and in parts of Sun Valley near the Golden State Freeway.

But Hall lost the Panorama City precinct where he lives, 37% to Bernardi’s 63%, while Bernardi won the northern Van Nuys precinct where he lives.

Fertile Ground

All of Lake View Terrace was fertile ground for Bernardi, but particularly the neighborhoods nearest Lake View Medical Center, where he gained nearly three-fourths of the vote.

Lewis Snow, vice president of the Lake View Terrace Home Owners Assn., attributed Bernardi’s popularity in the area to his opposition to a proposal to locate the Nancy Reagan Center for drug rehabilitation in the defunct medical center. Hall supported that proposal.

When the former First Lady killed the center plan by withdrawing her participation 11 days before the election because of community opposition, Snow said, Lake View Terrace residents felt that Bernardi’s backing had contributed to her decision.

Lake View Terrace also includes some of the most predominantly black areas of the district, although with the low turnout in Tuesday’s election--not quite 20% of the voters registered in the 7th District--it was not known whether Bernardi actually drew a large black vote there.

Bernardi’s best precinct was in southeast Lake View Terrace near the Little Tujunga Wash, where he gained 85% of the vote. That is generally the more rural area of Lake View Terrace, where horse owners endorsed Bernardi and praised him for helping preserve their trails and rural life style.

Lopez Canyon Landfill

The incumbent also won precincts closest to the Lopez Canyon Landfill, in Lake View Terrace and Pacoima, even though Hall had taken a stronger position against the city-operated dump.

During the primary, both candidates promised to call for immediate closure of the dump, a step sought by many area residents. But in the runoff, Bernardi said such a stance might not be realistic until alternative solutions for disposing of Los Angeles’ garbage could be found.

Sylmar, Los Angeles’ fastest growing community, was an important battleground in the runoff race for a San Fernando Valley City Council seat, campaign consultants said. The more than 4,000 votes cast there in the primary showed that it held enough votes to sway the election.

Sylmar is where both Bernardi and Hall located their campaign headquarters, within a block of each other on Foothill Boulevard. Both campaigns organized precinct walking, placard posting and telephoning in Sylmar neighborhoods.

When votes were tallied Tuesday, neither candidate had won the area decisively. Of the 4,149 votes cast in Sylmar, 2,308 went to Bernardi and 1,841 to Hall.

Bernardi won the election by 1,658 votes--8,826 to 7,168.

Precinct-by-precinct totals show that Hall gained many of the neighborhoods closest to San Fernando. His best precinct, where he gained 71% of the vote, was between Glenoaks Boulevard and Herrick Avenue, next to San Fernando.

Rural Neighborhoods

Bernardi won the more rural neighborhoods and most of the region northeast of the Foothill Freeway. His campaign consultant, Allan Hoffenblum, said that once again horse owners and other rural enthusiasts who backed Bernardi made the difference there.

Hoffenblum also said Bernardi gained ground in Sylmar after the more conservative voters there learned of Hall’s endorsement by the liberal Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr., former California governor and current chairman of the state Democratic Party.

Hall’s campaign has insisted that Brown’s endorsement did not hurt them with conservative voters.

Already there are indications that Sylmar may prove to be an important battleground in the 1993 City Council race.

Raymond Magana, who indicated interest in running this year but then decided to help Bernardi instead, said he “would be very interested in running” in four years. He lives in Sylmar and said he would work to gain the area’s backing.

Jules S. Bagneris III, a candidate in the primary, recently said he may move from Lake View Terrace to Sylmar to broaden his base of support in preparation for the next council election.