Boland Pulls in Front of Allert in Early Results : Legislature: In other Valley-area districts, incumbents head for easy wins over poorly financed opponents.

Republican Paula Boland appeared to be headed for victory over Democrat Irene Allert on Tuesday in early returns for the 38th Assembly District--the only open legislative seat in the San Fernando Valley.

In the Valley’s only other seriously contested state legislative race, embattled Assemblyman Pat Nolan (R-Glendale) was leading his Democratic opponent, Jeanette Mann.

Meanwhile, incumbent Assembly members and state senators in other Valley-area districts headed for easy reelection wins over little-known, poorly financed opponents.

Boland, a Granada Hills real estate broker, appeared to be leading Allert, an educational consultant from Kagel Canyon, after a campaign in which abortion rights and overdevelopment were key issues.

At an election party at the Burbank Hilton hotel, Boland said, “We felt confident from the beginning, and I still feel confident we are going to win.”

The seat was open due to the impending retirement of Assemblywoman Marian La Follette (R-Northridge). La Follette served for a decade in the district, which forms a rough horseshoe across the Valley from Hidden Hills to Sunland-Tujunga.

A longtime grass-roots GOP activist, Boland was backed by prominent Valley GOP conservatives, including former Rep. Bobbi Fiedler of Northridge. Much of her financial support came from developers, oil companies, banks and other special interests.

Boland, 50, also drew strong support from conservative Republicans in the Assembly, including Assembly GOP leader Ross Johnson of La Habra. Johnson faces a reelection vote in the Republican caucus soon, and Boland is likely to back him.

Boland, who won the GOP nomination after a furious primary election battle against Rob Wilcox in June, spent more than twice as much as Allert--$131,000 compared to $55,000--between July 1 and Oct. 25, according to campaign finance reports.

Allert, 46, relied heavily on women’s groups and labor unions for money. Although she campaigned extensively and sent campaign mailers to thousands of Republicans, Allert apparently was unable to win over enough GOP voters in the district, where Republicans outnumber Democrats 84,000 to 73,000.

Allert hoped to score points by trumpeting her support for legalized abortion in the upscale suburban district, where a poll last January showed voters strongly in favor of abortion rights. Boland opposes legalized abortion.

But Boland buttressed her political flanks with abortion-rights voters, particularly women, with campaign brochures emphasizing her support for keeping repeat rapists in prison longer and for boosting penalties for crimes committed at or near schools.

Hugging and kissing her supporters at a post-election party in Granada Hills, Allert said: “I’m very proud of the effort all these people put into the campaign. I feel we’ve made our presence known and helped to find the issues in this campaign, and I believe we had an impact.”

In the 41st Assembly District, Democrat Mann, a Pasadena City College trustee, tried to capitalize on Nolan’s involvement with the scandal-ridden savings and loan industry.

Nolan sponsored a 1982 bill that eased restrictions on S&Ls;, a move Mann said paved the way for speculative investments that caused the collapse of a number of thrifts. According to a study by Common Cause, a political watchdog group, Nolan received $154,000 in contributions from S&Ls; in the 1980s.

Nolan fought back in the staunchly Republican district by spending $450,000 on a campaign that stressed his achievements and endorsements.

Mann also was unable to get much political mileage out of a federal corruption probe of Nolan, who was among four legislators whose offices were raided by the FBI two years ago. Although the incumbent remains under investigation, the probe dragged on without resolution this fall.

In other races, incumbents appeared to be coasting to reelection. State Sen. Alan Robbins (D-Tarzana) was easily besting GOP nominee David Podegracz, a Van Nuys tool salesman who did little campaigning.

State Sen. Herschel Rosenthal (D-Los Angeles) appeared to be beating GOP businessman Michael Schrager of Santa Monica.

Assembly members Tom Bane (D-Tarzana), Terry Friedman (D-Los Angeles), Richard Katz (D-Sylmar), Burt Margolin (D-Los Angeles) and Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) were headed toward victory over token opponents.