2 Assembly Incumbents Coast to Wins

The power of the incumbency showed no sign of weakening Tuesday in the Democratic strongholds of northeast Los Angeles as Assemblymen Richard Polanco and Mike Roos swept to victory.

Polanco, unopposed by a Republican in the 55th District, won a third term with 79% of the vote, enlarging his 1988 tally by 4 percentage points. The district stretches from Pasadena to Atwater Village.

In the 46th District, which includes Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Echo Park and the mid-Wilshire area, Roos easily weathered an unorthodox challenge by opponents of his 1989 legislation banning assault rifles.

A group calling itself Californians Against Corruption had flooded the district with a chain-letter-style mailer criticizing Roos’ extensive campaign contributions from special interest groups and reminding voters of his past ties to fireworks magnate W. Patrick Moriarty, who was convicted of corruption in 1986.

Though Republican challenger Geoffry Church raised the corruption issue in a debate with Roos last week, the attack had no visible effect on the voters. They returned the Assembly Speaker Pro Tem to a seventh full term with 68% of the vote, an increase of 2 percentage points over his 1988 showing.