L.A. CITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS / 2ND DISTRICT : Wachs Appears to Strengthen His Power Base in East Valley

Joel Wachs, a Los Angeles city councilman for 20 years, took a large lead over two challengers Tuesday night in early vote returns showing him solidifying a local power base built after he was shifted into the eastern San Fernando Valley when council districts were redrawn five years ago.

At a party for about 50 supporters at his North Hollywood headquarters, Wachs hailed early returns showing him with a runaway lead.

“You’re always nervous, but I think we’ve done a really good job,” said Wachs, who did not walk precincts and relied instead on campaign mailers and appearances at community events.

But Wachs expressed frustration because the number of precincts counted in his race lagged well behind other races as the night wore on. City officials said the vote count was delayed because of problems transporting ballots from the polls.

Wachs’ relatively unknown and under-financed challengers were lobbyist Peter A. Lynch of Sun Valley and homeowner activist Tom Paterson of North Hollywood, who accused Wachs of neglecting nuts-and-bolts constituent services.

The largely blue-collar 2nd District encompasses Studio City, tough sections of Van Nuys, North Hollywood and Sepulveda, and the horse ranch country of Sunland-Tujunga. The area has experienced significant increases in its Latino, Asian and black populations in recent years and lost Anglo residents, according to 1990 census figures.

If he is reelected, Wachs said, a top priority will be responding to those changing demographics.

“We need to talk about multiculturalism as an asset instead of being afraid of it,” he said.

Wachs, 52, voted shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday at a Ventura Boulevard retirement home that serves as his regular polling place--and is not in his district. When district boundaries were redrawn in 1986, the retirement home ended up on Councilman John Ferraro’s side of the line, Wachs said.

A Wachs victory would return to the council one of the most outspoken critics of the Police Commission’s recent vote to place Police Chief Daryl F. Gates on temporary leave during investigations of the Rodney G. King incident. Wachs said Tuesday that he believes that Gates deserves due process before he can be removed.

“I am a strong civil libertarian,” Wachs said. “A chief of police has as much rights to his civil liberties as everyone.”

A majority of Wachs’ constituents appeared to favor Gates staying on as chief, the councilman said.

Several voters congratulated Wachs on Tuesday night for his stand on the Gates controversy.

“When he came to Chief Gates’ defense, I was proud of him,” supporter Louis De George said. “I have always voted for him, but this time I made sure I voted for him.”

The debate on Gates has distracted attention from deeper problems facing the Los Angeles Police Department that the City Council must confront in coming weeks, such as allegations of racism in the department, the need for early detection of officers’ propensity for violence and a review of use-of-force policy, Wachs said.

Wachs hailed Tuesday’s truce meeting between Gates and Mayor Tom Bradley.

“They should have been doing this since Day 1,” Wachs said.

Wachs also promised to seek “major growth restrictions” in relatively undeveloped portions of the northeast Valley.

And he thanked his mother, 81-year-old Hanna Wachs, for “20 years of stuffing envelopes.”

While Wachs spent election night at a party at his campaign headquarters, challenger Paterson, 56, stayed home in North Hollywood and watched the election returns alone.

“When it’s all over, if I don’t win, I’m going to write a book called ‘So You Want to Be a Candidate’ about how difficult it is for the unpolitically connected candidate to run for office and to get press attention,” he said.

As Lynch and a small group of supporters awaited election returns at a Sunland restaurant, the candidate said Wachs had an aura of invincibility despite discontent among voters.

“There is a wide basis of frustration with him,” Lynch, 59, said. “People don’t vote because they feel it’s pointless. What we tried to do is give people a meaningful alternative.”