Korenstein and Bernson Head Toward Runoff

Riding a wave of voter anger over suburban growth, Los Angeles Board of Education member Julie Korenstein on Tuesday apparently forced veteran City Councilman Hal Bernson into a runoff election, dooming Bernson’s plans for an early political knockout.

In partial returns, Bernson apparently had failed to win the 50%-plus-one vote majority he needed to avoid a June 4 runoff in his northwest San Fernando Valley district. Bernson also faced four other opponents in Tuesday’s primary election in the 12th City Council District.

Another Valley councilman, Joel Wachs, appeared to be easily defeating two opponents to win his sixth term in the 2nd District, which covers central and northeastern portions of the Valley.

Bernson had declared that he would win the election outright in the primary. But he appeared to have been weakened by Korenstein’s repeated charges that he encouraged excessive development and acted unethically in raising and spending campaign funds.

Korenstein and other opponents repeatedly criticized Bernson for his well-publicized support of the mammoth Porter Ranch development in the hills north of Chatsworth. The project is designed to house more than 11,000 people, along with commercial facilities, when it is finished in 20 years or more.

Korenstein argued that the development is an environmental catastrophe that will badly aggravate traffic congestion and pollution in the 12th District, a largely affluent, suburban area where parks are prized and many residents own horses.

“People have made the decision that the 12th District is no longer for sale . . . developers will not keep control of this district,” Korenstein said.

Bernson said he would run a much more aggressive campaign against Korenstein in the runoff, attacking her positions on law enforcement and what he said was her “abysmal” record on the school board.

Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, who also was challenged by anti-development candidates, led six opponents in the 6th District, near Los Angeles International Airport, and was struggling to avoid a runoff with Mary Lee Gray.

With more than three-quarters of the votes counted, runoff elections appeared certain in the central city’s 8th and 9th districts, where 19 candidates were vying for seats vacated by Councilmen Robert Farrell and the late Gilbert W. Lindsay, two of the council’s three black members. The election will be held June 4.

In the 8th District, civil rights leader Mark Ridley-Thomas and community activist Roderick Wright were leading activist Kerman Maddox and Billy Mills, son of a former councilman, in the race for the two runoff spots.

In the 9th District, school board member Rita Walters and Bob Gay, a longtime Lindsay aide, were about even, leading a field of 10 candidates.

The elections--in eight of the 15 council districts--were held against the extraordinary backdrop of the Rodney G. King police beating, which became a central issue in several of the races.

In the 8th and 9th districts, the beating and its aftermath became a key campaign issue. Until a month ago, all major candidates had been campaigning on themes of urban renewal and crime reduction in the largely black districts, which include much of South-Central Los Angeles.

The King incident was expected to affect the prospects of Proposition 1, the $235-million bond issue that would purchase new 911 and police communications systems. With more than half of the votes counted, the measure had 60% approval, but needed two-thirds of the vote to prevail.

Police describe their current equipment as antiquated and overloaded and say hundreds of thousands of calls go unanswered each year. If passed, the measure would cost the owner of a 1,500-square-foot home about $12.75 a year for the next 20 years.

Officials had hoped that support of the Police Department would translate to sufficient votes, but anti-police sentiment resulting from the beating may have hurt the measure’s chances.

Incumbents in four council districts appeared headed toward easy victory, including Wachs, 52, who had a substantial lead over two lesser-known opponents, Tom Paterson, 56, president of a homeowners association, and Peter A. Lynch, 59, a legislative advocate.

The other leading incumbents were Council President John Ferraro in the 4th District, which includes Hancock Park, Toluca Lake and part of Los Feliz; Nate Holden, whose 10th District includes areas west of downtown; and Richard Alatorre, whose 14th District is on the eastern edge of the city.

Bernson’s campaign manager, Joe Cerrell, conceded Tuesday night that Bernson was headed for a runoff with Korenstein. He said that Bernson would have won outright but was hurt by anti-incumbent fervor and a large field of challengers.

Late Tuesday afternoon, a tired-looking Bernson, wearing a golf shirt and tennis shoes, sipped on a soda in his Granada Hills campaign headquarters, trading small talk with supporters. Bernson said his staunch support of Police Chief Daryl F. Gates had helped him with voters.

Based on early returns, Korenstein predicted a runoff and ultimate victory. “I feel confident that the anti-Bernson people in the community will join together as Korenstein people,” she said. “It’s looking very good. The community is anxious for a change in leadership. . . . They are fed up with his developer ties and they are fed up with Porter Ranch. They want a whole new direction for the 12th District.”

Bernson, 60, had campaigned hard to avoid a runoff against Korenstein, 47, a school board member who has made Bernson’s support of the huge Porter Ranch development her issue, and Walter Prince, 55, a Northridge businessman who has vowed to shut the project down.

Bernson strongly backed the project, which was approved by the City Council last year.

Voter turnout was a low 15%, according to Frank Martinez of the city clerk’s office.

The King controversy did not seem to be drawing voters to the polls, Martinez said. “So far it does not seem to have a major impact at the precinct level.”

Absentee ballots were up sharply, Martinez said. By Monday evening, nearly 47,000 mail-in ballots were received, and thousands more were expected Tuesday. In the last council election in 1987, a total of 37,900 absentee ballots were cast.

In the 6th District, Galanter, 50, is running for her second term. She rode a slow-growth platform to an unexpected victory four years ago, but has come under criticism from constituents and candidates who allege that she has drifted away from her anti-development stands.

Late Tuesday night, Galanter said the primary election was too close to call and she told her campaign workers to “get up early, work hard and show no mercy.”

The challengers included Gray, 50, an aide to County Supervisor Deane Dana, who lagged behind Galanter in early results; Tavis Smiley, 26, a former aide to Mayor Tom Bradley, and four others.

The videotaped beating of King was a key issue in the 6th District, with Galanter mounting a heavy barrage of mail to parts of her district noting her support by the Police Protective League, which represents rank-and-file officers. She has also refused to call for Gates’ resignation, though she did vote to uphold the Police Commission suspension of the embattled chief.

The beating was also an issue in the 8th District. Ridley-Thomas, on leave as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Los Angeles, was among a number of plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed Monday to keep Gates from regaining his job. Wright also has called for Gates’ resignation. Wright campaigned heavily on the endorsement of his former boss, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), a longtime foe of Gates.

“We came to fight and that’s what the community recognizes,” Wright said. “Everything this community is going to get is going to take a fight, whether it is street sweeping or safety.”

In the 9th District, all major candidates tried to distance themselves from Lindsay’s policies, which critics say helped to dramatically revitalize the downtown area, but did little for rundown areas of South-Central.

Gay, 38, was attacked for his association with Lindsay’s policies and Walters was labeled a “carpetbagger” because she moved into the district after Lindsay died.

Gay said Tuesday night he had positioned himself as a candidate of change, but conceded that the ghost of Linsday was a hurdle to overcome. “Sure I was cognizant of it,” Gay said. “I try to impress on people my personal record. . . . I had to make a case for myself.”

Walters was vastly outspent by Gay, but had name recognition and the backing of Bradley.

Walters said of the early results: “It can go any way. We’re still very optimistic.”

She said the carpetbagger accusation had no effect on her campaign. “It wasn’t a hurdle as I walked the precincts and made phone calls.”

Other major candidates include Brad Pye Jr., 59, an aide to County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, and Woody Fleming, 44, a labor organizer, both of whom were lagging far behind in early returns.

Attorney Barbara Ratliff, also a candidate in the 9th District, failed Tuesday in her attempt to obtain a temporary restraining order in Superior Court to prevent absentee ballots from being counted in the district until charges of possible election improprieties are investigated.

Ratliff alleged that over the last month, homeless people on Skid Row were lured to vote for Gay by absentee ballot in return for free meals. “I’m not saying he is involved,” Ratliff said Tuesday. “I’m saying people with vans were picking up homeless to take them to vote and telling them to vote for him (Gay).”

Ratliff said she was concerned that with a low turnout, absentee ballots could swing an election. But Superior Court Judge William Huss denied her request, questioning why she was “coming in here 11th hour without proper notice.”

Gay denied the charges and said he was certain his campaign workers had violated no laws.

A number of voters blamed the light turnout at the polls on the police controversy.

“People in the black community are angry,” said Helen Chaney, a poll worker at Jessie Owens Park gymnasium, where only 36 people out of 590 registered voters had cast a ballot by the early afternoon. “And, I think a lot of them are staying home out of disgust.”

At the Saturn Street School auditorium in the 10th District, where 1,500 voters are registered, fewer than 120 had cast ballots by mid-afternoon.

“It’s extremely lonely here,” poll watcher Idella Thompson said. “People aren’t interested in this election.”

Margie Nightingale-Holmes wore her opinion on her sleeve, literally, when she showed up to vote at a real estate office near her home in the 8th District.

“See this,” she said, pointing to a button that said “Gates must go.” “That’s what’s driving people to vote in this neighborhood.”

In the 10th District, one-term incumbent Holden faced one little-known challenger, former schoolteacher Esther M. Lofton. Holden has been criticized in recent weeks for his staunch support of Gates and the Police Department. Some residents of his district have said they had launched a write-in campaign for Mickey Mouse to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with Holden.

Times staff writer Ashley Dunn contributed to this story