Key Revision of Valley Assembly Districts Unveiled : Legislature: Two similar plans proposed by Democratic lawmakers would increase the opportunities for Latino candidates.

Democrats on Tuesday proposed a major redrawing of San Fernando Valley-area Assembly districts.

One key element in the plans by Assembly Democrats, which appear to protect incumbents, is a realignment of boundaries designed to boost the opportunities of Latino candidates, especially in the northeastern Valley.

That proposal would increase the Latino population in Assemblyman Richard Katz’s district by about 9% to 62.2%, enhancing the odds that a Latino could capture the seat if Katz, a Sylmar Democrat considering a run for mayor of Los Angeles, should leave the Legislature. There are no Latino legislators representing the Valley.

Among other highlights of Democratic proposals: Republican Assemblywoman Cathie Wright’s district would lose the Santa Clarita Valley but pick up Lancaster and Palmdale, and the districts of two San Gabriel Valley Republi cans would stretch northwest to cover the Santa Clarita Valley.

The changes were unveiled Tuesday by Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco), who, in an unusual move, released two similar redistricting proposals.

One version shows the district of rookie Assemblywoman Paula Boland, a Granada Hills Republican, being moved across Southern California to Riverside County. But Boland said such a drastic change was not incorporated into the plan given to her by Brown, and Democratic lawmakers downplayed the possibility that such a proposal would be pursued.

The Legislature is scheduled to redraw the lines of Assembly, Senate and congressional districts based on 1990 census figures. The new lines would take effect in time for the 1992 elections.

Lawmakers face a midnight Friday deadline to complete their plans.

While legislative staffers have been compiling population facts and figures for months, Tuesday’s disclosure marked the first time that specific Assembly plans have been released. The state Senate last week released a plan jointly shaped by Democrats and Republicans.

Unlike the Assembly plan, the Senate proposal has relatively few changes in the San Fernando Valley area. But what will happen with any of the proposals is very much up in the air.

On Tuesday, Boland said she hoped that the Assembly could also craft a bipartisan map. Up until now, “I don’t see where there’s been a concerted effort to work together at all,” Boland said. Assembly Republicans have not put forward a redistricting plan.

Other lawmakers voiced pessimism about the odds that the Legislature could put together a plan that Republican Gov. Pete Wilson would sign into law.

Assemblyman Tom Bane (D-Van Nuys) predicted that the issue will be decided by the courts and said he will wait for a judicial ruling before deciding his future. “If I like my district, I’ll run again,” he said. “If I don’t, I won’t.”

Brown said the differences in the two Assembly proposals hinged, in part, on whether Assemblyman Burt Margolin (D-Los Angeles) decides to run for Congress.

Conceding that he has “an intense interest” in seeking a congressional seat, Margolin, whose district includes North Hollywood, nonetheless downplayed the importance of his decision.

“I can’t say what will happen,” Margolin said, noting that several congressional remapping plans are under discussion.

In Sacramento, lawmakers have speculated that the congressional redistricting plan would create a new district suited for Margolin, which would be partly in the San Fernando Valley. Other speculation has focused on completely shifting the district of Rep. Anthony Beilenson (D-Los Angeles) out of the Valley and pushing it into Santa Monica.

The proposals for new congressional districts are expected to be released today. But one Democratic proposal already circulating would put Palmdale, but not Lancaster, into a new desert congressional district. Assemblyman Phil Wyman (R-Tehachapi) is believed to be interested in that seat.

If Margolin leaves the Assembly, his district would be parceled out to Democratic Assembly members Tom Hayden of Santa Monica and Terry B. Friedman and Barbara Friedman of Los Angeles, according to legislative map makers.

Although it is unclear from the material released by Brown, it is believed that Barbara Friedman, winner of a recent special election, would pick up the Valley portions of Margolin’s district, including Burbank.

Under one Democratic proposal, the district of Assemblyman Pat Nolan (R-Glendale) would pick up other parts of Burbank and stretch into the Santa Clarita Valley, where he would represent 95,000 people. In that same proposal, Assemblyman Richard Mountjoy (R-Monrovia) would see his district extend from the San Gabriel Valley into another part of the Santa Clarita Valley, where he would represent 15,000 people.

Wright, whose district already has a small chunk of the Antelope Valley, would receive more valley territory from Wyman’s district.

Wright said she will withhold judgment on the plan until she has had time to analyze its effect on her GOP colleagues.