Court’s Plan Would Create Congressional Seats for Area : Redistricting: The proposal could also force some allies to run against each other, and it increases a Latino candidate’s chances for an Assembly seat from the Valley.

The state Supreme Court’s plan to revise electoral district boundaries, unveiled Monday, would create congressional districts in the Antelope Valley and the southwest San Fernando Valley and possibly force Democratic Reps. Anthony Beilenson and Henry Waxman to run against each other.

The plan increases the possibility that a Latino candidate could capture a state Assembly seat representing the East Valley.

The proposal would also create an Assembly district in the western San Fernando Valley that would reach into Malibu and Santa Monica, now represented by Assemblyman Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica).

In the state Senate, the biggest prize in the area is the political turf that was represented for nearly 19 years by Sen. Alan Robbins (D-Van Nuys) until he resigned last month. Without an incumbent, the district in the central and East Valley could be the scene of a major fight. Although the area’s population has become increasingly Latino, the expected front-runners are established Anglo politicians.

Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar), who has been gearing up to run for mayor, acknowledged Monday that he is considering seeking the seat. Among others considered potential candidates are Los Angeles school board member Roberta Weintraub, Assemblyman Terry B. Friedman (D-Los Angeles) and state Sen. David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles), whose own district has been so carved up that he doesn’t know where he will seek reelection.

Release of the plan by a three-judge panel appointed by the high court triggered a scramble among politicians to figure out in which district they lived and the impact of the plan. Overall, it was viewed as boosting the chances of Republicans to gain majorities in the Legislature and among the state’s congressional delegation.

Still, even after looking at the plan, many politicians were uncertain about the impact.

“I think I better take a look at the maps and see what they are before I make any comment,” rookie Assemblywoman Paula Boland (R-Granada Hills) said.

“It’s real confusing at this point.”

Indeed, it appeared that Boland could find herself living in a district represented by another incumbent lawmaker. Even if that happens, she said she plans to run for reelection regardless of how her district is reshaped.

While the release of the plan is a significant step, the redistricting process is far from over. The high court will not actually adopt the proposal until after hearing oral arguments Jan. 13.

Until then, it is still possible for the Legislature and Gov. Pete Wilson to agree to a compromise plan. The failure of the governor and lawmakers to come up with a proposal led to the court’s taking over the once-a-decade redrawing of political boundaries.

The Legislature is required to redraw the lines to reflect population shifts reported in the 1990 Census, and lawmakers are expected to seek election in the new districts in 1992. At stake is control of the 80-member Assembly, the 40-member Senate and the state’s 45-member congressional delegation, which will gain seven new members because of growth throughout the state.

In the San Fernando Valley area, that growth has been greatest in the Republican-leaning suburbs of the Antelope Valley, where civic and political leaders have complained that their communities have been split among various districts.

But the court plan would give the Antelope Valley its own congressional, Assembly and Senate districts.

Assemblyman Phillip D. Wyman (R-Tehachapi), who lobbied for single districts for the area, praised the court plan, saying, “The days when the Antelope Valley could be fragmented by partisan gerrymanders are over.”

Wyman said in the spring that he would run for Congress if there was a single Antelope Valley district without a Republican incumbent. “It looks like that’s happened,” he said Monday, adding that he expects to formally announce his plans shortly.

Democrats, however, were less than enchanted with the plan. They had hoped to create a new congressional district in the East Valley for Assemblyman Burt Margolin (D-Los Angeles), but that does not appear to have happened.

Instead, much of that territory seems to fit into a district suited for Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City), one of Margolin’s political mentors. Berman has not made up his mind but said there is a “high likelihood” that he would run for the seat in the heavily Latino East Valley.

Berman said his present district has been split among three new districts, most of it going to the new East Valley seat.

An aide to Beilenson said the congressman would not comment on the plan until he could look it over.

But the court plan forces Beilenson to face a tough decision: either to seek reelection in a new, more conservative West Valley district that would include Thousand Oaks in Ventura County and Malibu and Calabasas, or square off for a West Los Angeles seat against Waxman, a powerful fellow Democrat who has amassed a much larger campaign war chest.

The West Los Angeles congressional seat has been created from the heart of four solidly Democratic districts, now represented by Berman, Waxman, Beilenson and Rep. Mel Levine (D-Santa Monica), who is running for the U. S. Senate.

Indeed, it could attract other high-profile candidates. For instance, Hayden said he is keeping his options open on whether to run for an Assembly seat that includes the Valley or for the state Senate or for the West Los Angeles congressional seat.

The congressional plan also combines the districts of Reps. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) and Robert J. Lagomarsino (R-Ventura), potentially forcing the two GOP colleagues to challenge each other in June.

Gallegly was startled by the news that he might be forced to run for reelection against his mentor, Lagomarsino, a 17-year congressional veteran.

“I think it is too early to speculate, not knowing what the demographics are,” Gallegly said.

Indeed the plan appears to have the potential for forcing colleagues throughout the Valley area to run against one another.

In the state Senate, for example, one of Roberti’s options appears to be to run against Sen. Newton Russell (R-Glendale) in a district formed from parts of their two present districts. Or Russell could run in a new desert district that includes the Antelope Valley, which he now represents.

A new district that includes Simi Valley, Chatsworth and Northridge covers much of the territory now represented by Sen. Ed Davis (R-Santa Clarita).

The plan appears to bump Sen. Gary Hart (D-Santa Barbara) out of Woodland Hills.

The court’s plan was aimed at boosting the long-term chances of a Latino capturing an Assembly seat in an area now represented mostly by Katz. The court said the district “was designed to include the minority population of the northeastern part of the Valley. It has over 62% Latino population (and over 75% overall minority population) although apparently Latinos constitute only 25% of the registered voters.”

It has been generally thought by political analysts that a district would need to have 40% Latino registration to ensure election of a Latino candidate.

The neighboring 40th District includes Studio City, North Hollywood and Van Nuys, which is now the heart of the district of Democratic Assemblyman Tom Bane. Latinos make up 30% of the district’s population--the second highest percentage of Latinos in the Valley, according to the plan.

Another newly configured Assembly district would join Burbank with Glendale, Griffith Park and the Los Feliz area. Parts of the area are now represented by Democrats Margolin and Barbara Friedman of Los Angeles and Republican Pat Nolan of Glendale.

Mark Gladstone reported from Sacramento and Alan C. Miller from Washington. Times staff writers Jack Cheevers in Chatsworth and Kenneth R. Weiss in Ventura contributed to this report.

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