2 Assembly Seats Ripe for Latino Candidates : Politics: Latino leaders back a Norwalk councilwoman and a Montebello lawyer in the five-way race for the 58th District Democratic primary.

By RICK HOLGUIN

May 21, 1992 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

SOUTHEAST AREA —

Norwalk Councilwoman Grace M. Napolitano and Montebello lawyer Armando Duron have won the support of rival Latino political leaders to establish themselves as front-runners in the Democratic primary of the 58th Assembly District on June 2.

In all, five Latino candidates are vying for the Democratic nomination in the predominantly Latino and Democratic district. The other candidates are Raul Pardo, a South El Monte councilman; Albert Perez Jr., a lawyer, and Rick D. Sanchez, a member of the Cerritos College Board of Trustees.

The candidates seem to agree on improvements that are needed in the 58th District: more jobs and a stronger local economy, better education and less crime.

The 58th District includes Norwalk, Montebello, Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs and parts of Whittier and South El Monte. It has solid middle-class neighborhoods, such as the Montebello Hills area of north Montebello, and poorer, gang-plagued areas such as Barrio Norwalk in Norwalk.

Napolitano and Duron have sought to distance themselves from the field by winning key endorsements.

State Sen. Charles M. Calderon (D-Whittier) is championing Napolitano’s campaign, which included helping her put on a $250-a-person fund-raiser Wednesday in Sacramento. Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco), Assemblyman Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles) and state Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles) also added their names to Napolitano’s fund-raising effort.

Calderon said he decided to back Napolitano because of her longtime community involvement, which includes a stint as a local PTA president, and because he considers Napolitano an independent. Calderon cited Napolitano’s successful effort to limit the amount of money Norwalk council members spend on trips to conferences and seminars.

“We know she can stand up to her colleagues,” Calderon said. “I think we need strong independent-minded leaders who are truly representative of the community.”

Duron is endorsed by Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina, a former assemblywoman and Los Angeles councilwoman whose name carries a lot of weight among many voters in the predominantly Latino district.

Molina is a rival of the Latino political faction that includes Calderon, Polanco and Torres. She also knocked heads with Brown as an assemblywoman from 1982 to 1987.

One afternoon last week, Molina was at Duron’s headquarters working on his campaign. Duron has hired Pat Bond, the political consultant who ran Molina’s successful campaigns for the Los Angeles City Council and County Board of Supervisors.

Molina said she decided to support Duron because of his work as an advocate for the Latino community. That includes trying to pressure television stations to hire and retain Latino employees.

“Armando has been involved in a lot of activist issues in the community,” Molina said in a telephone interview. “He’s the kind of person we need in Sacramento. I’m going to do everything I can to help.”

The winner of the Democratic primary is expected to coast to victory in the general election in November. Sixty-three percent of the 132,016 registered voters in the district are Democrats; just 28% are Republicans.

Republican Ken Gow, a research engineer, and Libertarian John P. McCready, a teacher, also are seeking the seat.

The recent redistricting tailored the 58th District for a Latino candidate--62% of the district’s population is Latino.

The race opened up when Assemblyman Bob Epple (D-Norwalk) decided to move his home to the 56th District rather than stay and battle a Latino to retain his seat.

The issue of political independence has generated sparks between the candidates.

Perez and Pardo have accused Napolitano and Duron of being beholden to the powers in Sacramento and Los Angeles.

“We need someone who will be responsible to the people, not to special interests or political machines,” said Perez, 30.

Said Pardo: “Those types of political camps have not delivered to meet the needs of our community.”

Duron, 37, maintains that his backing by Molina would not compromise his independence if he is elected. But he says Napolitano will be indebted to her backers.

“How is she going to pay Willie Brown back?” Duron said. “You’re talking about someone who has mortgaged her vote. How is she going to pay them back for all that support?”

But Napolitano, 55, says that is ridiculous. As a longtime Democrat, Napolitano said she naturally sought the support of key Democrats.

Napolitano, who has refrained from attacking Duron or her other rivals, says she will be an independent vote if elected. Napolitano notes that she has received the support of both Brown and Calderon, who once were bitter political enemies.

“That should prove to people that I’m an independent,” said Napolitano. “They (the politicians backing her) believe in what I’ve accomplished.”

In addition to her endorsements, Napolitano benefits from the public exposure she has received during her six years as a Norwalk City Council member. About one-fourth of the voters in the 58th District live in Norwalk, according a spokeswoman for the county registrar-recorder.

That Napolitano is the only woman in the field is likely to bring her some votes as well, political observers said.

Napolitano, a claims agent for an automobile manufacturer, won her first council race by criticizing the amount of money incumbents had spent on out-of-town travel. Since then, the Norwalk council has voted to limit spending on such travel, which Napolitano counts as one of her key accomplishments.

“Guarding our tax dollars” will be one of her priorities if elected, Napolitano said.

Napolitano probably will be the biggest spender in the race. She took out a $100,000 loan on her Norwalk home to jump-start her campaign. Napolitano said she hopes to raise and spend twice that much.

Duron, who resides in Montebello and has a law practice there, has never held public office. But he has held posts that have thrust him into the public eye.

Duron was president of the Artes de Mexico Festival Committee, which put on more than 200 exhibits, performances and other events in Los Angeles last fall. The festival complemented the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s acclaimed Mexican art exhibit.

Duron also was chairman of the steering committee of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, a confrontational group that has ruffled a lot of feathers in the broadcast industry. The Media Coalition has challenged the FCC licenses of various television stations across the country to pressure them to hire and retain minority employees.

Duron contends he would be a thorn in the side of the political establishment in the state Capitol.

“They see me as the threat, as the one who will go to Sacramento to carry forward an independent agenda for the people of the 58th.”

Duron said he plans to spend about $150,000 to win the Democratic nomination.

The other Democratic candidates expect to spend far less on their campaigns.

Pardo, 30, has an 800 telephone number and is soliciting $1 donations and other assistance. An anti-drug and gang prevention consultant, he has no major endorsements but plans to build on his constituency in South El Monte.

“We’re running a community campaign and that’s the only endorsement we want,” Pardo said.

Perez said he will run his campaign on about $20,000--”family money and small donations from concerned citizens.”

A Pico Rivera resident who practices mostly real estate law, Perez has never run for public office and has no major endorsements. He says that ensures his independence.

Perez, 30, said he decided to run because, “I felt we needed someone who would be responsible to the people, not to special interests or political machines.”

Sanchez, the Cerritos College trustee, has received the endorsement of retiring state Sen. Cecil N. Green (D-Norwalk), but he does not expect to receive much campaign help because of the senator’s poor health. Sanchez, a 52-year-old Norwalk resident, said the Assembly could use the input of an educator. Sanchez said he plans to spend about $25,000 on his campaign.

58th Assembly District

Communities: Norwalk, Santa Fe Springs, Pico Rivera, Montebello, the edge of Whittier and part of South El Monte.

Population Latino 232,676 62% African-American 5,990 2% Asian 27,901 7% Non-Hispanic white 105,360 28% Other 1,560 * Total 373,487 100%

Party registration Democrat 83,652 63% Republican 36,815 28% American Ind. 1,295 1% Green 136 * Libertarian 477 * Peace & Freedom 572 * Miscellaneous 364 * Declined to state 8,705 7%

Number of registered voters: 132,016 (as of April 3)

Candidates:

Democrat

Armando Duron, attorney

Grace M. Napolitano, Norwalk councilwoman

Raul Pardo, South El Monte councilman

Albert Perez, attorney

Rick D. Sanchez, Cerritos College board member

Republican

Ken Gow, research engineer

Libertarian

John P. McCready, teacher