Picus Rules Out Race for Mayor : Politics: The Valley representative will seek a fifth term on the City Council. But she may consider a bid for county supervisor.

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Joy Picus, who has said repeatedly in recent months that she was considering running for mayor, announced Tuesday that she will seek reelection instead to her council seat representing the southwestern San Fernando Valley.

Picus, 61, said she does not think she could raise enough money for a mayoral race and will seek a fifth term representing the council’s 3rd District so she can “continue to be an advocate for the San Fernando Valley.”

She held out the prospect, however, that she might run later for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

Two former Picus allies have already taken steps to become candidates for her seat in next April’s 3rd District race: Laura Chick, Picus’ former top field deputy, and Robert Gross, president of the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization.

Both have filed the required papers with the city saying they intend to raise money to run for the council.

Chick and Gross have accused Picus of mishandling the controversial Warner Ridge project. A fight by Picus, allied with the Woodland Hills homeowners group, to block the development proposal dominated her recent years in office. The Warner Ridge developer filed a lawsuit, won several courtroom battles against the city and eventually won council approval for the project at a cost to the city of several million dollars in legal bills and lost development fees.

“I feel stronger now than I have before,” Picus said, responding to questions about her chance for reelection. “I’ve always had tough reelections, and I’ve worked hard and won in the primary.”

Picus frequently had said in recent months that she was entertaining the idea of running for mayor, a post that also will be up for grabs next April.

But the prospect of having to raise the $1.5 million she said would be needed to be a credible candidate was too daunting, Picus said in an interview.

“That’s $10,000 a week,” Picus said. “I’d rather be working for the Valley and the kids than dialing for dollars.”

Still, the West Valley lawmaker said Tuesday that she is not precluding a possible bid for a seat on the Board of Supervisors if Proposition C passes Tuesday. The measure would increase the number of seats on the board from five to nine, with the four new seats having no incumbents.

“I wouldn’t rule it out,” she said. If Proposition C passes, the new supervisorial seats could be filled by elections in either 1994 or 1996, Picus said.

Earlier this year, Picus also considered running for the congressional seat that is now at stake in the battle between Rep. Anthony Beilenson (D-Los Angeles) and state Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks).

Picus said one of her proudest accomplishments in recent years has been the cleanup of drug dealing at Lanark Park in her district and stopping Southern Pacific trains from blowing their whistles at night and disturbing residents in Woodland Hills.

She also noted that she had fought for a pro-Valley school board redistricting plan, is continuing to battle for a water rate system that would be better for Valley residents, and for more police.

Picus also said she would continue to try to control development in Warner Center. Picus has been a vocal foe of a proposal to amend the Warner Center Specific Plan to allow more than 35 million square feet of development.