Alarcon Announces Bid for Bernardi’s Council Seat

Portraying himself as a lifelong San Fernando Valley resident fighting for those without a voice in city government, Richard Alarcon, Mayor Tom Bradley’s Valley liaison, formally announced Sunday that he will seek the seat of retiring City Councilman Ernani Bernardi.

Alarcon, who announced his candidacy in the front yard of his childhood home in Sun Valley, is perhaps the best-known candidate in what is expected to be a crowded field to replace Bernardi, who has said he will retire from his northeast Valley seat next year.

At least six others are considering a run for Bernardi’s 7th District seat, including Anne Finn, widow of former Councilman Howard Finn; Bernardi deputy Raymond J. Magana, and Fire Capt. Lyle Hall, who in 1989 forced Bernardi into a runoff election.

Speaking to about 75 supporters, Alarcon, 38, characterized himself as a local boy seeking to have his community’s voice heard by city leaders, promising to overhaul the city’s planning process, encourage the creation of jobs and work closely with local schools.

“A strong, clear and influential voice in City Hall is just what our part of the Valley needs,” he said. “I am pledging to be that voice.”

Bradley’s Valley liaison since 1990, Alarcon is a former schoolteacher who is involved with more than 50 community organizations. In 1986, he was among a group of young activists who pressed for a council redistricting plan favorable to Latinos. More recently, he briefly belonged to a Latino coalition that backed a redistricting plan for the Los Angeles school board that was adopted.

For several years, Bernardi’s district has been viewed as the most likely to elect the Valley’s first Latino council member. The City Council redistricting plan adopted last summer, based on 1990 census data, carved out a 7th District with a 70% Latino population. However, only 31% of the district’s registered voters are Latino.

Alarcon said he will run a grass-roots campaign encouraging Latinos to register to vote, but added that he will not concentrate solely on one ethnic group and wants to unite different groups across the Valley.

“It’s not just Latinos,” he said. “Clearly, this community is diverse.”