Central City Council Races Draw 11 Challengers : Elections: Incumbents Walters, Hernandez and Flores face opposition. Candidates have until Feb. 13 to file their petitions.

In elections that could change the face of local representation at City Hall, 11 people have declared their intentions to challenge three incumbents on the Los Angeles City Council whose districts include much of the central city.

The contenders for the 1st, 9th and 15th district council seats are not officially decided since candidates have until Feb. 13 to submit qualifying petitions. Still, expectations are that the majority of those who have declared their intentions will qualify as candidates in the April 20 primary elections. Runoff elections would be June 8.

In what many expect to be the most fiercely contested race of the three, 9th District Councilwoman Rita Walters is expected to be challenged by her 1991 opponent, Bob Gay, and businessman Donald Lumpkin. The 9th District encompasses all of Downtown.

Two years ago, Walters narrowly defeated Gay in a contest to fill the unexpired term of his longtime boss, the late Councilman Gilbert Lindsay. Walters, a former Los Angeles school board member, won that contest by 76 votes out of more than 12,426 cast.

Gay now works as an aide to Councilman Nate Holden.

While Walters should enjoy the advantages of incumbency, her reelection bid is seen as anything but assured.

Outspoken and independent, Walters has clashed with city government colleagues and constituents--many of them business leaders--during her brief time on the council. The friction between her and some business leaders could affect her fund raising, which in turn could make her more vulnerable than most of the six incumbents seeking reelection.

Her foes are not without their own weaknesses. Gay, according to local political observers, could be perceived as a candidate who already had his chance. And he may be forced to compete with Lumpkin for support of the Downtown business interests pivotal to any 9th District campaign.

And while Lumpkin may be known in the business community, he has little name recognition among voters.

In the 1st District, another newcomer to the council, Mike Hernandez, may be challenged by three opponents in his bid for a second term. He was first elected to the council in 1991 to fill the unexpired term of Gloria Molina, who won a seat on the county Board of Supervisors.

Those who have declared their intent to challenge Hernandez are Juvenito Gomez, a personnel technician; Esther Long, a self-described community activist, and writer Jean Marie Durand.

The 1st District encompasses parts of Northeast Los Angeles and Pico-Union, Westlake and Echo Park.

Hernandez is viewed as a favorite to win reelection.

While his record of accomplishment has been spotty, he seems to have established better relations with other City Hall officials--and among his constituents--than Walters. He also has enjoyed close links in the past with Molina, who has emerged as the most powerful figure within the Latino political community.

Still, no one is saying Hernandez is assured of reelection, particularly at a time when voters may be striking out for change as Los Angeles elects its first new mayor in 20 years.

In the 15th District--which stretches from Watts to San Pedro--veteran Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores is expected to face her toughest battle since she won the seat in 1981.

The six candidates who filed their intention to challenge her include two candidates with names familiar in the district: Los Angeles school board member Warren Furutani and businesswoman Janice Hahn, daughter of longtime county Supervisor Kenneth Hahn and sister of Los Angeles City Atty. James Kenneth Hahn.

Also declaring their intention to run against Flores are businessman Rudy Svorinich; attorneys Diane Middleton and James Paul Thompson, and Louis Leopold Dominguez, a computer operations director.

With the exception of Furutani, who lives in Harbor Gateway, Flores and her other challengers are residents of San Pedro.

Flores, who easily won reelection in previous years, enters this campaign facing doubts from some voters about her commitment to the district, based on two bids for higher office since her last council win in 1989.

Last fall, Flores ran for a seat in the House of Representatives; two years ago, she challenged March Fong Eu for Secretary of State.