LOS ANGELES : Survey Seeks to Clarify Mayoral Candidates’ Stands

A broad coalition of community groups--ranging from the Gay and Lesbian Community Service Center to the American Jewish Congress to the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn.--has surveyed mayoral candidates on a wide range of issues facing Los Angeles.

The survey--consisting of 16 questions on subjects ranging from child care and immigration to the city budget deficit and race relations--is designed to assist voters in understanding the issues.

It will be made available to groups sponsoring candidates’ forums to serve as a guide in their questioning.

“We wanted to provide a sharply focused debate of the real issues facing Los Angeles,” said Carol Plotkin, associate director of the American Jewish Congress and co-chairwoman of the L.A. ’93 Coalition.

“Our unity prevents the anticipated pandering to ethnic groups or political affiliations common when each group presents individual questionnaires to candidates.”

Arturo Vargas, vice president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and co-chairman of the coalition, said: “We have built a sense of unity around the election . . . and we have elevated the level of the debate in this race with a survey instrument which demands that candidates face real issues.”