ELECTIONS / L.A. CITY COUNCIL : Candidates Tiptoe Around Race Issue in the 7th District : Latino contenders concentrate on crime and economy in an effort to snare crossover votes from Anglos.

For years, Latino political activists have coveted the Los Angeles City Council seat held by Ernani Bernardi.

Encompassing a heavily Latino portion of the northeast San Fernando Valley, Bernardi’s district seemed fertile turf for a Latino candidate. After winning a tough 1989 reelection fight, the octogenarian councilman pledged to retire this year, opening the door to a possible Latino successor.

And, at the prodding of Latinos, the City Council last fall redrew the district’s boundaries to create what was commonly referred to as a “Latino seat.”

But the Latino seat really isn’t a Latino seat at all.

Although Latinos make up 70% of the population, Anglos are the biggest voter bloc in the district, comprising 48% of all registered voters. Latinos represent only 31% of registered voters. Blacks rank third with 19%.

“People call it a Latino seat . . . In actuality it’s not, because of the voter registration,” said Marshall Diaz, chairman of the Latino Redistricting Coalition, which has pressured local governments to reshape political districts to give Latinos greater representation.

Of the seven candidates in the April 20 primary election, three are white, three are Latino and one is African-American. One of the whites, city Fire Capt. Lyle Hall, was considered the early front-runner. But a Latino, Sylmar attorney Raymond J. Magana, emerged last week as the strongest fund raiser so far.

For the Latino contenders, observers say, the district’s demographics have produced a political irony: Despite an overwhelmingly Latino population, a Latino candidate’s success or failure turns on how many “crossover” votes he can get, especially from Anglos.

That means Latino candidates may have to shade or camouflage their real positions on issues affecting Latinos, such as immigration and voting rights for non-citizens, to avoid offending voters of other ethnic groups, some observers said.

“You cannot outright be a pro-Latino candidate because you don’t have the base to do that,” said Arturo Vargas, a vice president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Added one of the Latino candidates: “You can’t get suckered into a black-Latino issue or an Anglo-Latino issue.”

All of the 7th District candidates and some outside analysts publicly downplay the significance of race and say crime and the economy are the overriding issues in the campaign.

They argue that the largely blue-collar district--which includes Pacoima, Mission Hills, Sun Valley and portions of Arleta, Lake View Terrace, Panorama City, North Hollywood, Van Nuys and Sylmar--is a socially stable area where people of different races are comfortable with one another. Voters will choose a council representative, they say, based on experience, community ties and a perception of effectiveness.

“Do the concerns of Hispanic senior citizens differ much from those of white senior citizens? I suggest that they don’t,” said Republican political consultant Paul Clarke of Northridge.

“I don’t think people vote their ethnicity as much as they vote their pocketbooks and their family concerns and those of their neighborhood.”

Nonetheless, it is Latinos who have left the deepest socioeconomic stamp on the district.

As a result of its growing Latino population, the Arleta-Pacoima area has the highest density of individuals living in the same household--4.49--of any part of Los Angeles, according to city and U.S. Census data.

Again because of Latinos, who tend to be a young population, the 7th District has the second highest percentage in all 15 City Council districts of residents under age 13--more than 26%. This youthfulness, and the presence of a large number of undocumented immigrants, help explain the low level of Latino registered voters.

Anglos, though the dominant voter group, represent less than 17% of the population. Blacks comprise just 8%, Asians 5%.

And those realities, say some observers, have created the backdrop for some distinct racial undercurrents that have rippled through the election.

Analysts cite the Latino contenders’ muted reaction to a comment made by an Anglo candidate, Al Dib, who said he “can tell by their faces” if Latinos are U.S. citizens or not. The former produce wholesaler made the remark when explaining how he collected signatures for a petition placing him on the ballot.

The comment, quoted in The Times, upset a number of Latino community leaders and prompted one former council candidate, Irene Tovar, to complain to a new citizens group formed to monitor instances of racially biased campaigning in local elections. Tovar was ultimately disqualified for failing to submit enough valid voter signatures.

Although several Latino candidates discussed whether to criticize Dib publicly as a group, they decided not to--a move some observers say was motivated by fears of alienating white voters.

Magana and the other major Latino candidate, Richard Alarcon, Mayor Tom Bradley’s top Valley aide, said in interviews that, as Latinos, they were offended by the remark. But they opted not to condemn Dib publicly.

Alarcon said he did not want to give Dib any more attention and felt that many voters would be disgusted with Dib’s comment anyway. Alarcon added: “In my lifetime, a heck of a lot worse has happened . . . We’ve been insulted on a regular basis.”

Magana said he considered censuring Dib publicly but decided not to because of a possible backlash from Anglos that could cost him votes.

Instead, Magana, Alarcon and Tovar agreed to let leaders of a local chapter of the Mexican-American Political Assn. criticize Dib at a press conference. But the press conference was never held.

Another issue where racial factors may be at work, analysts said, is the proposed breakup of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Some advocate a separate Valley district; others want the massive school system split into a number of smaller districts.

According to the Times Poll, 63% of Anglos citywide support a separate Valley district, but only 35% of Latinos do. Also, 68% of Anglos in the Valley believe a breakup would be effective. The poll did not sample Valley Latinos.

All three Anglo candidates support a breakup. But in questionnaires circulated by The Times, none of the Latino contenders took a yes or no position on the volatile issue.

Alarcon said he favors “massive restructuring” of the district to give parents more control over individual schools and would consider a breakup if that failed.

Magana said the district is “failing and is financially bankrupt,” but took no position on the breakup. In a later interview, however, he endorsed the split and asked that his questionnaire response be altered to “yes.”

Magana said he had favored the breakup earlier but did not say so publicly because a supporter strongly opposed it.

Tovar said some Latinos support a breakup, but others feel that “the predominant issue is the racial issue” for its proponents. She noted that in the 1970s the Valley was the hotbed of the city’s antibusing movement, which many Latinos felt was motivated by racial prejudice.

Tovar also criticized Magana for saying at a debate in Lake View Terrace that there should be a crackdown on illegal immigrants because they strain the state’s economy and government services.

“I’m still angry with Magana because he brought up the issue of the undocumented the way he did. We don’t need to add fuel to the fire,” she said, referring to a widening debate over illegal immigration that has prompted some politicians to propose cutoffs of public benefits as well as other severe measures against undocumented newcomers.

Observers said the campaign also has exposed racial tensions between Latinos and blacks.

One Latino candidate said blacks worry about the rapid growth of the Latino population and its improving prospects for political empowerment.

Blacks “see this kind of takeover and a loss of their power,” the candidate said. “They’re really very fearful that if a Latino is elected, they are going to represent Latino issues only.”

Richard Packard, a Pacoima resident and founder of the Valley chapter of the Black American Political Assn. of California, agreed that many blacks are unhappy with rising Latino political influence.

Packard, who is helping manage the campaign of LeRoy Chase, the lone African-American in the race, said many blacks oppose bilingual education and a proposal promoted by some Latinos to give voting rights to non-citizens in elections for school boards and other local seats. He added that some blacks believe Latinos are not sensitive to black concerns.

Diaz, of the Latino Redistricting Coalition, said that over time, there is no question that a Latino will capture the 7th District seat--even though that may take up to a decade.

He noted that although less than a third of the district’s Latinos are registered voters, 42% are citizens over the age of 18--making them targets for voter registration drives.

Other observers said that, in the meantime, all candidates remain under heavy pressure to avoid ethnocentrism--to appeal to people of different ethnic backgrounds--a good thing in such a multiracial district.

“That’s politics. If you intend to represent the district, your views have to reflect the views of your constituents,” said Vargas of MALDEF.

“One would hope that whoever is elected, they would not represent only the views of Latinos, or only the views of Anglos, or only the views of blacks.”

7th City Council District: A Statistical Portrait Population: 271,137 Median household income: $31,913 Unemployment: 9.17% Population below poverty line: 19.18% Percentage with no high school: 32% Total registered voters: 50,679 Registered Democrats: 33,305 Registered Republicans: 12,743

Source: 1990 U.S. Census