LOCAL ELECTIONS L.A. CITY COUNCIL : Flores and Svorinich Battle for Minority Vote in 15th District : Politics: The Republican candidates tout support from black and Latino Democrats. Campaign focus expands to Wilmington, Watts and Harbor Gateway.

Turning their attention to areas where they were also-rans in the recent primary, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores and challenger Rudy Svorinich Jr. are broadening their campaigns from their mutual San Pedro base to minority, blue-collar communities that loom important in the June 8 runoff election.

In doing so, the two white Republicans are not only paying more attention to Wilmington, Harbor Gateway and Watts, but are touting endorsements from unlikely allies--black and Latino Democrats--to win in a district where two of three registered voters are Democrats.

“This is a districtwide race and I’m going to put as much emphasis on winning votes in places I didn’t win (in the primary) as places I did,” said Flores, who was to spend this weekend campaigning door-to-door in Watts.

Svorinich, meanwhile, said 30% to 40% of his campaigning is occurring in Wilmington, Watts and Harbor Gateway--three communities that account for about 30% to 40% of the district vote.

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Their schedules--like a review of the April primary results--suggest that both Flores and Svorinich have plenty of work ahead in their fight for the 15th District seat held by Flores since 1981.

Indeed, though they were the top two finishers in the primary, neither managed to win even 30% of the vote--a particularly dismal showing for an incumbent like Flores.

Flores’ 28% and Svorinich’s 23% both came largely from San Pedro, an ethnically diverse enclave that will provide many, but not enough, votes to catapult the incumbent or her opponent to victory.

During the primary, for example, businesswoman Janice Hahn was the top vote-getter in the district’s north end, winning almost every precinct in Watts and most in Wilmington. Overall, Hahn (the daughter of retired county Supervisor Kenneth Hahn and the sister of Los Angeles City Attorney James Hahn) finished third in the race, with 19% of the vote.

Said Janice Hahn: “What I captured and what one of these two is going to need to capture . . . is the (voters’) frustration with elected officials and (the feeling) that they do not have a voice at City Hall.”

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Clearly, Hahn said, her third-place finish--and the double-digit vote totals for two other candidates in the primary--illustrate “pretty significant” disenchantment with Flores. “Now the question is whether some of those votes come back (to Flores) or do they go for Rudy?”

Hahn views much of the vote outside the San Pedro area as up for grabs. She notes that while Flores’ support was not strong enough for her to avoid a runoff, she still has a following throughout the district, while Svorinich started off as a virtual unknown in many communities. In several precincts in Watts, for instance, Svorinich did not get a single vote.

“Joan came in second in most of the areas I carried,” Hahn said, “so clearly Joan has some following” in the district.

While Hahn has not endorsed in the race, Flores’ effort to improve her showing, especially in the district’s minority communities, has been bolstered by support from two prominent Democrats, one a Latina, the other an African-American. The endorsements, both announced in recent days, came from county Supervisors Gloria Molina and Yvonne Brathwaite Burke.

Also backing Flores is former state Assemblyman Dave Elder, a Democrat from Long Beach. And on the grass-roots level, Flores has won support from “Sweet” Alice Harris, founder and executive director of Parents of Watts.

But late last week, Svorinich countered with endorsements from well-known Democratic congresswomen: Maxine Waters, arguably the most influential politician among African-American voters in Los Angeles, and Jane Harman, who last fall beat Flores in a race to represent the South Bay in the House.

Moreover, Flores’ recent and unsuccessful bids for higher office--she lost a 1990 bid for secretary of state before her congressional loss last year--and her conservative, pro-business agenda have led some, particularly in Wilmington and Watts, to question her interest in their problems and her commitment to their neighborhoods.

“By and large, we are disenchanted with Joan Milke Flores because she has been totally non-responsive to the needs of our community,” said the Rev. Charles Mims Jr. of Tabernacle of Faith Baptist Church in Watts.

Like many in his 2,000-member congregation, Mims said, he supported Hahn in the primary and now does not know whom he will back in the runoff.

In Wilmington, some community activists do not have such uncertainty. After backing Hahn or others in the primary, they say, they’ll now vote for Svorinich to remove Flores from office.

“Take a look at our community and which way would you go? It’s as simple as that,” said Gertrude Schwab, who like her husband, Bill, voted for Hahn and now supports Svorinich.

Added JoAnn Wysocki, another longtime activist who supported Hahn: “I feel as if we have an opportunity because Mr. Svorinich has no baggage . . . he owes no one but the community . . . and I’ve lived in Wilmington too long to give another four years to Joan Flores.”

Whether such sentiment is widespread remains to be seen. But to hear Flores tell it, being forced into a runoff to keep her seat was anything but a surprise.

“We always expected a runoff,” Flores said.

In her reelection bid, Flores noted, she not only faced six candidates--several of them well-known--but aggressive campaigns that cost her challengers, as a group, almost $1 million.

Now, Flores said, she has only one challenger to contend with. And while he will compete with her on her home turf of San Pedro, Flores said, Svorinich does not have her following in other parts of the district.

“I’ve accomplished a lot for this district . . . and people know that,” she said.

Clearly, Svorinich sees things differently.

Although the populations of Wilmington and Watts are overwhelmingly Latino, African-American and Democratic, Svorinich said he has encountered no questions from voters about whether he, as a white Republican, understands their needs.

“People want to talk about the issues; crime and the creation and retention of jobs. (Race) has no part in it,” he said.

Neither has he changed his campaign message to accommodate the ethnic makeup of Watts and Wilmington, he said. Instead, he said, he tells voters there the same thing he tells voters in predominantly white San Pedro: They need a change from Flores.

In Watts, Svorinich knows he has his work cut out for him, but he believes his message will resonate with voters there.

“If you want to see a community that has been forsaken, it’s the community of Watts,” Svorinich said. “And I offer them a new hope, a new vision and accountability. That’s a message that transverses ethnicity, race or party affiliation.”

Campaigning in Wilmington is a different story.

Although Svorinich does not have the extensive web of familial, community and business relationships in Wilmington that he does in San Pedro, he had been involved in Wilmington community affairs, such as the chamber of commerce and the Banning High School Boosters club, for years before the election.

“Voters in Wilmington realize that Rudy Svorinich owns a business in their community and is involved in community affairs--not because he needs to win votes but because I care,” he said.

His activism in Wilmington, however, did not prevent Hahn, who had virtually no history of involvement in the community, from trouncing him there in the primary.

But Svorinich believes that for most Wilmington voters--as well as those in Watts--the priority is to defeat Flores.

“If you did not vote for Joan in the primary, it was a protest vote against her,” he said. “I saw people voting for Janice Hahn basically as a protest vote.

“I have been walking precincts in Watts, and I’ll tell you, running against the Hahn name was quite formidable,” he said. “However, now, when you look at the voter turnout for Watts, only 22, 23% voted for Joan Flores and the other 75 voted against her.

“And if you were voting for an instrument of change, then you might have voted for Janice Hahn believing she was the best person that could accomplish the change. Now the only option for change is me.”