Decision ’93 / Los Angeles County Elections : City Council : 13TH DISTRICT : Goldberg, LaBonge Head Into Tight Contest

As an unabashed liberal seeking to represent Los Angeles’ politically progressive 13th City Council District, Jackie Goldberg stood to be--if not a shoo-in--at least a comfortable fit.

But as the June 8 runoff election for the seat being vacated by mayoral hopeful Michael Woo nears, observers predict a tight race between Goldberg, whose election would make her the council’s first openly gay member, and the more conservative Tom LaBonge, a longtime aide to Council President John Ferraro.

In some respects, the race mirrors the mayoral contest between Woo and Richard Riordan.

The 48-year-old Goldberg, a former member of the Los Angeles school board, expects to do well in liberal, ethnically diverse Hollywood, as well as with some of the district’s more significant voting blocs: gays and lesbians, union workers, teachers and low-income groups. These are some of the same groups Woo is counting on.

LaBonge, 39, has focused his campaign on areas of the district outside Hollywood, where there is a large number of more conservative, Anglo homeowners who are considered more likely to support Riordan.

The district stretches east from the heart of Hollywood to northeast Los Angeles, including parts of Silver Lake, Echo Park, Atwater Village, Glassell Park and Mt. Washington.

Goldberg got 35% of the vote and LaBonge received 31% in the April primary, easily vanquishing six other candidates. But with only 19,000 of the district’s 232,000 residents casting ballots, the outcome of the runoff may depend on about 9,000 voters whose first choice in the primary was someone other than Goldberg or LaBonge.

If that’s the case, LaBonge enjoys the clear advantage--he won endorsements from four of the primary’s also-rans. Two of them--third-place finisher Tom Riley, a former top aide to Democrat Barbara Boxer during her successful U.S. Senate campaign last year, and Virginia Johannessen, who finished fifth in the primary, are actively involved with LaBonge’s runoff campaign.

But perhaps LaBonge’s most significant endorsement came from Michael Weinstein, a gay activist and president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, who finished fourth in the primary.

Goldberg has sought to discount the importance of Weinstein’s endorsement. But the LaBonge forces are hoping it undercuts her support in the gay and lesbian community, which could prove crucial in a close election.

Conrado Terrazas, the other gay candidate in the primary, endorsed Goldberg, and she also enjoys the support of an array of locally prominent Democrats, including Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina.

An observer said voter turnout will decide the race: “Just like in Woo’s race (against Riordan), if Jackie’s natural liberal constituency turns out, she wins. If turnout is low, she loses.”

In style and substance, Goldberg and LaBonge offer a marked contrast.

Goldberg’s politics were shaped by her participation in the Free Speech student protest movement at UC Berkeley in the late 1960s. She preaches city government reform, tax incentives for employers who provide child care, a privately funded Urban Youth Corps and wider representation for the poor and minorities.

She refuses to accept campaign contributions from real estate developers or registered lobbyists and attacks LaBonge for doing so. She promises that if she is elected she will introduce a law prohibiting members of the City Council from voting on development projects if they have received campaign money from the developer.

LaBonge, who was captain of his football team at John Marshall High School and later was a volunteer coach at the school, exhibits a roll-up-your-sleeves style that reflects his 15 years as a top field deputy to Ferraro, his political mentor.

Whether discussing crime or how to improve the city’s business climate, LaBonge rarely strays from his theme of making neighborhoods clean and safe, while presenting himself as someone who knows how to get things done at City Hall.

He attacks Goldberg as someone who is more interested in global issues than in solving community problems.

Each has taken pains to chip away at the other’s constituency.

After being endorsed by Weinstein, LaBonge announced that if he is elected he will make sure at least one member of his council staff is openly gay and pledged to support domestic partnership legislation for city employees.

Goldberg has honed a message for conservatives that emphasizes school safety and fighting gang crime. She also bought space in a slate mailer aimed at Republicans.

Each also has shunned mention of Woo’s eight-year stewardship of the district. “Oddly,” one observer said, “Mike Woo has become to the 13th District race what Tom Bradley is to the mayor’s race--the forgotten man.”

Leading Issues

FIGHTING CRIME: Goldberg suggests painting hundreds of unmarked police cars black and white as a low-cost way to raise police visibility. She also wants to de-emphasize some vice squad activities, such as stakeouts of parks and gay bars, so officers can devote more attention to drug dealing and violent crimes. LaBonge favors the voluntary transfer of up to 180 parking enforcement officers from the city’s Department of Transportation to walk neighborhoods and serve as “eyes and ears” for regular police. He wants the Police Academy--which officials plan to move from Elysian Park--to be placed in Atwater Village instead of Sylmar, the other site being considered.

IMPROVING HOLLYWOOD: Both are critical of the Community Redevelopment Agency for failing to slow blight in the community. LaBonge says that the CRA has gone off track with big projects that have failed, and that Hollywood redevelopment efforts should be more people-oriented, on the order of Old Pasadena or the Promenade in Santa Monica. Goldberg says police foot patrols and improved street lighting for the commercial district are immediate needs. She also would lobby for CRA funds to hire young people to welcome visitors to Hollywood and point out its landmarks.

FISCAL / ECONOMIC POLICY: To address the city’s budget problems, Goldberg calls for consolidating several departments, eliminating perks for top city officials and, as a last resort, raising taxes. She favors tax incentives for employers who provide child care as a way to retain and attract business. LaBonge wants to set up a program to allow people to volunteer to pay more for certain services, and supports increasing fees for street sanitation and garbage collection as a last resort. He says making city neighborhoods clean and safe is the best way to retain and attract business.