Valley’s L.A. Council Members Say No to School Voucher Plan

VOUCHER VOTES: Despite its popularity among San Fernando Valley conservatives, Proposition 174, the school voucher plan on the statewide November ballot, did not receive backing from the Valley’s City Hall delegation this week.

Indeed, Los Angeles City Council members from the Valley this week joined their colleagues, led by former school board members Jackie Goldberg and Rita Walters, to vote to oppose Prop. 174.

Councilman Joel Wachs even said he would actively work to defeat the measure that would give parents a $2,600 voucher to expend on their child’s education at the private school of their choice.

Such expressions might seem surprising coming from the same Valley lawmakers--Wachs, Hal Bernson and Laura Chick--who gnashed their teeth over the 1992 Los Angeles school reapportionment plan and fought (unsuccessfully) for City Council endorsement of state Sen. David Roberti’s plan to break up the city’s gargantuan school district.

But just because you’re critical of public education does not mean you would support its demise, as the aide to one Valley lawmaker described her boss’ decision.

And the Valley lawmakers carefully hedged their position during Wednesday’s council vote, warning their colleagues that Prop. 174 should be viewed as a red flag, a sign of deep and abiding middle-class unhappiness with the school system.

It won’t be enough to defeat Prop. 174, Wachs told his colleagues. Even if it is defeated, other similar measures will arise until eventually one like it prevails unless civic and political leaders can first obtain “meaningful reforms” of the existing public school system, he said.

“Propositions like this are born of frustration,” Bernson also warned his colleagues, echoing Wachs’ call for reforms.

The only one to stray from this tack was Councilman Richard Alarcon, who represents the Valley’s poorest and most ethnically diverse district. His view, as a former private school teacher, is that Prop. 174, ironically, would prove ruinous to private schools. Parents make private schools work because they are heavily invested in them. When the investment is cheapened by the voucher, parents’ incentive to get their money’s worth will falter, he said.

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NEW GIRL IN TOWN: As she ponders whether to run next year for a San Fernando Valley state Senate seat, Assemblywoman Barbara Friedman probably will be distracted by midnight feedings and diaper changings.

Democrat Friedman, who is not married, recently adopted a newborn girl, Annie Rebecca. “I took her home when she was one day old,” Friedman said.

The 44-year-old lawmaker, who does not have any other children, said she “wanted to have a family” and has been seeking to adopt a child for the past year.

Friedman is among several potential candidates eyeing the Van Nuys-centered 20th Senate District seat held by David A. Roberti, who is prohibited by terms limits from running for reelection.

The Senate race could turn into a lively and expensive election, especially if both Friedman and Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) jump into the contest.

Asked whether her new daughter will impact her political plans, Friedman said “it doesn’t really change anything because I’ve been planning to do this for a long time.”

But Friedman acknowledged that the week after adopting her daughter she stayed in Los Angeles. And Friedman said she expects her daughter will become a frequent flier, shuttling with her mother between Los Angeles and Sacramento.

“Wherever I am, the baby will be,” she said.

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GIVING PEACE A CHANCE: Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City), one of Israel’s key congressional supporters, says he is hopeful that the Jewish state’s dramatic agreement with the Palestine Liberation Organization will lead to a comprehensive and lasting Mideast peace.

“The whole thing is risky and exciting,” said Berman, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

“Will the PLO do what it needs to do to persuade the Israeli people that it’s prepared to live in peace with them? Will the intifada end? Will the people who want peace on the Palestinian side survive? And will the Israeli public follow its leadership? They’re all related. The more the PLO manifests its intentions sincerely and fulsomely, the more likely the Israeli public will respond positively.”

Berman said that the end of the Cold War and the fallout from the Gulf War had created a new reality in the unstable region. Even amid newfound hope, he said, “Everybody is nervous.

“I don’t think the American Jewish community by and large trusts the PLO or Yasser Arafat. But they’re willing to support the Israelis taking risks in effect and I think, deep down, the majority of American Jews realize you don’t need to make peace with your friends, you need to make peace with your enemies.

“The one underlying truth here is that, whereas security issues were critical in dealing with the Egyptians and are with the Syrians, the Palestinians fundamentally do not threaten the survival of the state of Israel.”

In the end, Berman said, “I can’t think of anything better than a peace that’s consistent with Israeli security.”

This column was written by Times staff writers John Schwada in Los Angeles, Mark Gladstone in Sacramento and Alan C. Miller in Washington.