What Wachs, Yaroslavsky Have Is a Failure to Communicate

WAR OF WORDS: Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs again blasted the city’s wage settlement with Department of Water and Power workers as extravagant. Wachs, who voted against the settlement last month, vented his spleen during Thursday’s taping of radio station KCRW’s “Which Way L.A.” show.

But Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, who voted for the contract and followed Wachs on the radio show, accused Wachs of being a “hypocrite.” Referring to notes he said he had taken during the council’s closed-door wage talks, Yaroslavsky claimed Wachs actually praised the final DWP contract in those private sessions and had said it offered “fair pay for these people.”

Sputtering expletives after learning hours later of Yaroslavsky’s claim, Wachs called Yaroslavsky a “liar, dishonest and a coward.” In private as in public, Wachs said, he had argued against the settlement, contending that it would bankrupt the city and invite other city unions to make similar demands.

“I challenge Zev to release the tapes of the council meeting,” Wachs said. “I’ll demand that they be released. I’ll sue him.”

Yaroslavsky said he was sure the audiotapes of the council’s executive sessions would vindicate him. But the tapes are not public records.

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SHOW AND TELL: U.S. Rep. Ronald V. Dellums (D-Oakland), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, along with other committee members and representatives of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee will visit the Antelope Valley on Oct. 21 to tour leading-edge aerospace programs.

The trip, which was postponed last spring, will include stops at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale as well as Edwards Air Force Base. At least six to eight lawmakers are expected to be escorted by Rep. Howard P. (Buck) McKeon (R-Santa Clarita), who requested the visit to showcase aerospace programs in his 25th District.

Northrop’s B-2 bomber plant is on the itinerary as well as Rockwell and Lockheed production facilities. With the end of the Cold War, the committees are particularly interested in dual-use technologies and diversification of defense projects.

The lawmakers will also attend a reception hosted by civic leaders from Palmdale and Lancaster featuring distinguished Air Force pilots and astronauts with ties to the region. Among those who have been invited are Assemblyman Pete Knight (R-Palmdale), a former test pilot, astronauts Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin Jr. and Gordon Fullerton and renowned test pilot Chuck Yeager.

The delegation will also visit defense facilities and firms in the South Bay district of Rep. Jane Harman (D-Marina del Rey).

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HOW GREEN IS THE VALLEY?Sean Walsh, press secretary for the Proposition 174 campaign, the school voucher measure, said this week that the San Fernando Valley is a key area targeted by voucher advocates. “The Valley is very fertile ground for our side because of the unhappiness with the Los Angeles school district out there,” he said.

“The Valley and Orange County are very important, if not crucial, to our success,” he said. Walsh predicted that the Valley would support the voucher measure on the November ballot by 54% to 46%.

Although Walsh predicted a majority of Valley voters would support the measure, the City Council’s Valley delegation voted against endorsing it two weeks ago.

Walsh’s rejoinder: The council members are out of step with their constituents.

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BIPARTISAN BEILENSON: It was the Republican Task Force on Illegal Immigration that gathered for a hearing on Capitol Hill this week but it was Democratic Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson of Woodland Hills who sat before them to testify.

Beilenson, who has emerged as the leading hard-line Democrat on illegal immigration in the House, was quick to acknowledge the unusual circumstances of his appearance. He complimented the partisan task force for “an admirable amount of broad-mindedness to allow a Democrat in your midst.”

The veteran representative touted his proposal to create a tamper-resistant Social Security card for all citizens and non-citizens applying for work in an effort to end document fraud. He said the document could be combined with the new insurance identification card that the Clinton Administration is proposing as part of its national health care system.

Beilenson’s presence at the session was cited by Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), a fellow panelist, as evidence that “illegal immigration is not a partisan issue.”

After the neighboring lawmakers concluded their prepared remarks, Gallegly, who represented parts of the Valley until this year, told task force members: “If the questions aren’t too difficult, I will answer them. If the questions are too difficult, my colleague Tony Beilenson will answer them.”

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AIDING ISRAEL: The state Legislature sometimes decides to exert its influence on the international stage and dabble in foreign policy.

The most well-known instance occurred in 1986, when an anti-apartheid measure by then-Assemblywoman Maxine Waters became law. It was designed to require state pension funds to divest themselves of investments in companies and financial institutions doing business with South Africa.

Then, in 1992, Assemblyman Burt Margolin (D-Los Angeles) pushed through legislation that, effective next January, prohibits these same multibillion-dollar retirement funds from investing in businesses that comply with the Arab League’s economic boycott of Israel.

Now, just as Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization are moving toward peace, Gov. Pete Wilson has signed into law two more bills by Margolin designed to help Israel.

One Margolin law spells out that the public retirement funds should not be used to “renew existing investments” in financial institutions that respect the boycott of Israel.

Margolin, who represents Sherman Oaks and Encino, said he introduced the measure because Wilson voiced concern that the 1992 law appeared to support continued state investment in a company that honors the Israel boycott.

The state Teachers Retirement System and the Public Employees Retirement System both opposed the measure, saying that it would impinge on their authority to make investment decisions.

But Margolin said the Arab boycott of companies that do business with Israel is “an offensive, abhorrent practice” that the state needs to vigorously fight. He said his law provides a new weapon in the effort to fight the boycott.

And while he welcomes the dramatic events of the past few weeks involving Israel and the PLO, he said, “there’s a long process ahead of us to bring peace . . . between Israel and all of its Arab neighbors.”

The two huge retirement funds did not take a position on another Margolin bill, also signed into law by Wilson, that spells out their authority to invest in bonds guaranteed by various governments, including Israel, Canada and Mexico.

The opponents, including Arab-American groups, contended that Israeli bonds, in particular, are a risky investment.

But Margolin argued they are good investments because Israel has never defaulted on a payment to holders of the nation’s securities since the inception of its bond program 42 years ago.

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