Svorinich’s Earnest Manner Puts Constituents at Ease

When I drove down to Watts to hear freshman Los Angeles City Councilman Rudy Svorinich Jr. speak last Tuesday night, it was mainly out of curiosity to see how this white politician of Croatian descent would relate to his Latino and African American constituents.

I’ve read, and written, how L.A. is a city on the edge, torn by racial and social tensions, with the epicenter in poor neighborhoods where Latinos and African Americans, living side by side, scrap for survival in a bleak economy.

Watts is such an area. It was once almost all black, but now Latinos comprise 60% of the population in some Watts neighborhoods. Poverty is widespread. Near where Svorinich spoke, the median family income is $17,590 a year and almost 40% of the residents live below the poverty level.

In contrast, Svorinich is from the harbor community of San Pedro, home of tightly knit white families with roots in the former Yugoslavia. San Pedro and Wilmington are the dominant parts of his 15th District. Watts has always felt left out. I thought Svorinich’s appearance would be certain to set off sparks.

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About 75 people were in the Markham Jr. High School auditorium when Svorinich began the program. All but a few were African American, a substantial number of them women who have been active in Watts community affairs for more than 30 years.

Svorinich, 33, a Wilmington paint store owner, is a slight, pale man with a neat, short haircut, ill at ease when he is questioned by the press, uncomfortable with the spotlight of political office. At times, he seems lost in the verbal combat of City Council meetings.

He stood awkwardly in front of the audience, holding a microphone. After introducing his staff, Svorinich paused and looked embarrassed. “I almost did it again,” he said. “I almost forgot to introduce my wife.” He turned to his spouse, Deann, and said: “The lady of my life.” He added that “Mom and dad are in back; they’re taking care of the coffee and cookies.” Many in the audience, family people themselves, smiled when he said that.

But the people had plenty of gripes:

What about crooked contractors working house remodeling scams? Why doesn’t the city deposit more municipal funds in South-Central L.A. financial institutions? Why don’t contractors hire more African Americans?

And the police. “I was asking about a permit for a block party and some crook comes in and they were nicer to the crook than they were to me,” one man said. A woman complained of slow police response when “I was sitting there seeing someone shot in my front yard” but when “there is an issue of less importance, you’ll see four or five cars.” That comment drew loud applause.

Svorinich was flanked by representatives of city departments, who answered the questions. When it was his turn, he thanked Watts for helping him win the election. In the primary, Svorinich said, he received 100 votes from Watts. In the runoff, the total jumped to 1,600, crucial for his 1,500-vote victory.

“If we are going to turn Los Angeles around, we are not going to leave this community behind,” he said. “It won’t happen.

Maybe it was his next-door neighbor manner, but most of the audience liked him despite the gripes. “This man is charming,” said one woman. “Thank you very much for your wonderful representation,” said another. “I would be remiss if I didn’t express my gratitude, “ said a third. “This man is so gracious.”

I wondered why there were only a couple of Latinos in the audience. One of them, Arturo Ybarra, president of the Watts/Century Latino Organization, told me: “Public safety is a great problem in the area. There are crimes, beatings and robberies, and Latinos, after dark, don’t normally come out of their homes. Not only Latinos, but African American families.”

However, he said, his group met with Svorinich and came away satisfied that he was interested in helping Watts’ Latinos.

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The lesson of the meeting last Tuesday night was that common concerns over commonplace items--garbage collection, cleaning alleys, responsive police--can bring the most diverse kinds of people together. Svorinich obviously sensed that. That is why most of the program was given over to representatives of the Fire and Police departments, and Public Works, which handles garbage, sewage and the picking up of dead animals.

His down-to-earth manner helped. Although he hasn’t yet made it with Downtown sophisticates, the audience seemed to respect him for approaching them and his job in a humble manner.

Svorinich understands the basic lesson of local politics. If his constituents have potholes in their streets, and he doesn’t fix them, they’ll march shoulder to shoulder against him no matter what their racial backgrounds.