Yaroslavsky Enters Race for Edelman’s Seat : Election: Councilman is the first political heavyweight to declare intent to succeed the retiring supervisor. He says he would make the board more financially responsible.

Pledging to bring a new spirit of reform to what he sees as a sleepy and fiscally careless county government, Los Angeles City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky on Tuesday formally entered the race to succeed retiring Los Angeles County Supervisor Ed Edelman.

“I am running because county government needs shaking up, and I intend to shake it up,” the 44-year-old Yaroslavsky said at a news conference at the county Hall of Administration.

The announcement made Yaroslavsky the first political heavyweight to enter the race since Edelman’s surprise announcement last week that he will not seek reelection next year.

Another major figure considering the supervisor post is state Sen. David A. Roberti (D-Van Nuys), who is being forced to find a new office because of term limits. His aides were undaunted by Yaroslavsky’s entry into the race.

“This will be the first tough race Zev has been in since 1975,” said Harvey Englander, a political consultant to Roberti. “We’ll see how well his reform record holds up under the stress and scrutiny of a real campaign.”

Roberti also has been weighing possible entry into the race for state treasurer but reportedly has been leaning toward running for supervisor.

Edelman’s 3rd Supervisorial District includes Hollywood, parts of western Los Angeles, Santa Monica and much of the San Fernando Valley.

Last week, two other frequently mentioned Edelman successors, Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) and former City Councilman Mike Woo, said they were not interested. A political adviser close to Woo said he will announce his candidacy for California secretary of state today.

Meanwhile, Don Wallace, a former county Fire Department captain, said he would run for Edelman’s seat. Wallace, 53, has long been active in Los Angeles County politics, first as president of the Los Angeles firefighters union, later as a homeowner activist in the Santa Monica Mountains and finally as Edelman’s deputy in the Las Virgenes area.

Pressing his reform agenda, Yaroslavsky--who will not have to give up his council seat to run--said he would seek to limit the contributions that candidates can accept. The county is one of a dwindling number of local jurisdictions that do not have campaign finance limits.

In a prepared statement, Yaroslavsky said: “For too long county government has operated out of the spotlight, making decisions that would have never withstood public scrutiny had they been made in the open. We need a county government that holds itself accountable to the people.”

Public safety, he said, is his No. 1 priority. “I will join Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block and Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti as a full partner in their efforts to keep our streets safe and the criminal justice system working,” he said.

But Yaroslavsky’s main themes Tuesday were the need to trim the fat in county government and to shine the light of reform into its bureaucratic and political corners.

“County government is in fiscal shambles because it depends on state funds,” Yaroslavsky said. When state money began to dry up, the Board of Supervisors’ reputation for fiscal carelessness left it “without any credibility” when it went to Sacramento to seek financial relief, Yaroslavsky said.

Yaroslavsky enters the race with $223,000 in campaign funds and a long record of public service. Among the highlights: his authorship of a measure to slash by half the amount of development possible on thousands of commercially zoned properties and his efforts to curb the use of the police chokehold and restrict police spying.

But he has been criticized by homeowner groups for allowing large projects such as the Fox Studios expansion and the Westside Pavilion to go through.