Roberti Recall Vote Could Hit Home in Rent-Control Debate

RENT CHECK: San Fernando Valley voters may hold the future of Santa Monica’s rent-control law in their hands.

That’s because the fate of rent control and the fate of state Sen. David A. Roberti (D-Van Nuys) could be one and the same.

Roberti, a staunch supporter of rent control, is the target of a recall effort led by the gun lobby in his new Valley district. The recall vote is scheduled for April 12.

A candidate for state treasurer, Roberti has to leave the Senate in December to comply with term limits. But his presence in Sacramento is much needed in the coming months by those trying to block a legislative effort to weaken rent control.

That is why Santa Monica rent-control advocates are busy phoning Valley voters, urging them to keep Roberti in office.

“I’ve never felt that rent control was more threatened than now,” said Michael Tarbet, a renters’ rights activist in Santa Monica.

At a meeting of Santa Monicans for Renters Rights, Tarbet urged members to write state legislators and sought volunteers to work the phones for Roberti.

Causing alarm is a bill by Assemblymen Jim Costa (D-Hanford) and Bernie Richter (R-Chico) that would allow rents to move to market levels upon vacancy, which the Santa Monica law prohibits. The statewide legislation would also affect hundreds of tenants whose apartments remain under rent control even though other units in their buildings have been converted to condominiums.

The legislation is backed by landlord and real estate interests eager to have the bill signed this year by Gov. Pete Wilson in case the Republican loses his November reelection bid. “This is the year if they are ever going to do it,” said Tony Trendacosta, attorney for the Santa Monica Rent Board.

For years, Roberti has blocked bills to weaken rent control by killing them in the Senate Judiciary Committee, thereby preventing the issue from coming to a vote before the full Senate.

The current bill awaits Judiciary Committee action, but a hearing will not be set until after Roberti’s fate is decided April 12. The bill was sent straight to the Senate Judiciary Committee without an Assembly vote, so it could be heard on a few days notice. The Assembly has supported vacancy decontrol in the past, so passage is expected there.

Though state Sen. Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward), Roberti’s successor as president pro tem of the Senate, apparently will oppose the bill, it is unclear whether Lockyer will be as committed to the rent-control cause as Roberti has been.

Asked how many committee votes he has lined up, Steve Hopcraft, a political consultant hired to work against the bill, said: “The only head count we’re worried about is Roberti’s head.”

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OOPS, WRONG PARTY: James Gilmartin, a Santa Clarita attorney, is seeking the Democratic congressional nomination for the second time for the 25th District seat held by Rep. Howard P. (Buck) McKeon (R-Santa Clarita).

Thus, he was amused to receive a mailing from the National Republican Senatorial Committee this week designating him an “at-large delegate” to the committee’s upcoming platform planning session in Washington. The fund-raising solicitation was signed by Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Tex.), chairman of the GOP’s senatorial committee.

A letter informed Gilmartin that delegates-at-large were “selected from Republican Party membership rolls in each of the 50 states” and “will be responsible for assisting in the formation of the National Republican Party Platform.”

“I was hoping to attract bipartisan support for my candidacy,” Gilmartin said in a tongue-in-cheek news release. “But this is more than I ever hoped for.”

A spokesman for the Republican Senatorial Committee said that the mailing to Gilmartin was “obviously a mistake.” After checking, he said Gilmartin’s name was culled from a mailing list the committee rented from a group calling itself Donors Opposed to Congressional Pay Raises.

“This is something that’s being done to assist our senatorial candidates in the ’94 election,” said committee spokesman Gary Koops. “The issues platform has no relevance as far as the ’96 platform” that will be adopted by the national party two years from now.

But, Koops said, Gilmartin would be welcome to send the committee a check on behalf of GOP Senate candidates. Or, he added, “maybe we could even use it to help Congressman McKeon.”

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HIT THE ROAD: As admirable as it may be to advocate car-pooling, Los Angeles City Councilman Marvin Braude found out this week that there is a price to pay for being too eager. Braude, who represents parts of the Westside and the Valley, learned that lesson when he drafted a motion to ask Caltrans to build a permanent car-pool lane on the Santa Monica Freeway--an idea that died 18 years ago due to public outcry.

But what steamed some of his council colleagues is that he proposed the idea under a procedural rule that would have moved it through the approval process without review by the council’s Transportation Committee.

The move drew a barrage of fire from Councilmen Hal Bernson and John Ferraro. But the harshest criticism came from Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, who also represents parts of the Valley and Westside. He called the idea “half-cocked” and described Braude’s tactics as “sneaky.”

“I know that some of us think we know best what’s good for the people we represent, but sometimes we need to let the people buy into the plan,” Yaroslavsky said as Braude listened in silence. “Believe me, the path of all wisdom does not reside in this building.” Braude’s response? He agreed to send the proposal to the Transportation Committee for review as long as it comes back before the council within 30 days. Stay tuned for Round 2.

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HEALTH CARE HEARING: A Republican-sponsored health care hearing postponed by the Jan. 17 earthquake has been rescheduled for 10 a.m. to noon April 8 at Cal State Northridge’s student union. The event is open to the public.

Reps. Howard P. (Buck) McKeon and J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), the head of a House GOP task force on health care reform, will co-chair the session. Rep. Carlos J. Moorhead (R-Glendale), the senior Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee, a key panel on health care legislation, will also participate.

Panels will feature representatives of small businesses, health care service and product businesses and health care providers. Among those who will testify are Jeffrey Flocken, president of Northridge Medical Center; Steve Schmidt, president of the Antelope Valley Medical Center, and Leonard Schaeffer, chairman of Blue Cross of California.

McKeon, Hastert and Moorhead have all expressed strong reservations about the health care reform bill proposed by President Clinton. They support a more incremental measure sponsored by House Republican Leader Robert H. Michel (R-Ill.) that they helped develop. This proposal is not regarded as one of the politically viable plans under consideration.