Election’s Bitter Roots Run Deep : Politics: Bill Mabie and Antonio Villaraigosa are locked in a bruising primary fight to fill Richard Polanco’s 45th Assembly District seat.

In an area with a history of bitter campaigns, the June Democratic primary race in Northeast Los Angeles’ 45th Assembly District is likely to mirror past elections.

Front-runners Bill Mabie and Antonio Villaraigosa are gearing up for a bruising primary contest to fill a seat being vacated by Assemblyman Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles), who is running for the state Senate. The winner is virtually assured of victory in the November general election, because 62% of the district’s registered voters are Democrats. Three other Democrats, one Republican and one Libertarian candidate are also running.

The race in the Latino-majority district not only pits candidates backed by two political rivals--Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina and Polanco--but it also threatens to divide Latinos who have supported Polanco. Some Polanco allies are upset that he is endorsing Mabie, his white chief of staff, in a district that has had Latino representation in the Assembly for more than 20 years.

The election is also clouded by the threat of a no-holds-barred slugfest. Each camp, vowing to stick to the issues, is charging that the other is preparing to run a dirty campaign.

Polanco won his Assembly seat in a bitter 1986 contest against then-Highland Park bondsman Mike Hernandez, who is now a City Council member. The election was marred by criticism of Polanco campaign mailers accusing Hernandez of “making money” by letting child molesters and rapists “out on the streets.”

This year’s race is shaping up to be no less confrontational, in part because the consultant who designed the 1986 mailers, Richard Ross, is directing Mabie’s campaign.

“Richard Polanco has said to at least three individuals that this is going to be the dirtiest campaign that the Eastside has ever seen,” Villaraigosa said. “It’s been a modus operandi for them.”

Polanco denies making those comments. And Mabie called Villaraigosa’s remarks “political disinformation.” He said he is running the campaign, not Polanco or Ross.

Mabie also questioned why Villaraigosa paid $6,000 to hire Smart Campaigns, a Northern California firm that researches opposing candidates. Such firms generally compile background information used to discredit or smear an opponent’s campaign.

“If he’s planning to run a clean campaign, I can’t understand why he would spend that kind of money for that type of firm,” Mabie said.

Villaraigosa says the race is his to lose, pointing to his longtime ties to the community and a host of high-powered endorsements. Along with Molina, his supporters include Reps. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Los Angeles) and Esteban E. Torres (D-La Puente); Los Angeles City Council members Jackie Goldberg, Mike Hernandez and Mark Ridley-Thomas; county Supervisor Ed Edelman, and the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.

“I think those endorsements reflect an acknowledgment of my 25 years of grass-roots work on behalf of this community,” said Villaraigosa, 41.

Mabie, 32, countered that Villaraigosa’s endorsements reflect his connection to the “Molina machine” more than his community support. Come election day, he says, voters will look at the qualifications of the candidates, not who is backing them.

“If this contest is judged on the merits of the candidates, I think I come out ahead,” Mabie said.

Mabie is endorsed by Assembly members Louis Caldera (D-Los Angeles) and Martha M. Escutia (D-Huntington Park), and Los Angeles Councilman John Ferraro, among others. He is also endorsed by the Hollywood Highlands Democratic Club.

Actively campaigning since the fall, Villaraigosa has amassed a commanding 20-to-1 lead in fund raising. According to campaign statements, Villaraigosa has raised $105,218 so far and says he hopes to collect an additional $245,000.

Mabie reported raising $5,405 of the $150,000 he says he will need to win the race. He discounts his opponent’s fund-raising lead, saying that “early money is like a quarter in a kid’s hand--it’s spent quickly.”

Both candidates say crime, education and economic development are the district’s top concerns. Both tout their community work and their respective backgrounds as making them the most qualified.

The son of a doctor, Mabie grew up with eight brothers and sisters in a comfortable home in the east San Gabriel Valley city of Claremont. After graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a degree in political science, he joined the Peace Corps and spent two years in Honduras, where he designed and managed fish hatcheries.

Mabie is president of the Highland Park Chamber of Commerce, among other civic organizations. He is also the founder of Gardens for Kids, a nonprofit organization that builds gardens at urban schools in Los Angeles to teach youths about science and agricultural careers. He and his wife live in Highland Park.

“I have worked with the people of this district, from Ramona Gardens to Hollywood, from Echo Park to Eagle Rock, and I know the issues that are important to the residents of this area,” Mabie said.

Villaraigosa is one of four children raised by a single mother in a poor home in the Eastside neighborhood of City Terrace. Though he dropped out of Roosevelt High School in the 11th grade, he says he re-enrolled the next year and graduated on time in 1971 after attending day and night classes.

Villaraigosa graduated from UCLA with a degree in history. He has served as president of the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and president of Local 3200 of the American Federation of Government Employees, among other organizations. As Molina’s alternate to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board of directors, he has developed a reputation as an advocate for bus riders. Villaraigosa lives with his wife and four children in Mount Washington.

“I’ve been battling to increase representation and opportunities for everyone all of my life,” Villaraigosa said.

Latinos have represented portions of the 45th district since 1968. Within the district’s current boundaries, which stretch from Highland Park to Echo Park, 63% of the 370,000 residents are Latino.

The area has been the focus of lengthy civil rights battles that resulted in court-ordered reapportionments to create Latino-majority districts for the City Council and county Board of Supervisors. Some Polanco supporters charge that he has turned his back on those hard-fought victories by endorsing Mabie.

“It’s an issue of maintaining and electing Latino candidates, especially in a district where we have fought so hard for Latino representation,” said state Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles), who backed Polanco when he was first elected to the Assembly but said he will consider Villaraigosa in this year’s contest if the campaign gets dirty. “Certainly, candidates who are not Latinos would have ample opportunity to run in other districts.”

Polanco said there were several Latinos he would have endorsed, such as Leticia Quezada, president of the Los Angeles Board of Education, but that none was willing to run. He said he decided that Mabie was the most qualified candidate.

“I’m not, on the knee-jerk, going to support someone who will not be the best candidate based on the color of their skin,” Polanco said.

45th District at a Glance

The winner in the Democratic primary race in June to fill a seat being vacated by Assemblyman Richard Polanco is virtually assured of victory in the November general election because 62% of the district’s registered voters are Democrats.

Total Population: 370,001

Latinos: 63%

Asian Americans: 19%

Whites: 15%

African Americans: 2%

Registered voters: 83,311

Democrats: 51,199 (62%)

Republicans: 20,851 (25%)

Source: California Supreme Court