2 Latinas in Strong Run for the City Council : Politics: Jenny Oropeza, in particular-- who is the favorite--might bring the first Latino presence to the panel.

Two candidates are waging spirited campaigns to become the first Latinos elected to the Long Beach City Council.

Jenny Oropeza is the favorite in her council race, and Tonia Reyes Uranga has built up the largest campaign war chest of any council candidate in Tuesday’s elections.

Oropeza, 36, gave up her seat on the Long Beach School Board to run for the council. She is considered a strong favorite to win in the 1st Council District, which includes downtown neighborhoods and was redrawn four years ago to include a Latino majority.

Oropeza earned 48% of the primary vote in April, just short of the majority needed to capture the seat outright. Her opponent, retail consultant Dianne McNinch, captured 27% of the primary vote.

Uranga made the runoff contest in the 7th District and has raised more money than any other council candidate. But in the April vote she trailed Mike Donelon, a general contractor, in the race for the seat vacated by mayoral candidate Ray Grabinski. Donelon earned 43% of the primary votes to Uranga’s 38%.

Uranga and Oropeza have downplayed the issue of ethnicity during their campaigns, focusing instead on their qualifications as community leaders.

In the 9th District, 12-year Councilman Warren Harwood is facing an uphill climb after finishing second in the April primary. Harwood has been branded a maverick who has alienated council colleagues by frequently casting the lone dissenting vote. First-time candidate Jerry Shultz, a sheriff’s deputy, finished ahead of Harwood in a seven-candidate field with 34% of the vote. Harwood finished second with 27%.

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Five of the nine council seats were on the April ballot. Incumbents Douglas S. Drummond in the 3rd District and Les Robbins in the 5th District received more than 50% of the votes and were reelected.

In the remaining three races, the top two vote-getters from each race were forced into runoff elections next week.

A look at the races by district:

DISTRICT 1:

Oropeza, the first Latino elected to the school board, is making a well-financed bid to achieve a similar feat on the City Council. Oropeza has raised $40,000, more than double the amount of her opponent, McNinch.

McNinch, 50, emphasizes her 18 years of community service and business background. She has chaired the Neighborhood Improvement Strategy, where she helped organize tree-plantings, graffiti cleanups and other programs.

Oropeza, who has the support of several current members of the council and school board, touts her school board experience. Cutting the school district’s budget for the past several years, she said, has given her the skills to deal with the city’s shrinking budget.

The issue of violent crime has topped the candidates’ agendas during the campaign. In one televised debate, McNinch lifted a hypodermic needle, matches and a crumpled paper bag to the camera--drug paraphernalia that she said was in her car after it was vandalized near Drake Park.

“Transient addicts have taken over that park,” she said. “It’s time to put a stop to it.”

She proposes adding about 250 police officers, funded through federal grants. Oropeza said she would add 100 officers by cutting city spending in other areas.

Both emphasized the need for community-based policing and early intervention, through jobs and recreational programs, to turn youths away from gangs.

DISTRICT 7:

Donelon, president of the California Heights Neighborhood Assn., and Uranga, the former president of the Long Beach Children’s Museum, are political newcomers who enjoy broad community support in the district, which covers central and western Long Beach.

With a campaign war chest of more than $47,000, Uranga has raised more than any council candidate. Donelon has raised nearly $31,000.

Although more police are needed on the streets, both candidates say, the long-term solution to crime is a revitalized economy.

Donelon, 42, said his experiences as a self-employed general contractor have prepared him to make Long Beach more friendly to businesses. He said he would consult with business owners and explore ways to make the city’s permit system more efficient.

He proposes adding 100 officers to the police force but favors a gradual increase that would coincide with economic growth.

Uranga, 40, said her top priority would be to bring a police substation to the city’s west side. She said that the Long Beach Airport is an under-utilized resource, and that she would support boosting the number of flights there.

Uranga said she will seek to implement an internship program for young people at City Hall.

DISTRICT 9:

Sheriff’s Deputy Shultz, a first-time candidate, finished ahead of seven others vying to represent the North Long Beach district.

In political mailings and debates, Shultz, 47, has cited his law-enforcement experience as a qualification to help him reverse trends that he said accompany a rise in crime, such as absentee landlords, graffiti and falling property values.

“We need new leadership and enthusiasm that hasn’t been seen in North Long Beach in over a decade,” Shultz said. He has proposed adding 100 to 150 officers to the police force, which he would like to see supplemented with reserve officers and volunteers.

Harwood, 54, says voters will not hold him responsible for problems caused by the state’s recession. A projects coordinator for the County Department of Health Services and the second-most-senior member of the council, he cites his 12 years’ experience as a qualification.

Speaking of his opponent, Harwood said, “It’s not the best of times for on-the-job training.”

Harwood disputes Shultz’s portrayal of him as having alienated his council colleagues, saying instead that he is an independent thinker and the conscience of the council. As an example, Harwood cited his 1992 efforts to keep the Queen Mary in Long Beach over the objections of Mayor Ernie Kell and various other city officials.

“The (ship) is there today, with 500 jobs,” Harwood said. “I’ve got political bruises and scars to show for it, but I’m proud of it.”

Harwood said he would propose spending cuts in areas such as funding for the arts to bring the police force to 1,000 officers by 1996, an increase of 208.