L.A. ELECTIONS / 14th DISTRICT : Services an Issue as Alatorre Faces Newcomer Parra

Tim Ortiz, an East Los Angeles activist who supports Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alatorre’s reelection bid, shook with anger as critics described the incumbent as being badly out of touch with residents.

“I’ve dealt with him,” said Ortiz, 30, who says Alatorre often visits neighborhoods and addresses the needs of residents such as those at the Ramona Gardens housing development. “He’s never let us down.”

But Carmen Nieves, who supports challenger Alvin Parra in the April 11 primary, disagreed just as vigorously. Alatorre has been impossible to reach and his staff is rude, she said.

“Why can’t he be reached and spoken to when a resident wants?” asked Nieves, 42, who like Ortiz lives at Ramona Gardens.

The two views of Alatorre, a 10-year veteran of the City Council and a former state assemblyman, emerged during a recent 14th District candidates debate. Both views are familiar to the incumbent.

Despite his reputation as a political force, Alatorre admits being frustrated at times by the problems facing many of his constituents. Unemployment, gang activity and graffiti are common ills in parts of the district, which includes all or parts of Boyle Heights, El Sereno, Highland Park and Eagle Rock.

During the campaign against Parra, which is Alatorre’s fourth council race, the 51-year-old incumbent has worked to convince residents that without him conditions would be far worse.

“One thing I’ve got is a wealth of information,” Alatorre said recently at his Eagle Rock campaign headquarters. “I think I’ve been able to deliver quite a few things for the people in the district.”

Parra, 26, a first-time candidate from El Sereno, does not think so. Alatorre has done a poor job of ensuring even such basic services as regular trash collection or fixing potholes, said Parra, who as a political science major at UCLA interned in Alatorre’s office.

“He’s very vulnerable,” said Parra, a community organizer who has worked on his campaign full-time since January. “He realizes that.”

Most observers, however, believe that Alatorre is too strong--and Parra too much an unknown--for an upset to occur.

Lou Negrete, a professor of Chicano studies at Cal State L.A. who watches district activities closely, said Alatorre’s record has been good, even though there were times when his style has been considered arrogant.

“I don’t know who Alvin Parra is. I’ve never heard of him or met him until this campaign,” Negrete said. “I think the campaign is whether or not (Alatorre) can exceed his previous margin of victory.”

Negrete and others discounted the significance of Alatorre’s failure last month to receive the endorsement of the Los Angeles County Democratic Central Committee. Alatorre remains powerful and highly popular in the district, they said.

Campaign officials said Alatorre had raised about $265,000 by the end of March, compared to about $16,000 by Parra.

Parra, who is single and lives in El Sereno with his mother and two brothers, said the district desperately needs more business development, affordable housing and anti-crime efforts.

“I can assure you there are people out there who are unhappy,” Parra said during a recent campaign break. “I know government cannot fix all the problems of society but at least it can make opportunities available for a higher standard of living.”

Parra said that as a councilman he would push for improvements while making sure that residents receive personal attention.

“The residents of this district realize we’re being neglected,” he said.

Alatorre, who was elected to the state Assembly at 29, considers much of Parra’s criticism either naive or wrong. He said he plans to do more if reelected, but, he added, the area cannot be improved without the cooperation of residents and his 14 council colleagues.

His many posts include chairman of the council’s Budget and Finance Committee and board member on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Alatorre lives in Monterey Hills with his third wife, Angie, and has two sons, Darrell, 29, who is his campaign manager, and Derrick, 30.

Alatorre said he is eager to serve another four-year term.

“I didn’t enter into politics to just vegetate,” he said. “I believe in what I’m doing.”