L.A. ELECTIONS / 6TH COUNCIL DISTRICT : Galanter Gains Clout--and Critics

Ruth Galanter loves her policy-making role on the Los Angeles City Council, but shies away from the political rituals that go with it.

“I’m actually interested in how we run this city,” Galanter said recently. “Glad-handing does not come naturally to me.”

As she campaigns for a third four-year term to represent the 6th District, which includes Venice, Westchester and Westwood, Galanter is facing the consequences of both sides of her nature.

Though expected to win Tuesday’s election, Galanter is plagued by critics who say that she ignores them and their problems--the same charge that she used to drum her predecessor, Pat Russell, out of office eight years ago.

Her underfunded opponents--businessman Sal Grammatico, city housing department employee Richard Niezgodzki and graphic designer Jill Prestup--say they are running because of frustration over Galanter’s perceived lack of attention to her constituents.

“She’s more concerned with her own agenda than with what the community wants,” Grammatico said.

The griping comes at a time when Galanter seems to be hitting her stride as a lawmaker and taking a more prominent role on the council. “I’m smack in the middle (politically) and everybody needs my vote,” Galanter said. “I just think I’m taken more seriously there.”

Galanter can cite key achievements in the district--especially the new police academy in Westchester and the long-delayed restoration of the Venice canals.

She even professes to enjoy campaigning this time around--and it shows. In public, Galanter appears agreeable and relaxed, a contrast to the edgy defensiveness that characterized her reelection bid four years ago.

Still, there is something about dealing with her--and her constantly changing staff--that drives some district residents up the wall.

“We are at our wit’s end with this lady,” said Judith Pressman, a Venice homeowner activist and former Galanter supporter. “She doesn’t communicate with the neighbors. She tries to do things behind closed doors to suit herself.”

Pressman’s frustration centers on Galanter’s opposition to the redevelopment of Lincoln Place, a sprawling 800-unit apartment complex that the councilwoman would like to preserve as affordable housing.

Criticism is also high among proponents of a major overhaul of the Venice Boardwalk, which they accuse Galanter of delaying.

“It’s like pulling teeth to get anything done down here,” said Mark Ryavec, director of the Venice Boardwalk Assn., who had considered running against Galanter.

And in the Oakwood area, which suffers from gang warfare and drug dealing, board members of a property owners group virtually seethe with anger toward Galanter.

“Nothing ever happens in Oakwood,” said Dru Lewis, president of the Oakwood Property Owners Assn., which endorsed Grammatico. “The major problem with Ruth is that she doesn’t want to listen.”

Galanter interprets this lament another way: “When they say, ‘You’re not listening to us,’ what they mean is that you don’t agree with us,” she said.

Others in Venice, the district’s most contentious area, give Galanter high marks. “She was there when all these wonderful changes happened in Venice,” said Mark Galanty, president of the Venice Canals Assn.

Galanter also has won over the business community in conservative Westchester.

“She’s grown in her leadership,” said real estate agent Mary Lou Crockett. “She’s more fair and independent-minded and has expanded her listening capacity.”

Other areas of the district, including parts of Crenshaw and West Los Angeles, appear to be relatively quiet about her.

One issue that has dogged Galanter during the campaign is her high staff turnover. About 20 staff members have left in the past several years, almost all of them fired.

One former staff member, Susan Wagner, said the frequent purges illustrate a change in Galanter’s strategy as an elected official. Where she once promoted activism at the grass-roots level, she is now reactive, Wagner said.

Others say Galanter needed to gain control of her staff, which too often went its own way.

By all accounts, fighting crime is the No. 1 issue in the district. Galanter has staked her claim to this territory with a key endorsement from Mayor Richard Riordan and her coup of bringing the police training facility to her district.