ELECTIONS / CITY COUNCIL : Pair Pledge to Take Race From Gutter to Streets : After the most bruising of all the primary races, 10th District incumbent Holden and challenger Sanders vow to dispense with personal attacks in June 6 runoff.

As incumbent Nate Holden and challenger J. Stanley Sanders approach the June 6 runoff election for the 10th District City Council seat, both say they will rise above the personal attacks that dominated the primary race.

Both Holden and Sanders believe the negative tone of the campaign prompted many on Tuesday to vote for third candidate Kevin Ross, hurting their attempts to win the seat outright with a majority of votes.

To win the runoff--which some expect to draw even fewer voters than the 14,800 who took part in the primary--campaign experts say Holden and Sanders must step up grass-roots style campaigning.

“This is a race that’s going to be won through the churches, block clubs and neighborhoods, not through slick advertising,” said political consultant Richard Lichtenstein.

Holden and Sanders have pledged to take the race from the gutter to the street by participating in more debates and spending more time addressing topics like crime and economic development in the district, which includes parts of West Adams, Mid-City, Koreatown and the Crenshaw district.

“I’m not going to have any more attacks,” Holden said, and Sanders stated that he will shift his campaign to “a much more specific focus on neighborhood problems.”

For many voters, that may be a welcome departure from primary campaign advertisements that questioned Holden’s residency and Sanders’ record as a landlord.

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But a sexual harassment charge against Holden by a former staffer could keep the campaigns from moving beyond character attacks. The case, which was not an issue during the primary, is scheduled to go to court on April 24.

Holden said he is not worried about the effect of the case on his campaign, and that he will not try to settle it or move the court date beyond the election. “I know I’m innocent, so why not go to court?”

In a tight race (Holden got just 546 more votes than Sanders in the primary), however, the damage from the case could be significant. “If it’s in the paper every day, it could really hurt,” noted consultant Lichtenstein.

Holden is already in a weaker position than he’s accustomed to. He won his second council term in 1991 with 72% of the vote, but garnered only 46% this time. Those who voted for Ross, who got 11% of the vote, may turn to Sanders. Ross worked on Sanders’ 1993 mayoral campaign, but has not backed either candidate thus far.

In other results Tuesday, 14th District Councilman Richard Alatorre received a bit of a political jolt despite being reelected. First-time candidate Alvin Parra, a 26-year-old former Alatorre intern, got 41% of the vote against the 10-year council member, who received 59% in the district that includes all or parts of Boyle Heights, El Sereno, Highland Park and Eagle Rock.

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Alatorre’s closest opponent in 1991 got just 16% of the vote.

“It’s been a real learning experience for me. It was never about my opponent as much as it was about the cynicism of the people,” Alatorre said, adding that voters may have mistaken the slow pace of city government for unresponsiveness.

Parra said his showing proved that he was right about district residents wanting better basic services, which was his campaign platform.

“We talked about the issues and we ran a positive campaign,” said Parra, who expects to run again. “I have established myself as an independent voice for better government.”

Council President John Ferraro, who represents the 4th District, and 8th District Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas easily held on to their seats.

Ferraro beat Linda W. Lockwood with 72% of the vote to once again represent a district that includes parts of North Hollywood, Hancock Park, Los Feliz and the Fairfax district.

Ridley-Thomas beat challengers Addie Miller and Cal Burton with 89% of the vote in the district that includes Baldwin Hills, Leimert Park, University Park, Vermont Knolls and South-Central.

Ridley-Thomas raised more than $250,000 for his race. “I ran a very aggressive campaign to show leadership in this district, taking nothing for granted.”

City of Los Angeles

City Council, District 10

100% Precincts Reporting

Votes % Nate Holden * 6,829 46 Stan Sanders 6,283 43 Kevin Ross 1,670 11

District 14

100% Precincts Reporting

Votes % Richard Alatorre * 6,550 59 Alvin Parra 4,618 41

Key to Election Tables

* An asterisk (*) denotes an incumbent candidate.

* Elected candidates and approved measures--or those leading with 99% of precincts reporting--are in bold type. Runoff elections may be required in races where no candidate receives over 50% of the vote. Results are not official and could be affected by absentee ballots.

* Party affiliation is indicated in parentheses:

(D) Democratic (R) Republican

* 0% indicates returns were unavailable at edition time or only absentee ballots had been counted.

* Uncontested races are not included in the tables.

Sources: Election returns provided by Los Angeles County registrar of voters.