ELECTION / CITY COUNCIL : Yaroslavsky, Feuer Trade Bitter Barbs in 5th District Race

Reflecting an increasingly bitter campaign for the 5th District City Council seat, Barbara Yaroslavsky and Mike Feuer exchanged barbs during a debate last week accusing each other of using half-truths and distortion to win votes.

Yaroslavsky accused Feuer of sending hard-hitting campaign literature and then refusing to accept responsibility for the mailers. “It’s time this candidate takes responsibility,” she said of Feuer.

Later, Feuer became angry about charges from Yaroslavsky’s camp that, if elected, he would face a conflict of interest with his wife, an attorney for an organization that sues government agencies over environmental issues.

“I’m sick and tired of these kind of fabrications,” Feuer said, adding that such charges divert attention from the real problems of the city.

The forum, on Wednesday at the Dixie Canyon Avenue School in Sherman Oaks, was sponsored by the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn.

It was the second debate to feature both candidates since they emerged as the top vote-getters in the April 11 primary. The district includes Sherman Oaks, Westwood, Cheviot Hills and parts of Studio City and West Los Angeles.

Feuer’s camp brought to the forum a woman dressed in a rabbit costume to poke fun at Yaroslavsky’s allegations that Feuer planted a spy in her campaign offices, which Feuer denies.

The “rabbit” passed out an entry form for a fictitious “Find the Spy” contest, offering the winner a dinner with Yaroslavsky.

Questions from a panel of journalists and audience members put both candidates on the defensive.

Yaroslavsky had earlier criticized Feuer in a campaign mailer for allegedly supporting a proposal by state Sen. Tom Hayden for rent control for single-family residences. Asked about it, Feuer said the idea needed further study.

Further muddying things, a letter from Hayden to Yaroslavsky read at the meeting said there is no such measure.

Meanwhile, Yaroslavsky was angered by repeated questions about how she would deal with potential conflicts of interest with her husband, Zev Yaroslavsky, a member of the County Board of Supervisors.

After initially calling such questions “sexist,” she said she would have no problem dealing with city-county conflicts. “If necessary, I would be happy to sue my husband,” she said.

In recent weeks, the contest has become increasingly bitter, with Yaroslavsky’s campaign going on the offensive by charging in campaign mailers that Feuer is blinded by ambition and has used unscrupulous tactics to win.

The evidence for this is Feuer’s unauthorized use of the mailing list from Temple Beth Hillel in the Valley for a fund-raising pitch.

Feuer has apologized for wrongfully using the list, and now the temple president is attacking the Yaroslavsky mailer as an “offensive” distortion of the issue.

Feuer said Yaroslavsky is desperate, fearing she can’t win unless she slings mud.

Yaroslavsky drew only 26% of the vote in the primary, despite a significant fund-raising lead over Feuer, who was the top vote-getter with 40% of the vote.

Yaroslavsky, who finished last in the Valley, appears to have gained momentum there recently by winning endorsements from primary candidates Jeff Brain of Sherman Oaks and Roberta Weintraub, a former school board member.

Feuer, meanwhile, has won the support of the unions that represent the rank-and-file members of the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Fire Department.