Most Westside Democrats Avoid Challenges and Look Toward November

Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) may be the closest thing to a sure bet this political season. The powerhouse Democrat faces no opponent in the Tuesday primary and is expected to coast by a nominal Republican challenge in November to capture a 12th term.

But Waxman is hardly the only Westside Democrat whose reelection prospects look promising.

Just one of the area’s seven incumbents for state or national office faces a challenge in the primary--Assemblyman Kevin Murray (D-Los Angeles). He is expected to handily win his party’s nomination in the 47th District, which includes Culver City and Cheviot Hills.

The Westside Democratic primaries may lack fireworks, but they remain important because they hold the key to victory in November. Winners in years past have traditionally gone on to win the general election as a result of the area’s overwhelming Democratic registration.

“This is a Democratic heartland,” said Assemblyman Wally Knox (D-Los Angeles), who faces no primary opponent in the 42nd District, which includes Westwood, Century City, Hollywood and Bel-Air. “The voters are dedicated.”

The Westside political landscape is in sharp contrast from two years ago, when nearly 30 candidates swarmed the area seeking to fill three Assembly seats that opened as a result of term limits. The seats were captured by Knox, Murray and fellow Democrat Sheila James Kuehl of Santa Monica.

Despite predictions of smooth reelection rides, the Westside incumbents are planning campaigns in the coming months--with black-tie fund-raisers and glossy mailers, among other things.

Waxman has already held a fund-raiser, a gala affair at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel that attracted dozens of local Democratic officials and featured U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala as the keynote speaker.

But these relatively safe incumbents--including state Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica)--are also planning to spend their time stumping for candidates in other districts in hopes of increasing Democratic clout in Sacramento and Washington.

Waxman, for example, plans to lend his name and financial support to Democratic candidates in local congressional districts, including the open Malibu-to-Ventura seat of retiring Rep. Anthony Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills). There, Waxman has endorsed the leading Democratic contender in the primary, Brad Sherman, a member of the State Board of Equalization. The contest is expected to attract national attention from both parties as the general election approaches.

“I’m very involved in trying to get control of the House back from Newt Gingrich and the Republicans,” said Waxman, who was first elected to the House in 1974.

Westside Assembly members are also going to bat for their Democratic colleagues at the state level.

Murray is campaigning for two members of his own family--his father, outgoing Assemblyman Willard H. Murray Jr. (D-Paramount), seeking a congressional seat in Compton, and his sister, Melinda, running for their father’s Assembly seat.

Meanwhile, Westside Assembly members plan to work on behalf of candidates for two local seats that have been targeted by Assembly Republicans. State GOP leaders hope to unseat Kuehl and Assemblywoman Debra Bowen (D-Marina del Rey) in the general election.

Political experts consider Kuehl the more formidable of the two. Registration in her district favors the sophomore legislator, with 49% Democratic and 35% Republican.

The 41st Assembly District stretches from Santa Monica, Brentwood and Malibu to Encino, Calabasas and Agoura.

In the general election, Kuehl will face Republican Mark Boos Benhard, an aide to former Rep. William Dannemeyer, who two years ago made an unsuccessful bid in the GOP primary for Beilenson’s congressional seat. Also running in the general election are Libertarian Phil Baron, Natural Law candidate Marya Small and Peace and Freedom candidate John Honigsfeld.

Pundits predict that Kuehl will win, partly because of her willingness to work with Republican counterparts in the Assembly.

“I don’t know of many Republicans who track campaigns who believe that Sheila can be beaten this year or any year,” said Allan Hoffenblum, a Republican political consultant.

Bowen’s seat, on the other hand, is considered more vulnerable. The 53rd Assembly District covers Venice, Westchester, Mar Vista and Marina del Rey, but also stretches through much of the South Bay, including El Segundo, Torrance, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Lomita and part of Palos Verdes Estates.

The registration is almost evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, with Democrats holding a slight edge, 42% to 40%.

Two well-financed Republican candidates--Manhattan Beach businessman John Morris and Torrance City Councilman Dan Walker--are battling to face Bowen in the general election.

But Bowen remains optimistic. She said Assembly Republicans have misread the political bent of the district. She describes her constituents as moderate voters who want government to provide services such as public safety and to keep an eye on the environment.

“Pat Buchanan would not do well in the 53rd Assembly District,” Bowen said. “The district is in the middle of the political spectrum. That’s where I am.”