Braude’s Challenger for Council Seat Attracts Notable Donors

Although the next municipal election is more than a year away, the drama is already building in the race for the council seat held by Marvin Braude.

Braude has held the post that represents parts of the west San Fernando Valley and the Westside since 1965. But he may face his toughest challenge in April when he runs against Georgia L. Mercer, a former aide to Mayor Richard Riordan, and Cindy Miscikowski, Braude’s former chief deputy, among others.

On Thursday, Miscikowski filed her first campaign finance report, showing she has raised $74,151, including a $10,000 loan from herself, for the period of Jan. 1 through June 30.

No other candidate has yet filed a report for the same period.

But what’s interesting about Miscikowski’s report is who has contributed to her campaign.

The contributors include Mike Keeley, Riordan’s former chief operating officer who resigned his post in May after admitting to leaking legal strategy to attorneys considering a suit against the city. He gave Miscikowski $500.

Also contributing was O.J. Simpson attorney Robert L. Shapiro, a longtime Miscikowski friend, who chipped in $500.

And then there was Barbara Yaroslavsky, former council candidate and wife of Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who dropped $250 into the hat. Her contribution to Miscikowski may be seen as payback to Braude who last year endorsed Yaroslavsky’s chief rival, Mike Feuer, who eventually won the seat in a runoff election.

Power to the People

The will of “the people” was much in evidence as Valley-area state legislators joined the Assembly floor debate this week on the latest three-strikes bill.

Assembly members James E. Rogan (R-Glendale) and Paula L. Boland (R-Granada Hills) made fervent arguments for the measure, which passed 55 to 14. Assemblywoman Sheila J. Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) was one of 19 legislators who voted against the bill that aims to undo a recent Supreme Court ruling that grants judges some discretion in three-strikes cases.

Kuehl said her problem with the bill was that it precluded judges from striking felonies, such as grand theft, which can be a relatively minor crime involving stealing a pair of expensive running shoes.

“I think that goes beyond what the people intended,” Kuehl said.

Boland, too, invoked “The People.”

“This measure will do nothing less than ensure . . . the constitutional application of the people’s will and save three strikes.”

Rogan’s “people” were in sync with Boland’s. “The voters said, ‘We don’t want serious criminals walking among us,”’ said Rogan, a former prosecutor and judge.

Finally, Assemblyman Kevin Murray (D-Los Angeles) rose to suggest to Boland that it was “audacious” to be so sure of what was in voters’ minds.

“What authority do we have to presume what they meant?” Murray asked.

The only other Valley legislator who voted against the bill was retiring Assemblywoman Barbara Friedman (D-North Hollywood.)

Two Democrats, Richard Katz of Sylmar and Wally Knox of Los Angeles were part of the 55-vote majority that to no one’s surprise included all four local Republican Assembly members: Boland, Rogan, Bill Hoge (R-Pasadena) and William J. “Pete” Knight (R-Palmdale).

The measure moves to the State Senate, where, no doubt, there will be more talk about what the people want.

New Name Sought for Site

A rose by any other name . . . may still smell like a dump.

Now that the city has officially closed the Lopez Canyon Landfill in Lake View Terrace, Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon, who represents the neighborhood around the dump, wants people to forget what was once there.

To that end, he has asked the council to rename the 400-acre canyon to give it a name that does not identify the area with a huge pile of urban waste.

In a recently introduced motion, Alarcon said: “‘In the interest of initiating a new era of environmental awareness during this restoration process and to instill a sense of pride in the community and the workers at the site, the name Lopez Canyon Landfill should be changed to more accurately capture the nature of activities now taking place.”

The new name: the Lopez Canyon Restoration Project.

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QUOTABLE: “You will have nothing but problems on top of problems on top of problems.”

--City Councilman Nate Holden,

on an ordinance allowing home-based businesses

Holtzman reported from Sacramento and Martin from Los Angeles.