Protesters Persuade Svorinich to Boycott Fund-Raiser

On the Los Angeles waterfront, roots run deep and family still matters.

So when it came time for Los Angeles City Councilman Rudy Svorinich Jr. to enter a political fund-raiser for which he was guest host, or walk away with picketing longshoremen, he walked.

“For me, it was a personal issue,” said Svorinich, who caused a stir in the local political community when he turned away from a $100-a-person fund-raising dinner for Assemblyman Phil Hawkins (R-Bellflower).

Svorinich, also a Republican, was supposed to deliver the keynote speech at the Tuesday night dinner at the Dalmatian American Club of San Pedro for Hawkins, who is running against Democrat Betty Karnette for the state Senate seat that includes the Los Angeles/Long Beach harbor area.

But when he arrived at the club, a dozen or so picketers, most of them longshoremen, were out front. They had a long list of complaints about Hawkins’ conservative politics, from votes to repeal occupational health and safety laws to opposition to an increase in the minimum wage and support for a change in prevailing wage statutes that could cost some construction workers $6 an hour.

“I just asked Rudy to go down the list and point out anything that he would agree with,” said Steve Shroeder, a longshoreman who has supported Svorinich. “Rudy has always been there for us when we asked him for his help. We had no beef with Rudy, other than the simple question, ‘Why would you host a fund-raiser [for someone who] goes against these things we believe in?”’

“I knew most of them by their first names. They are like extended family,” said Svorinich, who described his discussion with Shroeder as “a pleasant conversation.”

“I come from three generations of longshoremen,” said Svorinich. “My father, my grandfather and my great-grandfather all were members of the longshoremen’s local that was handing out fliers at Mr. Hawkins’ dinner.”

Svorinich said that although “I chose not to participate in the fund-raising dinner . . . I am continuing to support Mr. Hawkins.” The city councilman said that although he disagreed with Hawkins on labor issues, he liked the assemblyman’s support for tougher criminal sentences, and other public safety issues.

Hawkins was not available for comment.

An aide said that from at least one standpoint, the evening turned out all right. “We were hoping to raise $10,000. We raised $10,000,” said Chris St. Hilaire.