Kemp Draws a Campus Crowd Marked by Quality, Not Quantity

Only about 200 people attended a stump speech by Jack Kemp at Woodbury University in Burbank on Thursday, but the reception was warm--which is more than can be said of his previous stop in Ventura County.

There, local rallies featuring Kemp again were disrupted by protests sparked by the GOP ticket’s embrace of the controversial ballot initiative Proposition 209.

About 50 student protesters at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks surged forward and screamed, “No on 209!” when Kemp finished his speech.

Earlier, in an outdoor rally before Ventura’s City Hall, Kemp was heckled by a handful of Clinton supporters sprinkled among a crowd of several hundred die-hard Republicans. In Burbank, however, the crowd was mostly adoring.

“It was a great speech. I only wish there were about 1,000 more people here,” said student Jim Kay, 19. “Everything [Bob] Dole and Kemp are saying in this campaign is right on. But I think apathy is killing their chances.”

Kay lamented that only about half the people at the rally appeared to be students of the business college. During Kemp’s speech, students could be seen sitting elsewhere on campus, eating lunch nonchalantly.

Still, there was a cross-section of Republicans, from local politicos and business people to seniors and Christian Coalition activists.

The crowd roared when Kemp’s bus pulled up with “Liberty Bell” blaring from a speaker. In Kemp’s entourage were celebrities Chad Everett, Bo Derek and Billy Barty.

Only Thanh Vuong, an 18-year-old student from Vietnam, seemed unaffected by the GOP fervor igniting the crowd.

“I’m here because it’s an assignment. I have to write a two-page essay about it,” Vuong said. “I’m interested in the election, but I can’t even vote because I’m not a citizen yet.”

Box Score

Call it the Brawl at City Hall. A nasty clash in City Council chambers recently pitted two councilmen who are usually on the same side of the issues.

Councilman Richard Alarcon, who represents the northeast San Fernando Valley, and Councilman Mike Hernandez of East Los Angeles squared off over Mayor Richard Riordan’s appointment of businessman Tod Burnett to the Board of Public Works.

Alarcon, who heads the council’s Public Works Committee, endorsed Burnett, saying he had done a good job as a past member of the Environmental Affairs Commission.

But Hernandez was adamantly opposed to the appointment, saying that Riordan has failed to appoint commissioners who represent the different communities and ethnic groups in the city. Burnett is white and lives on the Westside.

Alarcon agreed that Riordan should increase the diversity of his appointees but he said Burnett should not suffer because of it.

“I don’t think this is the place to fight that battle,” Alarcon told Hernandez.

It appeared that Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas had defused the situation by suggesting that the entire debate be postponed until today.

Everyone agreed to the delay, but tempers were already strained. Hernandez and Alarcon continued to argue the matter in hushed tones on one side of the chambers. Eventually, the two got in each other’s faces and were soon nose to nose, gesturing and pointing at each other.

Police officers assigned to provide security in the chambers tried twice to break the two apart. But they kept at it while City Hall staff and others watched and waited for the first blow to be landed.

Fortunately, the confrontation never got physical, but that was just Round 1. Hernandez said later that he did not mean to get so angry over the issue but added: “I had no choice.”

Stay tuned for Round 2.

Title Role

Seven years ago, then-City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky pulled the plug on his mayoral candidacy because his campaign’s polling showed that he could not unseat the incumbent, Tom Bradley.

So, reeling from conflict-of-interest charges, Bradley limped to another mayoral term, but was nearly forced into a runoff with underfinanced City Councilman Nate Holden.

Later, after Bradley decided not to seek another term in 1993, Yaroslavsky emerged as one of the favorites. But again, Yaroslavsky chose not to pursue the mayor’s job, saying he would rather spend more time with his wife and children than take on the all-consuming job of big-city mayor.

From the sidelines, he watched businessman Richard Riordan coast to victory.

Ironically, now that Yaroslavsky is a county supervisor, he will finally get to be mayor. In this case, the title will be county mayor, the new appellation given to the chair of the Board of Supervisors.

The catch is that Yaroslavsky might refuse to assume the title when the post rotates from Supervisor Mike Antonovich to him in early December. During Tuesday’s 3-2 board vote on the issue, Yaroslavsky and Gloria Molina--who has also admitted to mayoral aspirations (the city, not the county)--were the only board members to oppose the new title.

Yaroslavsky said he was concerned about legal considerations, and Molina suggested the board use the term “president” to avoid confusion--and conflict--with the city. But one county official involved in the behind-the-scenes effort said: “They voted ‘no’ so they can look good. But you can bet that when their turn comes they will definitely use the title.”

No News

Not content with telling readers whom it supports in the upcoming election, the Spanish-language daily La Opinion has offered a slate of candidates that it’s against.

Included on the newspaper’s hit list:

Elton Gallegly: Representative of the 23rd District in House of Representatives, Gallegly was one of the pioneers of the mean-spirited proposal to deny citizenship to the children born in this country of illegal immigrants. Gallegly aspires to be reelected. We recommend abstaining from voting for his reelection.

Paula Boland: The Republican Paula Boland, aspirant for the 21st state Senate District, stood out in the Assembly for her divisionist positions. Conspicuous standard-bearer for the secession of the San Fernando Valley and the breakup of the Los Angeles Unified School District, Boland opposes abortion rights and is an enemy of gun control. We recommend abstaining from voting for Boland.

Curt Pringle: Curt Pringle, the Assembly speaker who seeks reelection in the 68th District, has demonstrated a talent as a vindictive inquisitor in his maneuvers to retain Republican control of the Assembly. We oppose his reelection.

Mind Games

These days there is only one thing on the mind of Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs: The proposed taxpayer-subsidized sports arena in downtown Los Angeles.

Wachs hates the proposal, saying the city should not have to subsidize a $230-million facility for the Lakers and Kings.

But because he is one of the few opponents of the project in City Hall, Wachs has had to put off other projects while he battles the slew of stadium supporters. Wachs even made his pitch during an appearance on “Market Watch News”--a financial television program that provides up-to-date stock prices scrolling along the bottom of the screen.

For example, he has yet to make good on a 3-year-old promise to create 100 neighborhood councils that would give residents a chance to make recommendations on planning and financing issues.

Asked what happened to the council promise, Greg Nelson, Wachs’ chief deputy said: “He is putting all his energy on the arena.”

The city’s canines and felines have also suffered because of the arena.

In July, Wachs brought a homeless Labrador mix named Indy to a council meeting in hopes that someone would fall in love with the mutt and adopt it. As he cradled the dog, Wachs promised to bring a new homeless animal to council meetings each month to promote adoption of the city’s homeless pets.

Although he was successful at finding the dog a home, Wachs has yet to bring another animal to a meeting.

Again, Nelson said the arena issue is to blame.

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QUOTABLE: “What happened, did no one jump at the title of king or queen?”

--Mayor’s spokeswoman Noelia Rodriguez, on a motion to have the chairman of the County Board of Supervisors renamed mayor of Los Angeles County