51 in Race to Capture 15 Reform Panel Seats

Marking the start of an unpredictable campaign, 51 candidates qualified Tuesday to vie for posts on a 15-seat panel to overhaul the city’s 72-year-old governing charter.

An April 8 measure--which qualified for the ballot thanks to a petition drive backed by Mayor Richard Riordan--will ask voters to create the panel to rewrite the 680-page document that many city officials say is ineffective and out of date.

More than half of the original 112 candidates who sought the posts were eliminated after failing to collect at least 500 valid signatures on nominating petitions.

Because most of the candidates who qualified have little name recognition outside their neighborhoods, endorsements will play a key role in who is elected, political pundits say. One panel member will be elected from each of the 15 council districts.

With the election less than two months away, Riordan, the City Council and labor unions have already begun to consider slates of candidates to support.

The panel members will serve without pay for up to 18 months but will have the power to recommend ways to restructure the way city government operates. The reform measures are subject to approval by voters.

Riordan has not officially unveiled his slate but his associates have named several likely candidates, including Helen Bernstein, former teachers’ union leader; Gary Thomas, president of the United Chambers of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley; Christine Robert, a Community Redevelopment Agency commissioner, and Paula Boland, a former assemblywoman.

“I am supporting candidates who are bright, creative and independent, and who have the knowledge, experience and intelligence to find the best options to modernize city government,” Riordan said in a statement.

The call to reform the charter came last summer in response to secessionist threats in the San Fernando Valley.

But the efforts have turned into a power struggle between Riordan and a majority of council members, who accuse him of trying to use charter reform to increase the mayor’s authority.

Riordan dismisses such charges, saying, “I have not discussed with any candidates what goals or expectations I might have for a modern Los Angeles charter.”

David Fleming, a Studio City attorney who teamed with Riordan to put the reform measure on the ballot, said the mayor will officially make all his endorsements later this week.

Riordan has helped raise $556,500 from corporate executives and others to fund a campaign for his slate.

Political consultant Harvey Englander organized a Feb. 13 fund-raising breakfast to bankroll a council-endorsed slate. But he declined to say how much the event raised.

Englander said he expects to name his slate--in consultation with the council and others--in the next couple of weeks.

Some individual council members have already endorsed candidates in their districts. Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg has endorsed Bennett Kayser, a teacher and community activist in Echo Park. Councilman Richard Alarcon has endorsed one of his aides, Marcos Castaneda.

A coalition of labor union and community activists has endorsed a 15-member slate that includes Anne Finn, widow of former Councilman Howard Finn; Police Protective League Director Dennis Zine; USC law professor Erwin Chemerinsky, and Valley physician and businessman Keith Richman.

“What they all have in common is they are open to change and reform that is not at the expense of people who work for the city,” coalition spokeswoman Julie Butcher said.

Union leaders have expressed concern that charter reform could threaten to remove some of the civil service protection from city workers.

Butcher said the group expects to spend up to $500,000 in support of the coalition slate.

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Charter Commission Candidates * District 1: Gloria Romero

* District 2: Anne V. Finn, Marvin R. Selter, John Simonson

* District 3: James M. Greenfield, Gary M. Thomas, Dennis P. Zine

* District 4: Helen Bernstein, Tony J. Lucente, Charley M. Mims, James C. Regan, Denise Munro Robb, Bill Weinberger

* District 5: Michael S. Bohlke, Jeff Brain, Erwin Chemerinsky, Matt Epstein, Horace Hamilton Heidt, Howard S. Raphael, Andrew N. Tilles

* District 6: David G. Colwell, Sal Grammatico, Larry J. Kosmont, Chester A. Widom, Jimmie Woods-Gray

* District 7: Marcos Castaneda, Sam K. Kimura, Robert Winn

* District 8: Marguerite Archie-Hudson, Benetta Johnson

District 9: Woody Fleming, Christine M. Robert, Ricardo A. Torres

* District 10: Jackie Dupont-Walker, Casey Peters

* District 11: Jack Allen, Pamela S. Aronoff, Rob Glushon, Maureen Kindel

* District 12: Paula L. Boland, Walter N. Prince, Keith Stuart Richman

* District 13: Lorri L. Jean, Bennett Kayser, Mike Sinkov

* District 14: Jose De Jesus Legaspi, Nick Pacheco, Sylvia Robledo, David Tokofsky

* District 15: Jerry L. Gaines, Janice Hahn

* Seven other candidates who did not qualify may appeal to election officials to appear on the ballot.

Source: Los Angeles office of the city clerk