Georgia Mercer and Cindy Miscikowski

The retirement of veteran Councilman Marvin Braude has turned the 11th City Council District primary into a hot contest. The Valley-Westside district straddles the Santa Monicas, stretches from Pacific Palisades to Van Nuys and includes many of the city’s toniest neighborhoods. Four candidates are vying for the post, but most of the money and attention in the race has been focused on former Braude aide Cindy Miscikowski, 48, of Brentwood, and former aide to Mayor Richard Riordan, Georgia Mercer, 55, of Tarzana.

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Question: Why are you the best person to lead the 11th District for the next four years?

Mercer: I’ve lived in the district for over 30 years and . . . have been involved in community issues and understand how they impact us in our everyday lives. I’ve worked citywide and on the Westside too. I’m the best candidate to bridge the two portions of the district.

Miscikowski: Because I have the ability, the experience and the knowledge to get the job done. I’ve spent 20 years working with and for the citizens of the 11th District on issues of concern to them.

Q: Why do you want the job?

Mercer: I grew up in a family with values that there’s a need to be part of the solution. Having worked most recently for the mayor, I [saw] the possibility to have a tremendous impact on people’s lives by maximizing existing resources. I saw there were solutions available.

Miscikowski: Because I’m good at it. I have solved problems in this district [and] created innovative solutions that positively affect the quality of life for people in this district, such things as drafting Proposition U, reducing commercial development by 50%, and Proposition O, defeating a plan to drill for oil . . . off the coastline.

Q: Boiled down to its essence, what’s the key problem facing the city today?

Mercer: Regaining a sense of safety is so key. The random violence and the reality that while crime rates may be down in some areas, the one area they are not down is violent juvenile crime. Creating a juvenile justice and crime committee is something I want to do.

Miscikowski: An economic divide. A sense of not being a part of a whole and not looking together for common solutions--a sort of balkanization.

Q. What one thing do you want voters to know about your chief opponent, that if they knew, would make them vote for you instead?

Mercer: Our life experiences are very different. I view City Hall through the eyes of the community. My opponent has worked inside City Hall. . . . The issue about her and her husband being involved . . . in getting gates put up in her own neighborhood--the first gates ever approved [out of some] 100 applications. . . . It’s that insider mentality, an arrogance.

Miscikowski: [Our relative] experience. [The importance] of having the knowledge to get the job done. Just look at what somebody says and what they’re doing. Her people are putting signs on utility polls. It’s illegal. She doesn’t know the rules.

Q: What’s your vision or platform?

Mercer: We have the chance to make changes that will make government more accountable. There has been a longing since the earthquake to have a sense of neighborhood. I want to return a sense of neighborhood to Los Angeles. From that grows a sense of pride in the city.

Miscikowski: I have a passion for the quality of life issues in this district. The urban design look. Sign pollution. Noise pollution. . . . A good, strong urban design quality enhances looks and creates an element of safety.

Q: What would you do differently than Councilman Marvin Braude?

Mercer: To start, it’s the organization of the office. My staff will be experienced community organizers who from the get-go go out and reach into the community. I want to change the style of what a city council office is, [so it is not] just complaint-driven.

Miscikowski: Marvin is a visionary who looks at long-term, lofty goals. I’m much more of a detail-oriented, grass-roots kind of person. I really enjoy rolling up my sleeves and working at the community level to solve problems.

Q: Which council members do you view as role models?

Mercer: Laura Chick has done a really excellent job. She’s done very, very innovative things in terms of her own community and found creative ways of enforcing existing codes. Jackie Goldberg has her community organized at the grass-roots level. Mark Ridley-Thomas has done a wonderful job, and Mike Feuer.

Miscikowski: Laura Chick. There’s a genuineness there. Former Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky in terms of his knowledge and former Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores. I really admired her sensitivity to the public. She made the transition from long-term staff member to City Council member very gracefully and never forgot the names of the clerks in the hall.

Q: What’s your view on Valley secession?

Mercer: It’s revealed frustration people feel that they’re not getting their fair share, and government is inaccessible. I would let [state Sen. President Pro Tem Bill] Lockyer’s bill move forward. . . . Let’s look at our options. I favor a citywide vote [on secession] because we are a whole.

Miscikowski: I support the right of the public to vote on the matter, that is eliminating the City Council veto, but I don’t believe it should be a Valley-only vote. When you cut out one-third of a body, the whole body should have a say in it.

Q: Would you vote for a financial settlement for LAPD Chief Willie L. Williams?

Mercer: That’s not appropriate. The chief . . . has a five-year contract. That’s the beginning and end of the story.

Miscikowski: Other than a normal buying out the end of the contract if he leaves before July, nothing makes sense. . . . There is both no merit to it and we ought not to set any precedent on it.

Q: Charter reform. Is it the answer or does it create bigger problems?

Mercer: The optimist in me says, “Hey, let’s take a look.” The pessimist in me says, “Come on, get real.” The two competing bodies [charter-reform commissions] will be very political. . . . I think it’s healthy to have a discussion. This is a potentially exciting time to discuss our options.

Miscikowski: It certainly can be the answer. It can be an exciting revitalizing period for the city. . . . In the ‘60s, my professors talked about charter reform. We need to get it out of the academic world and into community. But we have to be cautious. People want to see reform, but not necessarily revolution.

Q: Who are you voting for for mayor, city attorney and charter commission?

Mercer: Mayor Riordan. The mayor has done a reasonably good job in many ways. He’s set out on some needed agendas that deserve support. I’m for [his] charter-reform measure . . . but prefer to stay neutral on the city attorney race [and charter commission candidate].

Miscikowski: Richard Riordan. I’m not going to tell you about city attorney . . . or charter reform commission member. . . . I’m going to keep [my vote] confidential.

Q: Is Cindy Miscikowski’s husband, former lobbyist and land-use attorney Doug Ring, a fair campaign issue?

Mercer: This gate issue has definitely raised the reality that relationships and close ties to City Hall are an issue in the race. I think it’s a reality that’s scared lots of people.

Miscikowski: No . . . because I have a 20-year record of public service in this district and have clearly identified and defined myself. I am the candidate here. There were no problems in years working on staff and Doug doing his business. . . . No conflict ever arose.

Q: What about Ring’s lobbying role in getting your Brentwood community gated while you were on Braude’s staff, an issue raised by the Mercer campaign? (Question directed to Miscikowski only.)

Miscikowski: It’s going to backfire on her. . . . It may be fair game to bring up, but not inaccurately. . . . [Doug’s involvement was] the final conclusion of a 10-year process. Essentially, it was a done deal except for the final dotted line.

Q: Is there any reason for concern about who’s financing either of your races?

Mercer: Yes. A tremendous number of lobbyists, developers and insiders are financing Cindy’s race. . . . Nobody owns me. I’m not beholden. I have the broadest possible base of support you can get.

Miscikowski: My donors represent the broadest spectrum of the community . . . 850 individual donors. There’s no question I formed relationships and earned the respect of people from across the spectrum. No one had the sense they owned me. . . . I have a reputation for fairness.

Q: Anything we should be asking your opponent?

Mercer: Focus on how they got those gates up. . . . How did that happen? . . . Council members have dismissed staff members when they married a lobbyist. Why was this not a conflict for Braude?

Miscikowski: Ask how would you get the work done? She doesn’t understand how the city works and what has been important to the community at the level of how to get things done. [She] lacks depth of knowledge.

Q: Cindy Miscikowski is being viewed as the insider, Georgia Mercer as the outsider. What’s your take on that?

Mercer: Leadership is not based on technical skills and information. Leadership is based on the ability to bring diverse groups together, empower them to do the job and then give them the support they need. I have a track record of doing that. I’m an outgoing person versus someone who is more comfortable implementing.

Miscikowski: The attack against me has been I’m the classic insider. I don’t deny the fact I know the system and know how to hit the ground running.

Valley political writer Nancy Hill-Holtzman interviewed the candidates separately. Their comments were edited.