Katz Pounces on Brochure by Alarcon

The once-genial race for a state Senate seat in the San Fernando Valley turned confrontational Thursday as former Assemblyman Richard Katz accused City Councilman Richard Alarcon ofdistortinghislegislativerecord.

Katz’s ire was aimed at an “attack brochure” by Alarcon that cites several votes that Katz took in the Assembly and describes how Alarcon would have voted differently.

But Katz said the flier fails to provide any background on the legislation and thus misrepresents his position on the matter.

“He is trying to create an impression that is just not true,” Katz said. “This is to put him on notice that he will be held accountable.”

Alarcon shrugged off Katz’s complaints, saying the brochure merely states a series of votes on which Katz and Alarcon differ. He said the flier allows voters to compare the records of the top two Democratic candidates.

“We are merely showing his voting record, and we think the people of the San Fernando Valley need to see the whole picture,” Alarcon said.

The flier is the first hard-hitting brochure of the race and a sign that the campaign has taken a new, harder edge. It has not been mailed, but several hundred have been distributed by hand, Alarcon said.

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Alarcon and Katz--who had worked closely in the past--are vying for the seat being vacated by Sen. Herschel Rosenthal (D-Los Angeles) who is being forced out by term limits. The district includes most of the northeast Valley.

The primary is June 2.

Katz is a former Democratic Assembly leader who was also forced out of office by term limits. Alarcon is in his second four-year term on the Los Angeles City Council. Term limits will force him out of office in three years.

Alarcon predicted that his campaign will distribute more election material that examines Katz’s legislative record.

Katz suggested that he may respond with similar campaign material.

Here are some of the points of dispute:

* The brochure stated that Katz voted against “allowing a local school district to have a longer school year.”

“As our Senator, Richard Alarcon will vote ‘YES’ on communities getting more power to improve local schools,” according to the brochure.

The legislation called for a pilot program at the Oxnard Union High School District to extend the school year by seven to 15 days, and included funding for a series of other educational programs. The bill failed in the Senate.

Katz said he voted against the bill because the version that appeared before the Assembly did not provide the necessary funding to pay for the extended school program. He said he later voted for the budget package adopted by Gov. Pete Wilson that provided the $1.75 million for the program.

* The brochure stated: “As an Assemblyman, Richard Katz voted ‘NO’ on banning welfare cheaters from getting more welfare. As our Senator, Richard Alarcon will only support welfare for those who need it and don’t cheat to get it.”

The legislation called on the Employment Development Department to deduct unemployment and disability benefits for people who used deception to get more than their share. That bill also failed in the Senate.

Katz said he voted against the bill because it was “authored by a right-wing Republican legislator.” Katz was also worried that the legislation would unfairly withhold benefits based on errors made by government workers.

* The brochure stated that Katz voted for higher community college fees, which Alarcon opposes.

The spending bill involved also included funding for hundreds of programs, taxes and cuts. Katz voted for the bill but said that it was part of a tough compromise between Democrats and Republicans to cut a nearly $10-billion deficit.

“It’s easy to sit in Los Angeles and take cheap shots and not understand the entire balanced budget battle,” Katz said.

* The brochure attacks Katz for voting to raise the gasoline tax by 9 cents per gallon in 1989. Katz said he has voted for gas tax increases for statewide transportation projects, but said the legislation cited by Alarcon put the issue to a public vote.

In the mailer, Alarcon goes on to criticize Katz for being absent from a vote to ban lawsuits by criminals who sue their victims.

Katz, meanwhile, suggested that some of the photos used in the brochure were taken by a City Hall photographer and thus may have violated laws that prohibit the use of city resources for campaign purposes. An attorney for Katz asked Ron Deaton, the city’s chief legislative analyst, to turn over photo negatives to verify if the photos were taken by a city employee.

Alarcon said the photos used in the brochures were all taken by campaign staff.