Hernandez Recall Effort Scrapped

Organizers of a recall campaign against Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Hernandez disbanded their effort Friday, citing mismanagement but pledging to revive their attempt as early as next week.

The sputtering bid to unseat the 1st District councilman, which began in October after Hernandez’s summertime arrest and subsequent no-contest plea to felony cocaine possession, has suffered from a lack of leadership and failed to meet deadlines for gathering voters’ signatures, supporters said.

Its original leader, Al Molina, left the group recently, saying that he needed to attend to his ailing wife.

But Rudy Tenoria de Cordova, now the group’s leader, accused Molina of misusing campaign funds and withholding signature petitions from the group. Molina could not be reached for comment Friday.

Recall supporters needed to collect about 6,400 registered 1st District voters’ signatures by the end of next month to qualify for a recall election. Campaign workers said they believe they have 2,000 signatures but cannot be sure.

“Your guess is as good as mine--honestly,” De Cordova said. “We just need to start from scratch.”

Hernandez, who was at home and ill Friday, was placed in a drug diversion program, allowing him to avoid jail time and a felony conviction if he completes rehabilitation.

The councilman had maintained a low profile since returning to the council last fall, but lately has reemerged as a strong voice on issues affecting the city’s poor and minority communities.

Hernandez has steadfastly resisted repeated calls from several of his council colleagues and the mayor that he resign. He has hired a campaign consultant to fight the recall, saying repeatedly that voters elected him while he was using drugs, and that he is a much better representative now.

Steve Afriat, the consultant hired by Hernandez, said he believes that problems in the recall effort are signs of a “disinterested” community.

“They’ve had millions of dollars of free publicity,” Afriat said. “They’ve had every newspaper and television station. . . . Ten good people could go door to door for three months and get these signatures.

“If people really cared about this, where are the volunteers? Where are the activists?” he asked.

But De Cordova and other recall supporters say that internal problems hampered their efforts and that they believe the district backs their attempt to oust Hernandez.

“Most definitely, there is support,” De Cordova said.

Still, some political consultants are skeptical that organizers will be able to qualify for a special election, particularly in the traditionally low-turnout 1st District, a mostly Latino area stretching from Pico-Union to Highland Park.

“It’s a very difficult thing to do,” said Parke Skelton, who has run several campaigns in the area, including the recent successful election of Assemblyman Gil Cedillo. “You really have to have enough money to pay signature-gatherers.”

Hernandez, his staff and consultants say that although they don’t believe a recall will be successful, they are not taking the attempt lightly.

“I never really thought they could do it, but I always believed we should behave as if they could,” Afriat said.

Hernandez attends recovery programs and says that the death of his mother last spring exacerbated his alcohol and drug problems. He said he was drinking a quart of tequila a night as well as using cocaine.

Hernandez has only recently resumed his impassioned speeches on behalf of the working poor and once again circulates through the council chamber during its sessions. Last week, he was the council’s main advocate for hunger-striking gardeners, protesting the council’s ban on gas-powered leaf blowers. Hernandez met with the protesters daily, sometimes in the rain.

Members of Hernandez’s staff say he has remained active in a less public way in the district over the past few months.

“Our main focus has been keeping Mike free for his work and for his recovery,” Afriat said.