Katz Seeks Vote Recount in State Senate Race

Richard Katz, who narrowly lost the race for the Democratic nomination for the 20th District State Senate seat, asked for a vote recount Monday and filed a lawsuit challenging the results of the June 2 primary election.

“I am looking to find 30 ballots,” Katz said, referring to the 29-vote margin in the official count. “Ballots that may not have been counted, or shouldn’t have been counted. Mistakes are common.”

The move prompted a swift response from the declared winner, City Councilman Richard Alarcon, who warned at a news conference that what has already devolved into an ugly contest with Katz would grow even uglier--especially if Katz uses the lawsuit to probe voters’ citizenship status.

“This is the campaign that doesn’t want to die,” Alarcon said. “Richard Katz is just refusing to accept this loss.”

More than 94,000 people cast ballots in the election to choose a Democratic candidate to run for the 20th District seat in November. After talking to friends, supporters and colleagues, Katz said, he concluded that it just “makes good sense to recount every ballot.”

Katz said he has already raised more than $40,000 from friends and supporters to pay for the first phases of the vote count. He said he anticipates being able to raise another $40,000 to $50,000 to carry forward his challenge.

State Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco) earlier offered to help pay for the recount, but rescinded the offer after Katz declined to accept Alarcon’s apology in a dispute that had arisen over a pro-Alarcon mailer.

Katz accused Alarcon of falsely linking him to intimidation of Latino voters in a pamphlet put out by state Sen. Richard G. Polanco (D-Los Angeles), head of the Latino Caucus. Alarcon apologized without accepting responsibility. Katz declined to accept.

On Monday, there was little sign that the bad feelings had abated.

Katz’s lawsuit cites the Polanco letter as grounds to contest the election results. “The Polanco letter in terms of lies and deceit went further than anything I’ve ever seen in politics.”

In turn Alarcon attacked Katz’s “dirty hands” mailer that depicts muddy palms and linked Alarcon to City Councilman Rich-

ard Alatorre, who is under investigation in connection with allegations about his relationships with developers.

“If this isn’t dirty campaigning, I don’t know what is,” Alarcon said.

State law permits election challenges based on fraud, mistakes in counting or alleged ineligibility of the candidate to hold office.

Alarcon’s attorney, Fred Woocher, dismissed Katz’s allegation that Polanco’s letter improperly influenced the election. “That’s absurd,” he said. “You can’t even file a civil lawsuit based on that.”

And the San Fernando Valley chapter of the Mexican American Political Assn. issued a press release Monday calling for the Democratic Party, the Democratic Assembly and Senate leadership and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gray Davis to denounce Katz’s tactics, demand that he drop the lawsuit, and require Katz to apologize for his “inflammatory tactics.”

Katz suggested that former state Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso monitor or oversee this discovery process. Alarcon responded that he welcomes Reynoso’s involvement, but called Katz’s move “a public relations ploy.”