Oh Yeah, a Republican’s Running for 20th District Senate Seat, Too

It’s not always easy to be Ollie.

That’s especially true these days for Ollie McCaulley, the lone Republican running for a state Senate seat in the 20th District.

That’s the district in which a razor-thin margin separating Democratic contenders Richard Alarcon and Richard Katz in the primary has unleashed outrage, apologies and flurries of headlines.

The spat has been so consuming that you would hardly know that there is anyone else in this race besides candidate Alarcon, and would-be candidate Katz.

Alarcon, the certified winner by just 29 votes, has been attacked by the Katz camp for a mailer in support of his campaign that falsely linked Katz to intimidation of Latino voters. Katz has requested a recount and has filed a lawsuit to challenge the outcome. Alarcon, meanwhile, has faulted Katz for his mailer, also evoking ethnic sensitivities.

Lawsuits, accusations of race baiting, quarrels at the county clerk’s office--what’s an overlooked Republican to do?

Hold a news conference, of course: One held this week in Sun Valley was sparsely attended by the media in the Democrat-dominated district, but McCaulley still hopes his voice will be heard above the din. He has offered to debate Alarcon four times.

“I think people don’t know that he’s running,” fretted McCaulley’s chief of staff, Nanci Huskey. “It’s just been Katz and Alarcon.”

As for the Katz-Alarcon spat, she said, “it’s obviously not going to hurt [McCaulley] any.”

Breaking Through

In March, U.S. Reps. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City) and Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) met in Washington, D.C., with Federal Aviation Administration head Jane Garvey and announced a “breakthrough” in the long-running fight over construction of a new terminal at Burbank Airport.

For the first time, Berman said, the FAA’s top official would make the trip west to help break the stalemate between Burbank city leaders--who insisted on curfews and caps for commercial airline flights--and advocates of airport growth--who argued that flight levels should be driven up by passenger demand.

Five months later, Garvey has yet to set foot in Burbank. But sources have been saying an announcement is just around the corner.

In the meantime, skirmishes have erupted over a proposal to bring international flights to Burbank Airport, as well as the city’s efforts to sway voters in Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena with mailers critical of airport positions.

“I am an optimist at heart, but even optimists sometimes get frustrated,” said Burbank City Councilman Ted McConkey. “I’m hopeful she is going to be here soon and we will be able to make our case to someone at her level and that she will be the impetus for an agreement we need.”

The city’s airport opponents agreed.

“We would love to see an emissary from Jane Garvey’s office out here sooner rather than later,” added airport spokesman Sean McCarthy.

“At the same time we don’t believe that it’s going to significantly change the outcome of the debate. Federal law requires that we conduct an in-depth study before we could impose the caps and curfews demanded by Burbank.”

Trading Cards

It’s been several months since the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to make restaurants post cards showing the letter grade the eatery received when it was inspected for cleanliness.

All sorts of places--from convenience stores that sell packaged food to local pubs--have been sporting bright, clean placards that proclaim their receipt of an A, B or C.

But County Supervisor Mike Antonovich worries that some of the high grades sprouting up around town might represent some new kind of black market in inspection cards.

What if, the supervisor wondered, some of those A’s were stolen and sold to restaurants that are overrun with cockroaches?

So now the supervisor has asked county staff to investigate the possibility of printing a restaurant’s name on its report card, so there’s no doubt who had the pristine palace and who had the roach coach.

All, of course, in the name of cleanliness.