Katz Gearing Up for a Dogged State Senate Fight With Alarcon

The battle of the two Richards, former Assemblyman Richard Katz and City Councilman Richard Alarcon, is headed for a showdown at the state Democratic Convention this weekend.

Both men are working hard for the party’s endorsement for an open state Senate seat in the San Fernando Valley. But Katz is working a little harder than he had planned.

On March 1, delegates from the state Senate district that is up for grabs met to pick a favorite. Katz won 72% of the vote and thus appeared to be a shoo-in for an official endorsement by the party. Normally, the recommendation would have been rubber-stamped by the party at the convention with no debate.

But Alarcon’s supporters are not going out without a fight.

Using a little-used party bylaw, five Alarcon supporters have forced the Senate delegates to reconsider their recommendation at a second meeting Saturday at the convention in downtown Los Angeles.

The potential problem for Katz is that if his delegates don’t show up, and those who support Alarcon do, the endorsement could go to Alarcon.

So, Katz is now working to make sure that all of his supporters attend.

Regardless of who gets the nod, Joan Leonard, a Democratic Party member who has been following the Katz-Alarcon race, believes this is a sign of things to come.

“I think this thing with the endorsement is the first volley in this race,” she said. “I think it’s going to be a hard-fought race.”

Luck of the Irish

With four-leaf clovers scarce and no rainbows visible on a cloudy St. Patrick’s Day in the nation’s capital, Rep. James E. Rogan (R-Glendale) found treasure instead at the end of a luncheon, pressed from the tip of a pen.

The luncheon, held at the Capitol, offered the United States an opportunity to treat Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern to roast beef, and President Clinton a chance to call for peace in Northern Ireland.

House Speaker Newt Gingrich also attended. Rogan--who was recently appointed to the House Judiciary Committee, which is the panel that would initiate impeachment proceedings--found himself seated with the three leaders, said Jeff Solsby, a Rogan spokesman.

“Afterward, it was interesting,” Solsby said. “No one was talking to the president.”

So when Rogan--an avid collector of political memorabilia--struck up a conversation with Clinton to break the silence, the congressman was pleasantly surprised when the president offered a copy of the speech. Fast on his feet, Rogan pulled out a pen and the president signed a page of the text, Solsby said.

Rogan maintains a Capitol Hill office full of buttons, posters and other pieces of the political past. Last year, Rogan donated 35 boxes of historical mementos to the Richard M. Nixon Library.

“Jim is known for approaching public officials, emptying his pockets and saying, ‘Will you sign this? Will you sign this?’ ” Solsby said.

Signs of Demise

The newest get-tough policy targets those paper signs fluttering from public telephone poles and street lamps.

City Councilman Mike Feuer and state Assemblyman Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks) are working to crack down on what Feuer calls “paper graffiti,” tacked and nailed fliers advertising concerts, apartments and jobs as movie extras.

Feuer is calling for a pilot program to beef up enforcement of the city’s illegal sign ordinance. Hertzberg is trying to make it easier to nab offenders by allowing investigators to use the information on the signs to cite them.

Why paper signs? If authorities allow “rules of the city to be flaunted, and blight to persist, it signals deterioration of community,” Feuer said. An aide for Hertzberg said the signs undermine environmental quality, public safety, even fair business practices.

One supporter is Don Schultz, head of the Van Nuys Homeowners Assn., who tears down the signs he finds in his neighborhood. Law and order has its limits, though: “Frankly, even I have a tough time taking down lost-dog signs,” Schultz said.

Plot Thickens

Two members of the San Fernando City Council have distributed an angry letter in which they accused Mayor Raul Godinez II of putting his political ambitions above his responsibilities to the city.

Joanne Baltierrez and Doude Wysbeek charged that Godinez, who announced two weeks ago that he would challenge Rep. Howard Berman (D-Mission Hills) in the June Democratic primary, “has transformed the issue of service to the community into a personal issue of power and control.” They said Godinez’s recent spitting match with Berman over a series of mailers that the mayor claimed harmed the city’s image has been far more damaging to San Fernando’s stature than anything done by the congressman.

“Howard Berman has been a very strong supporter of San Fernando and it’s important to realize that when [Godinez] speaks, he is not speaking for the entire council or the city of San Fernando,” Baltierrez said.

In their letter, Baltierrez and Wysbeek also admonish Godinez for his plan to study the creation of a separate school district in the city, and for a recent decision by the council majority to hire a broker to refinance city bonds without soliciting bids.

Godinez, who said his spat with Berman was blown out of proportion, rejected the charges. He said that the letter was little more than sour grapes from two council members who are often at the losing end of council votes.

“It’s petty really,” Godinez said. “It’s two disgruntled council members trying to discredit me just as I announce my candidacy for Congress.”

Mirror, Mirror

For the members of the Los Angeles City Council, it was hard to find a silver lining in the results of this week’s survey of San Fernando Valley voters.

The poll of 1,205 Valley voters was commissioned by business leaders David Fleming and Bert Boeckmann, primarily to gauge support for Valley secession, which, they found, is very strong.

But voters were also asked to rate the Valley’s elected leaders.

The City Council as a whole got a lukewarm review--only 46.7% said the council has done a good or very good job. In contrast, Mayor Richard Riordan won a 78.8% approval rating.

Some individual Valley council members did better than others.

For example, Alarcon got the highest approval rating: 66.4%.

Perhaps the worst showing was that of Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski. But it’s not because she got a negative rating. It’s because a majority of voters--59.5%--said they don’t know if she is doing a good or bad job.

Arnold Steinberg, the pollster who took the survey, said there are several reasons for such a result.

First, he noted that Miscikowski is a first-term council member who is still relatively unknown in the Valley. Secondly, he said the poll only surveyed 126 Valley voters in her district. Nearly half of her district is outside the Valley, on the Westside.

But Steinberg dismissed another possible reason for the low name recognition: The survey misspelled Miscikowski’s. In addition, the workers who conducted the phone poll were instructed to pronounce her name Miss-sen-kow-skee.

Beholden

City Councilman Nate Holden took aim at San Fernando Valley-based city commissioners Boeckmann and Fleming this week over the pair’s role in backing studies of Valley secession from L.A.

Holden, the South-Central representative known for his incendiary style, questioned how sincere the pair are about serving the city while studying its breakup, and made a plea for city unity.

But despite these fighting words, the news conference was something of an exercise in futility. No one, not even Holden, seems inclined to force their resignations. Holden said he wouldn’t even sponsor a motion to remove them. And Boeckmann and Fleming brushed the criticism aside.

Which left Holden with only one recourse--to rail as only Holden can: “Rabble rousers,” he called the pair, and “two rich fat cats with an ax to grind.”

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Valley Voters Poll

Valley residents love some elected representatives, but dislike others, according to a poll taken by Arnold Steinberg and Associatees Inc. Here is a summary of the poll results:

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Do you believe each of the following is doing a very good, good, poor or very poor job?

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Very Good Good Poor Very Poor Mayor Richard 15.6% 63.2% 11.0% 2.1% Riordan The City Council 2.0% 44.7% 29.3% 10.3% as a whole Councilwoman Laura Chick 16.5% 44.6% 12.0% 2.9% Councilman John Ferraro 9.3% 37.2% 11.6% 7.0% Councilman Mike Feuer 12.1% 39.0% 6.4% 3.5% Councilman Richard Alarcon 26.7% 40.7% 7.1% 4.4% Councilwoman Cindy 3,2% 28.6% 4.8% 4.0% Miscikowski Councilman Hal Benson 8.5% 49.2% 9.8% 2.5% Councilman Joel Wachs 14.3% 43.5% 12.6% 1.3% Los Angeles 1.2% 22.6% 39.0% 22.7% Unified School District Board of Education:

Unsure/Declined Mayor Richard 8.0% Riordan The City Council 13.7% as a whole Councilwoman Laura Chick 24.0% Councilman John Ferraro 34.9% Councilman Mike Feuer 39.0% Councilman Richard Alarcon 22.1% Councilwoman Cindy 59.5% Miscikowski Councilman Hal Benson 30.0% Councilman Joel Wachs 28.3% Los Angeles 14.4% Unified School District Board of Education:

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