Voters Mix Up Alarcon, Alatorre

City Councilman Richard Alarcon is taking the unprecedented step in his state Senate campaign of sending out about 200,000 fliers, telling voters that he is not Councilman Richard Alatorre, a colleague who is the subject of a wide-ranging federal corruption probe.

Caught in one of Southern California’s toughest primary races, Alarcon’s campaign staff said a recent poll found that up to 17.5% of voters in the San Fernando Valley Senate district confused the two men.

Alarcon’s staff worried that the confusion could affect the outcome of the race against former Assemblyman Richard Katz.

“Even if it’s only 17.5% who said they are confused, it’s a huge problem,” said Richard Ross, Alarcon’s campaign consultant.

The confusion is nothing new. Since Alarcon took office in 1993, constituents, City Hall staff and even council members have confused the two, primarily because of the similarities in their names. They often get each other’s mail. It doesn’t help that the two lawmakers are seated next to each other on the alphabetically arranged council desk.

Alarcon is 44 and represents the northeast Valley. Alatorre is 55 and represents parts of East Los Angeles.

“There are both ‘Richards’ with a last name that starts with an Ala,” Ross said. “The names are strikingly similar.”

Ross acknowledges that some voters who have been contacted by campaign staffers attributed the allegations of wrongdoing by Alatorre to Alarcon and refused to support him in the election.

One voter who was contacted by Alarcon’s campaign staff referred to allegations that Alatorre received a $12,000 roof from a firm with substantial government business.

“We had a guy who asked if I had any good roofing contractors and then hung up,” Ross said.

But Alarcon insisted that he is not trying to distance himself from Alatorre because of the allegations.

“I’m doing it because I think it’s important for voters to know who they are voting for,” Alarcon said. “The last thing I want them to think is that the guy running in the San Fernando Valley is some guy from outside the district.”

Alatorre’s staff said they understand why Alarcon is taking this unusual step and support his effort.

“Councilman Alatorre knows that Alarcon is in a tight race and he has to do what he has to do,” said Alatorre spokeswoman Luisa Campano. “Confusion with both of them is quite common.”

Campano said Alarcon got Alatorre’s consent before the mailer was printed. “Richard doesn’t have a problem with it,” she said.

Ross said he began to suspect the existence of confusion when campaign workers found that many voters were unreceptive to calls on the days that allegations of wrongdoing against Alatorre appeared in the media.

On days when Alatorre was not in the news, campaign workers found that voters were much more supportive of Alarcon, Ross said.

Once Ross saw the pattern, he and Alarcon set out to make clarifications.

Starting next week, Alarcon’s campaign mail will include a 3-inch by 5-inch card with photos of both councilmen with their names printed beneath them.

It reads: “Some people confuse me with East L.A. Councilman Richard Alatorre. Our names are similar. But I am the Valley councilman who revitalized the GM plant, improved firefighter safety and donated my pay raise for police services.”

The cards, which cost about $20,000 to print, do not refer to the allegations of wrongdoing by Alatorre.

The latest allegations surfaced in Alatorre’s bitter dispute over his wife’s 9-year-old niece, whose custody the Alatorres are seeking to retain. The child’s father, who also is seeking custody, has filed court papers accusing Alatorre of abusing cocaine and improperly pulling funds from the estate of the girl.

The Times has also reported that a firm with substantial government business and a controversial history paid $12,000 for a tile roof for Alatorre’s Eagle Rock home. The roof was financed by the East Los Angeles Community Union, known as TELACU, just weeks after Alatorre helped one of the firm’s partnerships obtain a crucial $2-million city loan for a shopping center project, a Times investigation has found.

The FBI’s public corruption squad is investigating TELACU’s role in the roof purchase and circumstances involving the acquisition of the house itself, according to sources familiar with the transactions.

And The Times reported in December that Alatorre obtained a mortgage after associates of a real estate investor in need of City Hall help allegedly fabricated financial documents to enhance the cash-strapped councilman’s standing with his bank. Alatorre later became the investor’s strongest advocate.

Alatorre and his wife have denied any wrongdoing in connection with their personal finances, including the purchase of the home and roof.