Godinez’s Bid for Berman Seat a Study in Contrasts

Mayor Raul Godinez II likes to compare his campaign to unseat Congressman Howard Berman to a famous biblical battle between a powerful giant and a determined young man. He sees himself in the role of the undergunned combatant.

“It’s a David and Goliath fight,” he said. “But look who won.”

It may take divine intervention for Godinez to topple the powerful 16-year veteran, who was once part of the influential “Waxman-Berman” political machine. Berman, a former assemblyman, has nearly 20 times more campaign funding available than Godinez and enjoys close relationships with political power brokers from Washington to Sacramento.

Berman has about $190,000 on hand to spend on the election, according to campaign reports. Godinez said he has nearly $10,000.

“The bottom line is that Godinez has a horrible uphill battle and no money to fight it with,” said political consultant Larry Levine, who lives within Berman’s northeast San Fernando Valley district.

Godinez, a 36-year-old engineer with the city of Los Angeles who last month was reelected by the San Fernando City Council to a second year-long term as mayor, is nonetheless optimistic.

Part of his strategy, he said, is to appeal to Latinos, who represent 30% of the voters in the district. He also plans to reach out to Republicans, who represent about 24% of the voters but have no candidate in the race.

He appears to be the candidate who can pose the greatest threat to Berman. Also running are Maria Armoudian, a Green Party candidate; Juan Carlos Ros, a Libertarian; and David L. Cossak, a Natural Law Party candidate.

If Godinez wins, or at least makes a good showing, his campaign may become a symbol for the growing influence of Latinos in the Valley.

The number of Latino voters in the Valley increased from 7% of the electorate to 9% between 1993 and 1997. About 30,000 Latinos are registered to vote in the Valley, according to officials.

That number is expected to increase thanks to a voter-registration drive launched last year by the Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project. The goal is to put 35,000 Valley Latinos on the rolls by November.

In the past five years, Valley voters have elected their first Latino councilman, Richard Alarcon, and their first Latino assemblyman, Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar).

Godinez’s campaign has the support of several local Latino leaders, including San Fernando City Councilmen Jose Hernandez and Silverio Robledo. Godinez has also been endorsed by the Mexican American Political Assn. and state Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles).

But Godinez is not assured of winning the Latino vote just because he is Latino.

“People don’t just vote based on the number of vowels in your last name,” said Harry Pachon, president of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, a Latino think tank associated with the Claremont Graduate University.

He noted that Berman himself has strong support in the Latino community. Berman has been endorsed by the entire Latino Congressional Caucus, Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles) and county Supervisor Gloria Molina.

Because of the so-called open primaries, Republican voters for the first time can vote for a Democratic candidate.

Mike Madrid, political director for the state’s Republican Party, said Republicans may be willing to support Godinez if he addresses issues that resonate with the party, such as public safety. Godinez has some Republican endorsements, including those of former Assemblywoman Paula Boland and Gary Thomas, past president of the United Chambers of the San Fernando Valley.

But other observers predict very few Republicans will cross party lines to support a Democrat.

Even if Godinez loses, his campaign may increase his profile and improve his chances of winning a higher office later, said political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe of Claremont Graduate University.

“I think he is building up name recognition and building up turf for the future,” she said.

But Berman is not taking Godinez lightly. He has opened a campaign office, headed by his brother, Michael, a longtime campaign consultant. And he has returned from Washington every weekend to campaign in the district.

“I pride myself on being a community congressman,” Berman said. “All the local community supports me not because of what I do on the Middle East or on Medicare issues, but because of what I’m doing in the community.”

There is already bad blood between Godinez and Berman. Weeks before Godinez announced, the two men began feuding over an anti-crime mailer that Berman sent to constituents. Godinez thought the mailer disparaged his city.

Godinez is now taking the offensive, accusing Berman of having lost touch with the mostly working-class people of the East Valley.

He contends Berman’s district would receive just $1.5 million in transportation funds from a $217-billion federal transportation bill, while other congressional representatives in the area secured much more for their districts.

“The irony is that we have the most need,” Godinez said. “We have the most transit-dependent people.”

Berman said the federal transportation bill will bust the balanced-budget deal reached with President Clinton.

“It’s a scandalous pork-barrel bill that will never become law,” Berman said.

Godinez has also attacked Berman’s proudest project: revitalization of the Hansen Dam Recreation Area--a once hugely popular family spot that became neglected by nearly everyone aside from transients and gang members--by building a boating and fishing lake and a swimming lake.

Berman, who made restoration of the basin area a campaign promise in his former bid for Congress, sponsored legislation in the ‘80s that expanded the role of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which owns the land, from flood control to include recreation projects.

But cost overruns have increased the price tag of the project from $10 million to more than $14 million. Other snags have forced the city and the Army Corps to reduce the combined size of the lakes from 15 acres to 10 1/2 acres.

Godinez blames Berman for the problems.

“He is not making things happen,” Godinez said. “If the congressman were pushing for this project as a top priority, it would have happened.”

Berman said he can’t be blamed for unforeseen problems such as cost overruns.

He accused Godinez of “wanting to find something wrong in everything.”

Berman, 57, said his campaign will highlight the work he has done in Washington, lobbying for grants to hire more police officers in Los Angeles and the city of San Fernando. He said the campaign will emphasize his efforts to get federal disaster funding for the Valley after the Northridge earthquake.

Berman, who holds a bachelor’s and a law degree from UCLA, is known mostly for his foreign policy work and his championing of Israel in the House of Representatives. He is the ranking member on the Ethics Committee and a member of the Judiciary and International Relations Committees.

For years, Berman and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) headed the so-called “Waxman-Berman machine” that wielded heavy influence over Westside politics. In the early 1990s, the machine fell on hard times, as Republicans seized control of redistricting and Berman ally Mel Levine lost a bid for the U.S. Senate.

Since then, the two men have largely worked solo.

Berman has close ties to organized labor and earned the praise of environmentalists in 1991 when he helped establish an electric car production center in Burbank.

The congressman said none of these efforts takes away from his work on local issues.

“I’m involved in a lot of issues involving international relations, but that does not come at the expense of my services to my constituents,” he said.