Cardenas Suggested to Succeed Alarcon

Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon was quick to endorse a successor after his victory Tuesday in the California state Senate race, which will leave a vacancy on the City Council.

Alarcon said he supports fellow Democrat Tony Cardenas, 39th District state assemblyman, who was elected to a second term Tuesday.

“Cardenas is capable and would get my endorsement,” Alarcon said Wednesday. “But he has also shown talent in the Assembly and has demonstrated that he is a comer. If he stays there, I think he has tremendous potential.”

Running for the 7th District City Council seat, Cardenas said, “is a thought. I am considering it. I haven’t made a final decision.

“There are pluses and minuses on both ends . . . I would be able to work with issues more close to home. Sacramento is more macro-issues.”

Cardenas, 35, said a big draw would be spending more time with his family. His wife and four children live in Sylmar.

“If [Cardenas] goes for it, I can’t see anyone who would be a viable contender against him,” said Alan Clayton, research chairman for the Los Angeles City/County Latino Redistricting Coalition. “He’s extremely popular in his district, and in the last election, he showed an ability to raise money.”

Cardenas is not the only name being tossed around by political insiders. A number of other successors have been suggested; most of them, like Alarcon, are Latino Democrats with deep roots in the northeast San Fernando Valley.

These include Irene Tovar, executive director of the Latin American Civic Assn., a community service organization that manages Head Start programs, and San Fernando Mayor Raul Godinez II. Tovar could not be reached.

Godinez, 36, is a Los Angeles city civil engineer who lost a David-vs.-Goliath primary campaign against U.S. Rep. Howard Berman (D-Mission Hills) earlier this year, but won the support of the Mexican American Political Assn. and state Sen. Richard Polanco. He would have to move out of San Fernando to serve on the L.A. City Council.

“I can’t rule it out and I can’t rule it in,” said Godinez. “I have been approached . . . and I really love the work for local government.”

Alarcon’s wife, Corina Alarcon, who owns an Allstate insurance branch in Mission Hills and does volunteer work in the community, has also been mentioned as a possible candidate.

“I haven’t given any thought to it . . . but I wouldn’t say it is out of the question,” she said. “People have been asking me--just in the last 24 hours.”

Michael Trujillo Jr., 19-year-old member of the city’s Commission on Children, Youth and their Families, said Wednesday he is also considering a run for the City Council post. Trujillo is a community college student from Mission Hills. “My thing would be getting the youth engaged,” he said.

The City Council has the choice of appointing a successor, but will almost certainly opt instead to hold a special election to fill the seat, said Council President John Ferraro. An elected successor would complete Alarcon’s second term, which ends in June 2001.

The election would probably coincide with the council election in April. A legislative analyst would act as caretaker for Alarcon’s seat in the meantime.

Cardenas ran a real-estate company in Pacoima, and in 1996 was the first Latino state legislator elected from the Valley. He is a northeast Valley local who graduated from San Fernando High School before attending UC Santa Barbara.

Term limits will force him out of office after one more two-year term, and there are few opportunities for him to move up at present, said political consultant Steve Afriat.

But the fact that his name has been mentioned to succeed Alarcon is also testament to the many changes that term limits have wrought in California politics. They were widely expected to bring newcomers into politics, but in practice they have created a political revolving door, through which seasoned politicians move from one seat to another.

Alarcon said his preference in a successor stems from his desire to see his most important projects completed, including development of the former General Motors plant site in Panorama City and expanding Neighborhood Watch programs.

“My greatest concern is that we continue to demonstrate that the northeast Valley has leadership talent,” said Alarcon. “We don’t need to have people move into the northeast Valley. We can groom our own leadership. We need someone who is from the northeast San Fernando Valley and has a history in the northeast San Fernando Valley.”