Candidates Cross Paths at Jewish Committee Event

A speaking engagement promoted as a chance for Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon to talk about the future of Latino-Jewish relations in Los Angeles turned into a political event of sorts Monday.

Alarcon, who is running for the state Senate, was initially the lone guest invited to address members of the American Jewish Committee at Braemar Country Club in the hills of Tarzana.

But when supporters of Ollie McCaulley, Alarcon’s Republican challenger for the 20th District seat, got wind of the event, he persuaded organizers to give him 10 minutes with the crowd. He used his time to praise his parents, and he touched on his early memories of working with members of the Jewish community during the 1960s civil rights movement.

Although organizers stressed that the roughly hourlong meeting was not a political event, Alarcon insinuated that McCaulley’s mere attendance politicized the meeting.

“I didn’t intend for this to become a political discussion and I apologize it’s been infused with political undertones,” Alarcon said. “If you know who I am, I don’t think you’ll have a problem with the leadership I plan to bring to you.”

Alarcon then proceeded to discuss the lessons he learned from his bitter battle with fellow Democrat Richard Katz during the June primary.

Alarcon, the certified winner by just 29 votes, faulted Katz during the primary for a mailer, claiming it provoked ethnic sensitivities. Meanwhile, Alarcon was attacked by the Katz camp for a campaign mailer that falsely linked Katz to intimidation of Latino voters.

Alarcon told the group of about 60 people that he was initially unaware that he had any connection to the mailer attacking Katz. It was later revealed that the mailer had been issued by one of Alarcon’s biggest supporters, state Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles) and written by his campaign consultant, Richie Ross.

Alarcon said the incident showed him the importance of being in charge of every aspect of a campaign. He repeatedly pointed out what he described as the positive effects of the primary race, noting that it attracted 40,000 more voters than the previous primary and that it created a venue for dialogue on Latino and Jewish relations.

“There is so much the Latino community can learn from the Jewish community,” Alarcon said.

Like McCaulley, Alarcon talked of his ties to the Jewish community, which he said dated to his childhood, noting that one of his teachers was Jewish. He also said he does not accept the notion, suggested by some, that he is going to have problems with the Jewish community.

“Why would I have problems with the Jewish community when I’m working so hard to represent them?” asked Alarcon, noting that his treasurer, lawyer and former press deputy are all Jewish.

Some in the audience, such as Sharon Litwin, said Alarcon came across as sincere. Litwin, of Canoga Park, said that while she voted for Katz in the primary, listening to Alarcon on Monday made her feel more comfortable about voting for him next month.

But Alarcon’s explanation of the controversial mailer did not sit as well with McCaulley.

“What I heard was him trying to make excuses for what he did,” McCaulley said. “He’s no dummy. He knew about the mailer.”

Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, western regional director of the American Jewish Committee, downplayed the meeting’s politics.

“I think Mr. Alarcon mostly kept to what we wanted him to speak about,” Greenebaum said.

Alarcon told the crowd of the role that Greenebaum and David Abel, one of the committee’s executive board members, played in getting Katz to drop his lawsuit challenging the primary’s outcome.

Asked how he would characterize his current relationship with Katz: “I wouldn’t.”