As Election Nears, Campaign Mail Goes for the Big Hit

The gloves came off this week in what has become a bitter contest for the 7th City Council District in the northeast San Fernando Valley.

After weeks of shadow boxing, candidates Alex Padilla and Corinne Sanchez have released their first attack mailers mentioning each other by name, and each claims the other has struck below the belt.

Sanchez launched the first attack with a mailer that makes light of Padilla’s youth--he’s 26--and limited experience.

“See what they’ve done,” the mailer states, above a timeline that provides a chronological look at the lives of Padilla and Sanchez.

Sanchez listed accomplishments including service with the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights before 1973, when, the mailer notes, Padilla was born. Another list of accomplishments, many with her social services agency, El Proyecto del Barrio, compare to the entry for Padilla in 1985, “Graduates from elementary school.”

Rick Taylor, a campaign consultant for Padilla, called the mailer “ridiculous.”

“If people aren’t going to vote for Alex because they don’t think he’s old enough, they are not going to vote for him anyway,” he said.

Sanchez’s emphasis on her experience was turned around on her in a mailer sent out two days later by Padilla.

That mailer reproduces parts of a story by The Times about how Sanchez’s agency, El Proyecto, is under review for possibly overcharging the city on a job-training contract.

“We can’t afford Corinne Sanchez’ experience at City Hall,” the Padilla mailer stated.

Steve Gray-Barkan, a campaign consultant for Sanchez, called the mailer misleading, noting that it includes statements taken out of context.

“They [El Proyecto] have a long-standing record of outstanding service,” Gray-Barkan said.

That is the message in a mailer signed by County Supervisor Gloria Molina, which accuses Padilla of making “untruthful allegations” about Sanchez.

“He will say anything to get elected, even if he knows it’s not the truth,” Molina stated.

Voters should not be surprised to see more hit pieces in the last few days before next Tuesday’s election.

“They are going after each other, and that’s fine,” said Ollie McCaulley, another candidate in the race.

“I’m not going to get in the middle of that war,” McCaulley said. “I’m very glad I’m not in the middle of it.”

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POLITICALLY DISCREET: Valley secessionists are a boisterous bunch, typically unafraid to hurl verbal grenades at the Los Angeles establishment--usually quite giddy about doing so.

But when a certain Los Angeles city leader with the initials “RR” pulled out of a panel discussion at Cal State Northridge on Tuesday night, secessionists were oddly silent.

Silent except for a few chuckles and “bawk-bawk” clucking sounds, that is.

Aides for Mayor Richard Riordan said he canceled his appearance at the CSUN event, a discussion on whether the proposed reform of the city’s antiquated constitution would appease the Valley, because of a scheduling conflict. Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji was dropping into town as part of a six-city American tour--the first made by someone in his position in 15 years--and Riordan had some entertaining to do.

Secessionists were highly skeptical of that explanation, however. They declined to say it publicly out of respect for Riordan, but many backers of Valley cityhood privately called him a chicken. They felt let down.

Using terms that would have made promoter Don King proud, Valley VOTE, the group leading the drive to break up the city, had billed the event as an unprecedented intellectual showdown between Riordan and the activists who fought for a study of secession, several of whom were seated on the panel.

“For the first time since the San Fernando Valley’s petition on Valley cityhood was approved, Mayor Riordan will openly debate the issue of secession with the cityhood study proponents,” trumpeted a Valley VOTE news release.

“Mayor Riordan is popular in the San Fernando Valley but has been on the attack against secession, in many cases with wild and unfounded threats of apocalypse meant to bully and scare Valley residents,” the release added. “Valley leaders are growing frustrated with the mayor’s tactics.”

But as is often the case in super-hyped main events, the show at CSUN’s Performing Arts Center was not what it was cracked up to be.

Though many other participants and most of those in attendance were not aware that Riordan would be a no-show until they got to CSUN, a representative for one of the sponsors of the event, the United Chambers of Commerce, said the group had been notified of the cancellation last Friday. CSUN spokesman John Chandler said the school was never notified, but added that it was merely providing a venue for the discussion, which was co-sponsored by CSUN’s Center for Southern California Studies.

Whatever the case, it seems Valley secessionists will have to keep waiting for their chance to trade blows, and chicken jokes, with Riordan--which shouldn’t be too long, since the mayor scarcely seems to miss an opportunity to denounce the breakup movement.

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GOVERNMENT CLASS: Nearly every politician spouts some kind of rhetoric about “bringing government closer to the people,” but Assemblyman Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks) takes it one step further: he re-creates government for the people.

It’s not quite the television reconstructions of Robert Stack and “Unsolved Mysteries,” but Hertzberg will be hosting a free, non-credit class on California government Sunday at Valley College to give residents a better feel for the puzzling happenings in Sacramento.

The class from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Theatre Arts Building will include a 30-minute mock legislative session, and each participant will be given a manual by the notoriously detail-conscious Hertzberg, titled “California Government 101.”

As of Wednesday, about 100 people were scheduled to attend, said Hertzberg spokesman Stuart Waldman, adding that there was room for another 200 if more were interested. Those wanting to attend the class and press the flesh with “Huggy” Hertzberg should call Waldman at (818) 904-3480. The manuals will also be available next week at Hertzberg’s Van Nuys district office, 6150 Van Nuys Blvd., Suite 305.

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POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE: During much of the Tom Bradley Administration, the mayor’s annual State of the City address was a significant event for the City Council, with members attending en masse in council chambers to hear the mayor outline his vision for Los Angeles.

After all, the event provided an opportunity for the mayor to communicate directly with the City Council in hopes that the two would work together to improve Los Angeles.

What a contrast with Riordan’s State of the City address on Wednesday, where most of the council members were no-shows.

Of the six City Council members representing the San Fernando Valley, only one, Mike Feuer, attended the speech at Mount St. Mary’s College near downtown.

Aides said Councilman Joel Wachs of Studio City was still recovering from a flight from New York City, Council President John Ferraro was seeing the Chinese premier off at LAX, and council members Laura Chick, Cindy Miscikowski and Hal Bernson had other business scheduled that prevented them from attending. Bernson was talking by phone with other government officials in preparation for a meeting today of the Southern California Assn. of Governments.

Some council members acknowledged that Riordan’s decision to hold the annual address away from City Hall at 9 a.m. on a day when the council meets at 10 a.m. made it inconvenient for them to attend.

“Maybe he doesn’t want us there,” one council member said privately.

It should be noted that most council meetings, including Wednesday’s, start 20 minutes late anyway, and Councilmen Rudy Svorinich Jr., Mark Ridley-Thomas and Feuer were able to attend both.

Bernson, who represents the northwest Valley, said he would have liked to have heard what Riordan had to say.

“Obviously there are some differences between he and the council, but I still think of him as a friend,” Bernson said. “If it had been convenient and I didn’t have other pressing business, I’d probably try to be there.”

Ironically, Feuer said he was impressed that the mayor appeared to be reaching out to the council in his address.

“He struck a collaborative tone in saying he wanted to work with the City Council,” Feuer said.

Too bad few of the council members were there to hear it.

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IN WITH THE NEW: Faced with vacancies created by two departing City Council veterans, Glendale voters Tuesday elected an establishment candidate and a neighborhood activist to replace them.

Gus Gomez, a state deputy attorney general active in local homeowners associations, finished ahead of 12 other council candidates, garnering 22% of 18,485 votes cast.

Accountant and Glendale Chamber of Commerce member Rafi D. Manoukian finished second, capturing one of the open seats with 17% of the vote.

About 24% of 78,306 registered voters went to the polls to replace longtime council members Larry Zarian and Mayor Eileen Givens, who did not seek reelection.

Gomez, 36, and Manoukian, 38, will join Ginger Bremberg, David Weaver and Sheldon Baker on the council when they are sworn in Monday.

During the campaign, Gomez emphasized preserving Glendale hillsides as open space and making downtown developers more sensitive to residents.

But it was the expression of sympathy for the city of Burbank in its fight with Burbank Airport that appeared to raise many eyebrows, especially considering Glendale’s past policy of staying clear of controversy.

“We need to look at the airport as a quality-of-life issue, not just for Burbank but also for Glendale,” Gomez said Wednesday.