Next Race for City Controller May Be a Woman Thing

City Councilwoman Laura Chick of Tarzana is on a quest to become the first woman elected to citywide office in Los Angeles, but she will probably face stiff competition from at least one other prominent woman in the next race for city controller.

Sources close to Deputy Mayor Noelia Rodriguez said this week that the chief spokeswoman for Mayor Richard Riordan is seriously considering a run for controller in 2001.

City Controller Rick Tuttle is barred from running again by term limits.

No woman has ever held one of the three citywide elected posts--mayor, city attorney or city controller--according to city archivist Hynda Rudd, who is excited at the prospect of any woman making history in the next city election.

Rodriguez said it is premature to comment, but sources familiar with her thinking say there are both positives and negatives to weigh before deciding to run.

On the plus side, Rodriguez’s role as the mayor’s chief spokeswoman for five years has given her a fair amount of name recognition among Angelenos.

But potentially the greatest advantage she would have is in her backing. Rodriguez has been told by Riordan, a Republican, and Democratic Party kingmaker Bill Wardlaw that they would support her candidacy if she decides to run, sources said.

“If Noelia chooses to get into the controller’s race with the full support of Mayor Riordan, it will provide real competition for Councilwoman Chick or anyone else who runs,” said political consultant Richard Lichtenstein, who is not working for either potential candidate.

Lichtenstein said Chick enjoys the advantage of an “extraordinary record” of eight years of service on the City Council, representing the west San Fernando Valley.

Wardlaw said he would “enthusiastically” support Rodriguez if she runs, adding, “She is very familiar with the city. She brings a fresh approach to the office.”

Chick is already lining up backing. Expect an announcement of her candidacy in the early fall. Rodriguez, who would have to move into the city from Altadena to run, will also probably announce her plans in the next few months.

PLAYING FAVORITES: The Valley Industry and Commerce Assn., the Valley’s most powerful business group, has released its midyear evaluations of state legislators.

The index ranked 16 state lawmakers in and around the Valley, based on how they voted so far this year on 23 pieces of legislation important to VICA members--from a bill by Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) to fight runaway Hollywood film production, which VICA supported, to a bill by Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar) exempting home-based writers from business taxes, which it opposed.

Assemblyman Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks) was rated the most business-friendly of the bunch, siding with VICA 83% of the time. State Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles) was at the bottom of the heap, after toeing the VICA line only 39% of the time.

Assemblyman Wally Knox (D-Los Angeles) ranked third behind Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles). Cardenas ranked fourth, Assemblyman Scott Wildman (D-Los Angeles) ranked fifth, Kuehl ranked sixth, Sen. Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) ranked seventh, Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Northridge) ranked eighth, Assemblyman Jack Scott (D-Altadena) ranked ninth, Sen. Richard Alarcon (D-Sylmar), ranked 11th, Assemblyman George Runner (R-Lancaster) ranked 12th, Sen. William “Pete” Knight (R-Palmdale) ranked 13th and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) ranked 15th. Villaraigosa was included along with Assemblyman Tony Strickland (R-Thousand Oaks) and Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles), due to their proximity to the Valley. Strickland and Polanco ranked 10th and 14th, respectively.

Interestingly, Democrats made up VICA’s favorite five--a fact that made Hayden, a legendary ‘60s radical, wonder whether the party of his activist youth is now siding with The Man.

“It’s not a measure of your effectiveness or choice of work, it’s a measure of whether you agree with the chamber of commerce folks in the Valley on their pet agenda,” Hayden said. “If I voted with them a majority of the time, would I really be a Democrat? This list is a little frightening. Times sure have changed.”

Hertzberg had a different take.

“VICA likes me, I guess,” he said. “I am in good company here, with Villaraigosa, Knox, Kuehl. These are not moderates. But this is really not a liberal or conservative issue, this is about what people’s votes have been on the issues the Valley cares about.”

While the index casts a good light on the Assembly Democrats for the time being, their ratings could soon slip.

That’s because they are expected to support legislation that would require a new bus transit zone in the Valley to pay workers according to existing agreements between labor unions and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority--something VICA strongly opposes.

“The end result will be different in the ratings game at the end of the year,” said Scott Olin Schmidt, VICA’s government liaison director. “Part of the reason we are releasing this now is to show them that VICA is watching, and they will be held accountable.”

R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Freshman Los Angeles City Councilman Alex Padilla, 26, has sent out a notice to all city managers, reminding them that he is 7th District Councilman and urging them to put his name on their mail.

Seems Padilla was miffed that city agencies continued to address mail to Padilla’s predecessor, Alarcon, who did not back Padilla in the election.

City employees aren’t alone.

A public relations firm for Voit Development Co. sent out a written notice this week to alert the media that Alarcon, now a state senator, will speak at a ceremony Friday to mark the last phase of construction for the Plant, a major commercial and industrial development at the old General Motors plant site in Panorama City.

And, oh yes, the news release notes, the ceremony will also be attended by the current council member, which it says is “Alex Pedia.”

AGITATION: Opponents of Proposition 187, the controversial 1994 initiative to deny government services to illegal immigrants, understandably rejoiced earlier this year when Gov. Gray Davis announced he would not continue the court fight to implement it.

Supporters, naturally, had the opposite reaction, wondering aloud how Davis could give up on a measure that was overwhelmingly approved by state voters. Some Valley backers called for Davis’ head--and now they’re backing up their words with action.

Voice of Citizens Together, a Sherman Oaks-based group that has for years been one of the most impassioned opponents of illegal immigration in California, launched a drive this week to recall Davis. They have formed a group called Committee to Save California Recall Davis, have served him with the formal papers indicating they plan to circulate petitions to force his ouster, and are now awaiting the green light from the secretary of state’s office.

Recall backers, who often warn of a subtle Latino “reconquista” campaign to retake the western United States, are especially incensed over claims, made most recently by Assembly Speaker Villaraigosa, that Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo helped persuade Davis to drop the appeal to a ruling that deemed Proposition 187 unconstitutional.

STREETWISE: Los Angeles has a reputation of being one of the most diverse cities in the world, where some of the richest people in the country live close to the very poor.

Yet another example is the latest addition to the field of candidates for mayor in the year 2001.

The field already includes wealthy businessman Steven Soboroff, of Pacific Palisades, and City Councilman Joel Wachs of Studio City.

The latest entry is homeless activist John Bishop of North Hollywood, a perennial candidate.

In official papers, Bishop lists his place of residence as the corner of Kittridge Street and Lankershim Boulevard.