In 7th District, It’s Jab Foes, Hook Votes

The campaign for the 7th District seat on the Los Angeles City Council heated up Saturday, when candidates clashed over the involvement of outside special interests in the northeast San Fernando Valley race.

Appearing at a forum before a largely partisan crowd of 300 people in the San Fernando High School auditorium, the six candidates provided their clearest visions yet for getting City Hall to pay better attention to the economically distressed district.

But between outlining plans for improving city services, candidates traded barbs over whether their allegiance is to the district, special interests or their own political ambitions.

The brunt of the criticism was borne by Alex Padilla, a 25-year-old legislative aide whose campaign has been boosted by endorsements and financial help from interests including Mayor Richard Riordan, the downtown-based county Federation of Labor and the political machine of Eastside Councilman Richard Alatorre.

Addressing Padilla, nonprofit housing agency manager Ollie McCaulley, another contender, said voters are skeptical of candidates who receive much of their backing from downtown political interests.

“They are tired of the special interest groups and all the money going to one person, regardless of their ability, because then they [donors] have a puppet and a ‘yes’ person,” McCaulley said.

Raul Godinez II, an engineer, and Corinne Sanchez, a health agency director, also took up the attack during the forum sponsored by KMEX-TV, Valley Latino organizations including Comision Feminil, and the League of Women Voters.

“I’m not afraid to stand up to the special interests who want to own this council seat,” Godinez said.

Sanchez, who has the backing of former 7th District Councilman Richard Alarcon, told the crowd they should look to where campaigns are getting their money, asserting most of her support is from the district.

“I feel proud that my contributions have been diverse and have not come from any special interest or any particular power base,” she said.

Padilla said he has received contributions from a broad cross-section of the community and is not ashamed of the backing from major labor groups and the Republican mayor.

The $10 and $25 contributions from residents of the district are just as important, he said. “I value those just as much as I value a $500 check I get from downtown Los Angeles.”

Angry at the attacks, Padilla recounted a third-grade incident when two fifth-graders roughed him up, and his father’s advice was “defend yourself.”

Turning to Sanchez, Godinez and McCaulley, a visibly angry Padilla said he would not suffer the attacks without defending himself.

Padilla noted Sanchez has held several positions in her career and questioned whether she is already looking beyond the council district.

“I’m not someone who’s going to ask what’s next in four years,” he said.

In a jab at McCaulley and Godinez, Padilla said, “I’m not someone who has run for three different offices.”

Barbara Perkins got up to speak next, and she shook her head at the exchange of criticism, saying, “You are not going to get any of that from me.”

Between the fireworks, the candidates provided new details on what they would do, if elected, to address what most agreed is City Hall’s general neglect of the northeast Valley.

Perkins, who recently served as a public outreach consultant to the president of Mission College, promised to create neighborhood advisory councils and hold quarterly town hall meetings where residents would be able to tell city department heads what they want in city services and what is lacking.

McCaulley and Padilla also said they would require city managers to regularly attend community public meetings throughout the district to answer to residents.

The managers would have to present plans for increasing street lighting, nuisance abatement and other services, Padilla said.

“They need to come out and face us and tell us what is going to take place to improve this,” McCaulley said.

Padilla criticized those city officials who are questioning whether the city should accept a federal grant to hire more police officers because of the requirement of city matching funds. “We need more police officers,” Padilla said.

Sanchez said she would order all of the city departments to draft a report showing the level of services received by the 7th District compared to other parts of the city.

The departments would then have to provide a plan and timeline to give the 7th District its fair share of services.

“My demand would be equal services throughout the city,” Sanchez said.

Godinez said his goal would be to create in Los Angeles the same superior city services he helped make available in the city of San Fernando, where he served five years on the City Council, the last two as mayor.

“I was mayor of a city where the police responded to 911 calls in under two minutes,” Godinez said, adding later, “In Los Angeles, you have a drive-by shooting and you have to wait eight minutes for the police to show up.”

He also criticized government-assisted developments--including the construction of a shopping center at the old General Motors plant--for not hiring enough local residents or buying local materials.

If elected, Godinez said, he would insist that developers hire locally in exchange for government help.

“If you want to build here, you have to hire here,” he said.

Tony Lopez, a district director for the Boy Scouts of America, said he would work to get more job training and after-school programs for district youth so they can stay out of gangs and obtain quality jobs.

“Kids are graduating without job skills,” he said.

Lopez also said he would focus on cutting red tape for businesses and cleaning up Van Nuys Boulevard so that people feel more comfortable shopping in the area.

Sanchez said she would seek incentives to businesses moving into the area and would require, wherever possible, that they pay a “livable wage.”

Asked about unlicensed street vendors and swap meets, Sanchez, Godinez and McCaulley said they would work to provide a system for allowing them to operate legally, but with regulation.

Sanchez, Lopez and Perkins were asked about a proposal by Wal-Mart to open a store in the district, but with nonunion, low-wage jobs. All three candidates said they do not support a business paying minimum wage.