Council Candidates Vie for Seats--and Mailbox Space

Chances are you’ve got mail, and lots of it. With the Los Angeles primary election just three weeks away, San Fernando Valley mailboxes are filling with campaign “literature,” to use the term loosely.

From full-color, glossy brochures to poorly typed letters, the mailers are reaching blizzard proportions as candidates vie for attention.

At the high end, there are the full-color brochures of well-financed 7th Council District candidates Corinne Sanchez and Alex Padilla. The multi-page fliers arrive with a different theme every week.

This week, Sanchez sent one with a dramatic picture of damage from the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which struck Jan. 17 at 4:31 a.m., the brochure reminds us.

“By 6:30 a.m., Corinne Sanchez was at work rebuilding our shattered community,” the brochure states in bold type, noting that Sanchez is president of the health care agency El Proyecto del Barrio, which opened its doors to quake victims.

Ollie McCaulley, another 7th District candidate, also struck a bold chord in his less costly mailer, announcing he supports “a 30-percent increase in law enforcement in the San Fernando Valley.”

While most mailers hype the candidate, some attack opponents.

John Spishak of Sunland-Tujunga sent a mailer urging voters to help him unseat 2nd Council District incumbent Joel Wachs, questioning the councilman’s attendance record for committee meetings.

Kathy Anthony, another 2nd District challenger, joined the attack, sending a mailer charging that the City Council is “out of touch” with the community. For good measure, Anthony’s mailer reminded voters she “personally helped plant” trees along Foothill Boulevard.

Not everyone has big bucks to hire companies to produce their campaign mail. Some efforts are obviously kitchen-table jobs.

In that category is the typed letter sent by 12th Council District candidate Marilyn Stout of Northridge, which asks supporters, “Can you please help me a little more? Mention my name? Say nice things about me?”

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ELEVATING DEBATE: The great elevator controversy of Los Angeles City Hall continues.

Loyal followers of this soap opera will recall that many city employees have been outraged that one of the City Hall elevators was taken out of public service and dedicated for use by elected officials and other city VIPs.

The result has been waits of 10 minutes or more by the hoi polloi, and a petition drive by some workers who believe the exclusive elevator is a sign of elitism.

On Wednesday, City Council members Laura Chick of Tarzana and Wachs of Studio City tried to force the council to vote on returning the elevator to the public.

The move fell one vote short of the eight needed, losing 7 to 3. The three opponents, John Ferraro, Nate Holden and Mike Hernandez, are among those who have not boycotted the elevator.

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CYBERVOTE: Some day, voting for mayor and City Council members in Los Angeles may be as easy as clicking the mouse on your favorite candidate.

Chick, the first council member to set up an Internet home page, proposed that the city study use of the Internet for election activities, including “an assessment of the feasibility for its future use as part of a system of voting in municipal elections.”

Chick believes the widespread use of computers in society may hold the key to addressing dismal voter turnout in Los Angeles elections.

Fewer than a third of registered voters cast ballots in the 1997 city primary election, and just 11% of registered voters turned out in that year’s general municipal election.

“Any steps we can take to make it easier and more convenient for voters to have their voices heard are worthwhile,” Chick said.

“The city gets hundreds of hits on its home page every month,” Chick said. “Clearly, people will soon be looking toward the Internet as a tool for casting their votes.”

Deputy City Clerk Kris Heffron, the head of elections, said she is interested in Chick’s proposal, but says it would require a lot of study.

“Security would be important, being able to identify whether the voter is actually the person casting the vote,” she said.

But, she added: “It’s intriguing.”

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YORTYVILLE: A group of admirers of the late Sam Yorty has begun a campaign to rename Van Nuys Airport as a tribute to the former mayor of Los Angeles.

Candelario Arriola, a former Yorty aide, organized a meeting last Saturday to begin drumming up support for calling the airfield Sam Yorty-Van Nuys Airport.

“His vision for the future of Los Angeles culminated in a list of achievements which has not been surpassed by any mayor before or since,” Arriola wrote in a letter to Mayor Richard Riordan, proposing the tribute.

Yorty, who was mayor from 1961 to 1973, was instrumental in the construction of the Convention Center, among other projects, according to City Council President Ferraro.

Ferraro said he had not heard about the proposal, but would give it consideration.

“Sam Yorty was mayor for 12 years and he had a lot of good things he did,” he said. “The man deserves some credit.”

Yorty earned the nickname “Travelin’ Sam” for his frequent overseas trips while mayor, but Arriola said his regular use of the airports should not disqualify him from having one of them named for him.

“Yorty’s traveling, although criticized, was not frivolous,” Arriola said, adding it helped improve trade opportunities for Los Angeles.