3 Democrats Wage Costly Fight in 42nd

It’s just a primary.

But the three Democratic candidates in the 42nd Assembly District are bobbing, jabbing and preening as if this were the final round as they battle in a race that promises to be close, expensive, and--as March 7 nears--increasingly nasty.

That is because winning the Democratic primary in this wealthy, predominantly white, left-of-center district--which includes the San Fernando Valley cities of Sherman Oaks, Universal City and Studio City, as well as Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Westwood and parts of Century City--is tantamount to winning in November.

But the reasons for the vigor of this season’s Democratic contest run deeper.

West Hollywood City Councilman Paul Koretz has wanted to represent this district since he came in just behind incumbent Wally Knox (D-Los Angeles) in a seven-way primary six years ago.

Knox (D-Los Angeles) has been forced out by term limits and is running for the state Senate. Attorney Amanda Susskind said she is pouring her resources in now because she believes whoever wins the Democratic primary will win not just the general election, but six more years in Sacramento.

“Early indications in this era of term limits are that once you are an incumbent, unless you really mess up, you are going to be there for six years,” said political scientist Sherry Bebitch Jeffe of the Claremont Graduate University.

That is perhaps particularly true in this district, where 55% of the 297,639 registered voters are Democrats, and just 23% are Republicans.

Despite having less money and name recognition, Dr. Dan Stone, an internist and geriatric specialist, is equally committed to winning. He believes so strongly that the state needs him on health care issues that he is walking precincts five to seven hours a day.

Republican D.C. Taylor, Green candidate Sara Amir, Libertarian Mark Allen Selzer and Natural Law candidate Ivka Adam are all running unopposed in the primary.

Observers say the two leading candidates--Koretz and Susskind--will raise $1 million, making it one of the most costly Assembly primaries in California.

As of a recent reporting period, Koretz led in fund-raising, having pulled in $397,000, $36,000 of which was loans. Susskind was close behind, reporting a total of $321,000 raised, $48,500 of which was in loans. Both said they expected to report more than $450,000 in the latest reporting period, which ended Saturday.

Even Stone, making his first foray into politics, has raised $222,000, of which $90,000 was personal loans.

Observers put Koretz slightly ahead of Susskind because he has experience as an elected official.

He has locked up key Democratic endorsements, including Gov. Gray Davis and Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. He also has a batch of labor endorsements, and the backing of the state Democratic Party.

Observers do not discount Susskind, though, noting that she is likely to have strong appeal among women--and that her strong finance background is likely to draw moderate Democrats and some crossover Republicans.

Susskind has received the endorsement of Mayor Richard Riordan and a score of state legislators, including Democratic Sens. Martha Escutia of Whittier and powerful Richard Polanco of Los Angeles.

Susskind, 43, said her top priorities are education, transportation and health care. She said what distinguishes her from the other candidates is her reform philosophy.

“I’m part of that new wave of reform,” Susskind said, citing Riordan’s endorsement of her as an example. “Paul Koretz is marching lock step with the status quo. He is supported by a lot of the old guard, people who stood by and let the system get the way it is.”

She has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a law degree. Until resigning to run for public office, she worked for a Sherman Oaks law firm.

If elected, Susskind said, she wants to strengthen early childhood education and reform higher education so that college curricula better conform to the job market. She said the state must recruit young teachers and raise pay, and that the state surplus should be invested in school infrastructure.

Koretz, 44, a West Hollywood city councilman for 11 years, said his top priorities are education, gun control, transportation and the environment. He said the difference between himself and the competition is leadership.

“Stone is a nice guy, but he has no legislative experience,” Koretz said. And Susskind, he said, only has experience following the directives of city officials.

“If someone has an idea for a graffiti ordinance, she crafts an ordinance,” he said. “That doesn’t take leadership. The next person in the firm would do the same thing.”

Koretz was born on Sunset Boulevard, and now lives two blocks off it. During his tenure, Koretz worked to ban the sale of Saturday night specials and assault weapons in his 2-mile-square city, and worked on a regional smoking ban in restaurants and bars.

Koretz said he supports the registration and licensing of handguns, and wants to make possession of an assault weapon a felony.

He also advocates passage of Proposition 26, which would drop the required winning margin for passage of school bonds from two-thirds of the vote to 50%.

Stone, 43, is a doctor who is running for office because he believes there are not enough people with medical expertise in Sacramento.

“With term limits, there’s not enough time for people to learn about health care,” Stone said.

Stone, a Beverly Hills physician, has practiced medicine for 17 years, and said he is different from Koretz and Susskind because he is not an insider, but a concerned citizen drawn into politics because of opportunities afforded by term limits.

Stone said he cares more about Valley concerns than his competitors do. He said Valley residents feel they are an afterthought and, if elected, he will open a Valley office.

Stone said he wants to push preventive medicine by giving vitamins to children in schools. He also wants to fight for the availability of the abortion drug RU-486.

Like the other two candidates, he said teachers should be paid more, and crumbling schools must be repaired.