Veteran Prosecutor Announces Run for City Attorney

Lea Purwin D’Agostino said she will file papers today to begin what she hopes will be a journey from the Van Nuys courthouse to the 18th floor of Los Angeles City Hall.

D’Agostino said Wednesday she has decided to become a candidate for city attorney and will file papers with the city Ethics Commission to begin fund-raising for the April 2001 election.

“I have a great deal to offer the city because of my many years of public service,” said D’Agostino, who joins Councilman Mike Feuer as announced candidates in the city attorney’s race.

A deputy district attorney for 22 years, D’Agostino has handled some of the highest-profile criminal cases in the Van Nuys courts. She earned the nickname “Dragon Lady” for her aggressive prosecution of the Alphabet Bomber and Twilight Zone cases.

“Certainly now with the Rampart scandal looming over us, it is critical to have as head of that office someone with prosecutorial experience,” she said.

Rick Taylor, a political consultant who has talked to D’Agostino about working on her campaign, said she and Deputy Mayor Rocky Delgadillo, who is considering a run, still have a chance to beat Feuer, despite the councilman’s head start in fund-raising.

“I think she has a heck of a chance,” Taylor said.

HOUSE CALLS? Campaigning for the March primary is in full swing, and one candidate is trying a creative approach.

Daniel J. Stone, an internist from Cedars-Sinai who is vying for the Democratic nomination for the 42nd District Assembly seat being vacated by Wally Knox (D-Los Angeles), is canvassing door-to-door with a twist: He is offering medical referrals.

Caught pounding the pavement on a recent afternoon, Stone explained a typical exchange:

“My standard is, I say I’m a doctor from Cedars,” he said. “It’s so unusual to see a doctor, they almost always open the door. And then I do give them a referral, I do give them a name, or the card of someone I trust.”

He never brings up medical issues, he said. And he doesn’t offer medical advice.

But people tend to ask, just because he’s a doctor. Some people invite him in, and then they say, “You know, I’ve been having this foot problem . . . .”

That’s all right with Stone, who is trying to hammer home to potential voters the point that health issues are crucial, and term limits have left a paucity of health experience in the state Legislature.

ASK RICHARD: In taking a fund-raising lead in the race for the state Senate’s 23rd District, Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) has had help from some traditional heavy-hitting Democratic fund-raisers, including Gov. Gray Davis, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer and the rock group Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Now, Assemblyman Knox plans to bring in his own heavy hitter, and the fund-raiser is not someone you might think would have much sway in a heavily Democratic district.

Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, a Republican, will host a fund-raiser for Knox on Feb. 10 at the mayor’s Brentwood home, and political consultant Larry Levine believes the bash will help his candidate catch and pass Kuehl in fund-raising.

“This is the man who raised $450,000 at one event for [mayoral candidate] Steve Soboroff,” Levine said.

Parke Skelton, a political consultant for Kuehl, said Riordan’s decision to help Knox may have more to do with wanting to get back at Kuehl than support for Knox.

“Sheila endorsed Tom Hayden for mayor against Riordan,” Skelton said. “I can’t imagine any other reason” for Riordan endorsing Knox.

Levine said Knox and Riordan had worked together on some issues, including gun-control measures, and said Riordan probably views Knox as more moderate than Kuehl.

But he did not rule out Kuehl’s backing of Hayden for mayor as a factor in the endorsement of Knox.

“I’m sure that didn’t endear her to the mayor,” Levine said.

Representatives of the mayor did not return calls.

Knox has reported raising $419,000 so far for the March 7 Democratic primary, compared with $563,180 raised by Kuehl.

ANGLING FOR WACHS: A well-heeled group of gay and lesbian political donors whose swanky fund-raisers regularly rake in thousands of dollars for gay-friendly pols has lined up behind City Councilman Joel Wachs’ bid to become the next mayor of Los Angeles.

Wachs, an independent and Valley councilman for the last 29 years, publicly acknowledged two months ago that he was gay. While some gay politicos have expressed only lackluster enthusiasm, Access Now for Gay and Lesbian Equality, which recently raised $800,000 for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee at a Beverly Hills dinner attended by President Clinton, has thrown its considerable weight behind Wachs’ campaign.

“This presents a historical opportunity for gay and lesbian people in America, not just in Los Angeles,” said David Mixner, a gay Democratic activist involved in ANGLE. “Never has a gay or lesbian person been elected mayor of a major city.”

But Wachs’ appeal is far from universal. Two gay political clubs, the local chapter of Log Cabin Republicans and the Stonewall Democratic Club are both barred by their rules from endorsing anyone who is not a member of their party.

With the April 2001 election more than a year away, the Victory Fund, a national group that raised money for gay candidates, has not yet endorsed Wachs. Log Cabin will likely endorse Riordan’s choice, commercial real estate broker Steve Soboroff, said chapter president B. James Bottoms. Soboroff, the only Republican to announce his candidacy, met with the group in November.

Bottoms added, however, that many individual Log Cabin members are interested in Wachs’ campaign. That’s better than he’s doing in the Stonewall Democrats’ camp, according to Eric Bauman, the group’s president.

“Among members of Stonewall who’ve talked about this race, I’ve not seen any great excitement for Joel,” Bauman said. Wachs, moreover, is running in a field of strong gay-rights supporters, including Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles), co-author of two gay rights bills passed in 1999, and City Atty. James Hahn, who has fought discrimination against gays and people with AIDS. “Joel may be gay, but Antonio has been our champaign in this state for gay and lesbian civil rights and has been, unabashedly, our biggest supporter,” said Lisa Belsanti, a field coordinator at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center. “I just don’t think [Wachs] being gay has any effect whatsoever, which is kind of refreshing.”

COUNCIL INTO FOCUS: Candidates have filed papers for every City Council seat on the April 2001 ballot except two--the northeast San Fernando Valley’s 7th District seat and the West Valley’s 11th.

Observers say there is good reason for the dearth of interest in the two seats.

They are the only two in which an incumbent is expected to be on the ballot.

Candidates have filed papers to run for the 1st, 3rd, 9th, 13th and 15th council districts because term limits have forced the incumbents to leave next year. Candidates have also filed for the 5th Council District, where incumbent Mike Feuer is running for city attorney.

Seventh District Councilman Alex Padilla said through a spokesman Wednesday that he plans to run for reelection. In the 11th District, Cindy Miscikowski has said she plans to seek reelection.

There may be another reason why no one has filed to challenge Padilla: Memories are still fresh in many people’s minds about how Padilla trounced a field of six other contenders just last year.