Key Congressional Race Pushes Others Out of Spotlight

With the intense congressional race between James Rogan and Adam Schiff dominating the local political scene, candidates for the state Legislature have had to struggle to get attention, even from their own supporters.

That was illustrated this week when Gov. Gray Davis traveled to Glendale as part of a blitz of the state in support of Democratic candidates.

Davis appeared with Schiff, praising the state senator’s work in Sacramento and saying he would be a great asset in Washington.

After the news conference, almost as an afterthought, Davis pointed out the presence in the audience of Assembly candidate Dario Frommer, who had patiently waited more than an hour for the governor’s appearance.

“What district are you in?” Davis asked Frommer from the podium as the crowd was getting up to leave.

Not exactly the most ringing endorsement, but then Davis followed it up with something a little better.

“He [Frommer] used to be my appointments secretary,” the governor said. “I have a lot of confidence in him as well.”

Frommer is facing Republican attorney Craig Missakian in the 43rd Assembly District race. A Missakian aide said Frommer himself is partly to blame for the lack of attention he is getting.

Missakian press secretary Ted Lehrer charged that Frommer skipped three candidate forums in recent weeks.

“Clearly, Frommer is hiding,” Lehrer said. “He knows voters will ask some tough questions that he doesn’t want to answer about his misleading attack mail and TV spots and his flip-flopping on issues.”

Missakian had only slightly better luck at grabbing voters’ attention when he attended a rally in Burbank on Monday featuring Republican presidential candidate George Bush.

Missakian and other local candidates were allowed to take the stage and address the large crowd about 20 minutes before Bush arrived and then had to leave the stage as Bush and U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) took the spotlight.

Bush and McCain made no mention of any of the legislative candidates, not even Rogan.

Still, Missakian believed the event will help his campaign.

“We are all in tight races,” Missakian said. “If Gov. Bush can excite the Republican voters in this area, it could make the difference in the races.”

Gale Kaufman, a campaign consultant for Frommer, dismissed the value of the Bush event in the Assembly race.

“My polling has consistently shown that Gore is way ahead in the Assembly district,” she said.

Noting that the rally was held in advance of a Bush appearance on “The Tonight Show,” which is taped in Burbank, Kaufman said, “This [appearance] has more to do with Jay Leno than Craig Missakian.”

COUNCIL BANS HOT AIR: Those City Hall squabbles over inflatable critters and other advertising novelties that float above car lots and stores have returned.

The Los Angeles City Council took a step closer Wednesday to revising city code to ban most airborne figures from city businesses.

If you think the council wasted a lot of hot air on this issue, consider the fact that many businesses say it’s their best form of advertising.

AIR PALMDALE: Don’t let the Palmdale Airport’s dusty, forlorn status fool you, city lawmakers continue to say.

Even though no passenger or cargo planes currently touch down at the city-owned airport, the long-held (think 40-plus years) dream was for the facility to take some of the pressure off LAX.

Will the rubber ever meet the lonely tarmac in the Antelope Valley?

“It’s long past due that we start moving in this direction,” Councilman Hal Bernson said at Wednesday’s council meeting. “We have to divert some of the crush that now impacts the area around LAX.”

Bernson also dissed neighboring counties for not helping with the regional burden of LAX.

“It’s unfortunate that other areas such as Orange County and Riverside County are not stepping up to the plate and be willing to accept a major airport at [former Marine base] El Toro and at [former Air Force base] March Field,” he said.

“It’s not fair that all of the Los Angeles-area and beach cities and neighbors have to feel the impact of the entire region.”

The council Friday will consider Councilwoman Ruth Galanter’s suggestion for another aviation study of poor Palmdale Airport’s potential.

Galanter, whose 6th District bears the brunt of all those planes and cars headed to Los Angeles International Airport, also wanted to make sure that a resolution on the Palmdale airfield change all references to it from “regional” to “international.”

But even Galanter had a caveat, adding that she had “no illusions we will see international service there any time in the immediate future.”

LONG MEMORIES: It has been nearly a year since the Los Angeles City Council approved expansion of Sunshine Canyon Landfill into Granada Hills, but opponents of the dump are still angry about the decision.

The North Valley Coalition of Concerned Citizens, which has sued the city over the decision, hit back this week at two politicians who were involved in the debate by giving them an award, but not the kind they would have shown up to accept.

The coalition announced Sunday its annual Environmental Hall of Shame awards go to Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski and Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Northridge).

Wayde Hunter, a leader of the coalition, said the group has been giving the award out for about 10 years. “Nobody’s ever taken possession of one,” he added.

The awards were given out during a fund-raiser at the Cascade Golf Club. The event raised about $3,000 for the group’s fight against other permits for the landfill.