Fierce Legislative Battles Fought in Suburban Districts

Some of the fiercest state legislative seat battles in California in Tuesday’s election are taking place in suburban Los Angeles County, where Democrats hope to build a legacy in what was recently the Republicans’ backyard.

Just a few years ago, Republican victories were a foregone conclusion in Assembly and Senate races in parts of the San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys, Southeast Los Angeles and the port areas of Long Beach and the South Bay. But now, after demographic shifts, particularly increases in the number of Latino voters, more seats are up for grabs.

A change in representation would resonate most strongly in the San Gabriel Valley’s 29th Senate District, home to Republican conservative Richard Mountjoy, who cannot run again because of term limits. Assemblyman Bob Margett (R-Arcadia) is in a tight race against Democrat Richard Melendez, a West Covina councilman and Los Angeles police officer. Libertarian Leland Faegre is also running.

Democrats smell victory in the once solidly Republican district that stretches from Sierra Madre to West Covina and down through Whittier to La Mirada. The 29th is now evenly split between Democrats and Republicans.

“It’s going to be a slugfest out there,” predicted Alan Hoffenblum, a Republican analyst and editor of the Target Book who has been monitoring local elections.

“Because of the increased Latino voter registration in those areas, the districts we used to consider ‘safe Republican’ now only lean Republican and the ones that leaned Republican are not leaning that way anymore,” Hoffenblum said.

Melendez is a moderate Democrat (and former Republican) whose agenda includes creating a statewide after-school program to deter juvenile crime. He received a $1-million boost in October from state Democratic leaders after polls showed that race neck and neck.

Margett, who pushes education and tougher juvenile crime measures, has avoided televised debates. He has campaigned heavily, however, in swing areas such as Walnut, West Covina and La Mirada, raising close to $1 million.

Democrat Sally Havice, 63, seeks to keep her 56th Assembly District--encompassing Downey, Cerritos, Lakewood and Bellflower. Traditionally Republican before Havice won the seat in 1996, the area has seen close contests since then despite a growing Latino vote that has given Democrats a 17-point advantage.

Republican Cerritos Mayor Grace Hu, 55, presents a strong challenge, pushing tough-on-crime and health care reform measures while attempting to cross over to Latino voters. A self-made millionaire who owns a real estate firm and mortgage company, Hu lent her campaign nearly half of its $600,000, securing much of the rest from the area’s thriving Asian community.

Havice casts herself as a moderate Democrat willing to take on her party’s extreme left wing. Last year, she successfully fought to preserve the Los Angeles River flood basin’s concrete walls--from Downey to Long Beach--in the face of Democratic environmentalists’ efforts to re-landscape that corridor.

In the port areas of Long Beach and the South Bay, Democratic incumbent Alan Lowenthal, 57, fights to keep his 54th Assembly seat against Los Angeles Councilman Rudy Svorinich, 40.

The deciding votes there may lie in Svorinich’s hometown of San Pedro, a union-friendly area. Svorinich casts Lowenthal as being out of touch with the moderate district. He advocates health care reforms and a gun violence measure that mandates a 10- to 30-year sentence for anyone caught committing a crime with a gun.

Lowenthal, a former Long Beach councilman, runs on a record that includes helping to improve storm water diversion and cleanup of the Los Angeles River, eliminating a 50-cent toll on the Vincent Thomas Bridge and expediting the harbor-side covering of petroleum coke piles.

One of the most expensive contests is between Assemblyman Jack Scott (D-Altadena) and South Pasadena City Councilman Paul Zee for the 21st Senate District seat being vacated by Adam Schiff, who is running for Congress.

Scott has raised nearly $2 million, about twice the amount raised by the Republican Zee. The former president of Pasadena City College, Scott pledges to improve school teachers’ performance, a large concern in the district with a slight Democratic edge that includes parts of Sun Valley, Sunland-Tujunga, Glendale, Burbank, South Pasadena and San Marino. Zee, a businessman, said his priority also will be education. Libertarian Bob New is also a candidate.

In the 43rd Assembly District, Democratic attorney Dario Frommer faces Republican attorney Craig Missakian in a battle likely to cost a combined $2 million. The district, which leans Democrat, includes parts of Glendale, Burbank, Toluca Lake, Los Feliz, Silver Lake and east Hollywood.

Frommer, a Los Feliz resident, is a political science teacher and appointments secretary to Gov. Gray Davis. His agenda includes gun control, abortion rights, education reform and streamlining the state bureaucracy.

Missakian, a Glendale resident, is a former county prosecutor and business attorney. He has proposed tax incentives to encourage the construction of affordable housing and keep film production in California.

In the 41st Assembly District, Democrat Fran Pavley is competing against Republican Jayne Murphy Shapiro and Libertarian Colin S. Goldman. The mostly Democratic district includes portions of Encino, Tarzana, Woodland Hills, Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Westlake Village, Malibu, Santa Monica and Pacific Palisades.

Pavley, a founder and former mayor of Agoura Hills, is a former teacher who pledges to push education reform.

Shapiro, an Encino nurse who founded the child advocacy group Kids Safe, has detailed plans to improve schools and lessen congestion on the Ventura-San Diego freeways interchange. A moderate Republican who favors abortion rights, she advocates tax credits for hybrid vehicles that operate with gas and electricity.

Republican television commentator Susan Carpenter McMillan faces Democrat Carol Liu, a La Canada Flintridge councilwoman who has been a teacher and school administrator in the 44th Assembly District. Libertarian Jerry Douglas is also on the ballot.

Aided by a $600,000 family loan to her campaign, Liu leads the fund-raising and enjoys the advantage of competing in a district where Democrats have an 8-point lead in voter registration. Her top priorities include class size reduction and higher salaries for teachers and principals.

Carpenter McMillan, a Pasadena resident, supports breaking up the Los Angeles school district into smaller districts.

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21ST DISTRICT

Jack Scott

* Political affiliation: Democrat

* Born: Aug. 24, 1933, in Sweetwater, Texas

* Residence: Altadena

* Current position: Assemblyman, 44th District

* Education: Bachelor’s in religion, Abilene Christian University in Texas, 1954; master’s in divinity, Yale University, 1962; doctorate in American history, Claremont Graduate School, 1970

* Career highlights: Former president, Pasadena City College; Legislator of the Year by California Federation of Teachers; headed the Assembly Insurance Committee that investigated Insurance Commissioner Charles Quackenbush and led to Quackenbush’s resignation

* Family: Married with four living children--son Adam was killed in 1993 by a gunman

*

Paul Zee

* Political affiliation: Republican

* Born: April 16, 1950, China

* Residence: South Pasadena

* Current position: City Councilman in South Pasadena; businessman, owns US Safety and Supply

* Education: Hong Kong Polytechnic University, earned the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree in business

* Career highlights: Former mayor of South Pasadena, two terms; regional council member, Southern California Assn. of Governments; founding president, South Pasadena Chinese American Club

* Family: Married with three children

29TH DISTRICT

Richard Melendez

* Political affiliation: Democrat

* Born: July 6, 1954, Monterey Park

* Residence: West Covina

* Current position: West Covina councilman

* Education: Graduated from the Los Angeles Police Department Academy, 1984

* Career highlights: Helped develop Child Care/After School program and pushed affordable housing development in West Covina; Los Angeles D.A.R.E. police officer; member of the San Gabriel Water Quality Authority

* Family: Married with two children

*

Bob Margett

* Political affiliation: Republican

* Born: May 8, 1929, Los Angeles

* Residence: Arcadia

* Current position: Assemblyman, 59th District

* Education: Attended UC Berkeley, 1950-1952, studying economics and business administration

* Career highlights: Served in the Assembly since 1995; drafted California’s version of Megan’s Law and spearheaded efforts for statewide class size reductions; former Arcadia councilman

* Family: Married with seven children, 10 grandchildren.

41ST DISTRICT

Fran Pavley

* Political affiliation: Democrat

* Born: Nov. 11, 1948, Los Angeles

* Residence: Agoura Hills

* Current position: Alternate member of California Coastal Commission; member of Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Advisory Committee

* Education: Bachelor’s in social sciences, Cal State Fresno, 1970; master’s in environmental planning, Cal State Northridge, 1985

* Career highlights: First mayor of Agoura Hills, served four terms; middle school teacher for 28 years

* Family: Married, two children

*

Jayne Murphy Shapiro

* Political affiliation: Republican

* Born: Oct. 14, 1945, in Evergreen Park, Ill.

* Residence: Encino

* Current position: Running for state Assembly, 41st district

* Education: Bachelor’s in health science, Cal State Northridge, 1989; master’s in public administration, Cal State Northridge, 1999

* Career highlights: Commissioner for City of Los Angeles on the Status of Women; appointed to state Developmental Disability Board; president and founder of KIDS SAFE, a nonprofit children’s advocacy group; certified sexual assault nurse examiner

* Family: Widowed, four children

43RD DISTRICT

Dario J. Frommer

* Political affiliation: Democrat

* Born: Oct. 22, 1963, Long Beach

* Residence: Los Feliz area of Los Angeles

* Current position: Teaches political science at Glendale Community College; attorney with Paul, Hastings, Janofsky and Walker, where he focuses on environmental and land-use issues

* Education: Bachelor’s degree in international relations and political science, Colgate University, 1985; law degree, UC Davis, 1992

* Career highlights: Appointments secretary to Gov. Gray Davis; served on Davis’ 1998 campaign as political director; consultant to the office of the lieutenant governor; named one of the top 20 lawyers under 40 in California by The Daily Journal

* Family: Single, no children

*

Craig Missakian

* Political affiliation: Republican

* Born: Feb. 26, 1960, Glendale

* Residence: Glendale

* Current position: Attorney in private practice, Glendale

* Education: Bachelor’s in political science, USC, 1983; law degree, Georgetown University, 1986

* Career highlights: Former criminal prosecutor who secured convictions in cases involving gangs, drugs, spousal abuse, drunk driving and murder; mentor for at-risk youth at Glendale Youth Alliance for about eight years

* Family: Single, no children

54TH DISTRICT

Alan Lowenthal

* Political affiliation: Democrat

* Born: March 8, 1941, in New York City

* Residence: Long Beach

* Current position: Assemblyman, 54th District

* Education: Bachelor’s in psychology, 1962, Hobart University; doctorate in clinical psychology, Ohio State University, 1967

* Career highlights: Chairman of the Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee and chairman of the Select Committee on California Ports; former Long Beach councilman

* Family: Married with two children

*

Rudy Svorinich

* Political affiliation: Republican

* Born: May 3, 1960, San Pedro

* Residence: San Pedro

* Current position: Los Angeles City Council, 15th District

* Education: Bachelor’s in business administration, Cal State Dominguez Hills, 1983

* Career highlights: Former Wilmington paint store owner; chairman of the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority; former vice president of San Pedro Peninsula and Wilmington Chambers of Commerce

* Family: Married with two children

56TH DISTRICT

Sally Havice

* Political affiliation: Democrat

* Born: Oct. 16, 1937, Los Angeles

* Residence: Cerritos

* Current position: Assemblywoman, 56th District

* Education: Bachelor’s degree in English, Cal State Long Beach, 1973; master’s degree in linguistics, Cal State Long Beach, 1976

* Career highlights: Helped establish statewide grants for community policing and mentoring on school campuses; helped create the San Gabriel and Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy; former English professor at Cerritos Community College

* Family: Single mother; three sons, nine grandchildren

*

Grace Hu

* Political affiliation: Republican

* Born: May 6, 1945, China

* Residence: Cerritos

* Current position: Cerritos councilwoman

* Education: Bachelor’s degree in law, the Taiwan Catholic Fu-Jen University, 1968. Attended business graduate school at San Francisco State, 1971-73

* Career highlights: Spearheaded development of senior housing in Cerritos; owner of a real estate firm and a mortgage company in Cerritos; named one of the “Top 100 Businesswomen in Southern California” by the Los Angeles Business Journal

* Family: Married; three children