Excitement Builds for 2 Wide-Open Valley Council Races

With local term limits finally kicking in, nowhere is the changing of the political guard generating more excitement and interest than in two open Los Angeles City Council seats in the San Fernando Valley.

Citywide, 66 candidates have already filed papers in races for 11 seats--including nine open seats--in what city officials predict will be the most crowded political contests in decades. Voters in April will choose a mayor, city attorney, city controller and eight council members.

In the south Valley’s 5th Council District, where incumbent Mike Feuer has chosen to step down to run for city attorney, 10 candidates, including state Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles) and former federal prosecutor Jack Weiss, have already declared. Six people have filed papers to raise money for the West Valley’s 3rd District seat being vacated by Laura Chick.

“The early indications are that this will be the most competitive election we’ve had in some time,” Feuer said of the race for his seat. “No one is the clear likely winner, which is good because it will mean there will be a full discussion of the issues.”

An initiative limiting city elected officials to two terms was approved by voters in 1993 and for the first time is forcing out incumbents in five council seats, as well as the mayor, city attorney and city controller.

Five of the 14 candidates for mayor--City Atty. James Hahn, Councilman Joel Wachs, Parks Commissioner Steve Soboroff, Assemblyman Antonio Villaraigosa (D-Los Angeles) and U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles)--have already reported reaching the $200,000 fund-raising threshold.

More recently, state Controller Kathleen Connell also entered the mayor’s race.

Feuer, Deputy Mayor Rocky Delgadillo and county prosecutor Lea Purwin D’Agostino already have reported raising at least $100,000 each in the race to succeed Hahn as city attorney.

While the race for mayor is garnering attention because of a series of candidate forums, those competing for Valley council seats have been quietly working to line up support and dollars for what they expect will be tough races.

“The open seats tend to make the races far more competitive,” said Arnold Steinberg, a Valley-based political strategist not working for any of the campaigns.

In the Valley, four candidates in the 5th District and one in the 3rd District have reported reaching the $50,000 fund-raising level.

Two of the Valley council seats will most likely not have as much competition.

City Council members Cindy Miscikowski in the 11th District and Alex Padilla in the 7th District are the only incumbents not yet affected by term limits, and both are expected to receive only modest opposition.

Miscikowski so far faces a challenge from relative unknown Arthur William Mortell, a lecturer on leadership and sales from Pacific Palisades. No one has yet filed to run against Padilla, though a few activists are weighing a possible challenge.

Jewish Community May Play Key Role

The most crowded field of any council race in the city is in the 5th District, where Hayden’s recent entry has turned up the heat. The district extends from Cheviot Hills and Westwood to areas of the Valley, including parts of Sherman Oaks, Studio City and Van Nuys. Four of the 10 candidates live in the Valley portion of the district, while the rest live south of Mulholland Drive.

The district has some of the city’s most wealthy neighborhoods, including Bel-Air, and is heavily Democratic. Jewish community activists say every council member elected to represent the district during the last 40 years has been active in the Jewish community.

Hayden, who two weeks ago moved into the district to a rental house in Sherman Oaks, has hired the political consulting firm of Parke Skelton, which most recently helped elect Democrat Adam Schiff to Congress.

“I am going to win the election based on the fact that I have represented most of the people in the council district during the past eight years in the Senate,” Hayden said.

Weiss, a former assistant U.S. attorney who lives near UCLA, said he believes he would have the best chance of beating Hayden in a runoff, in part because of his experience as a federal prosecutor. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, a runoff will be held June 5.

Weiss said he has commitments for $150,000, and has hired prominent Valley political consultant Larry Levine, who managed Feuer’s first campaign.

“Tom Hayden’s entry into the race has energized my campaign,” Weiss said. “People around town are looking for a reasonable, constructive alternative to Tom Hayden.”

Weiss has established himself as a leading contender with some major endorsements, including one he picked up Friday from former 5th District Councilman Ed Edelman.

Businessman Ken Gerston of Sherman Oaks also has staked a claim to the seat by jumping out early with a strong fund-raising push, and by hiring City Hall insider Steven Afriat as a political consultant.

“We believe it is time for the Valley to have a council member for this spillover seat,” Afriat said, pitching his candidate as having the right “moderate Democrat viewpoint” to match the district’s voters.

West Los Angeles resident Robyn Ritter Simon, who has worked as a television news reporter, also has passed the $50,000 fund-raising threshold, and has hired veteran political consultant Harvey Englander to help run her campaign.

Attorney Nathan Bernstein, a resident of the Pico-Robertson area, said he has the advantage of walking door-to-door in the district over the last six months, visiting thousands of homes in the process.

Homeowner-leader Laura Lake, immediate past president of the National Council of Jewish Women and current president of Friends of Westwood, said her candidacy appeals to the major constituencies in the district.

Other candidates in the race are North Hollywood accountant Victor Viereck, former carpet salesman Joseph Patrick Connolly from the Fairfax district, businesswoman Jill Barad of Sherman Oaks and businessman Stephen A. Saltzman of West Los Angeles.

3rd District a Hub of Valley Commerce

The other Valley district generating interest is also heavily Democratic. Voters will decide who will replace Chick in the 3rd District, which includes Tarzana, Woodland Hills, Canoga Park, Reseda, Encino, Van Nuys and West Hills.

The district is a hub of commerce in the Valley. It includes Warner Center, as well as an upscale stretch of Ventura Boulevard and more working-class neighborhoods of apartment complexes.

Six people are actively raising money for the seat.

Franchine Oschin of Encino is an aide to 12th District Councilman Hal Bernson, while Judith Hirshberg of Encino is a onetime aide to former Councilman Marvin Braude.

Other candidates include Jason Dominguez, a Reseda resident who is a deputy city attorney, and Tsilah Burman, a Woodland Hills resident and a member of the city’s South Valley Area Planning Commission. Burman was an aide to Zev Yaroslavsky when he held the 5th District council seat before Feuer.

Dennis Zine, a West Hills police sergeant, has City Hall experience as a director of the Police Protective League, while the other candidate is Frank M. Bush of Reseda.

Oschin, Hirshberg and Burman say their experience gives them the edge in understanding how to get things done.

Hirshberg has been endorsed by former 3rd District Councilwoman Joy Picus, who said, “Judith has worked in the vineyards, so to speak, for many years, both as a community activist and as a council aide.”

Zine cited his experience as a police officer, saying it puts him in the best position to help turn around a beleaguered Los Angeles Police Department that has had its reputation soiled by the Rampart scandal.

“If people want to see the LAPD back in shape, who better to turn to than someone who has been there for 32 years,” Zine said.

Zine has hired political consultant Rick Taylor, who worked on Padilla’s successful council campaign last year. Burman has tapped political consultant Cynthia Corona, who worked on Feuer’s successful council campaign, and Oschin has brought in a consultant that helped get Nick Pacheco elected last year to the council.

Chick said she probably will not endorse anyone. She said she is pleased there are so many good candidates running to succeed her.

“It’s clearly wide open,” Chick said.