Valley Candidates Again Shut Out of 5th City Council District Seat

The San Fernando Valley jinx continued Tuesday in the 5th City Council District, which has never elected a resident from the Valley.

Of the four Valley residents in the 11-candidate race, Sherman Oaks businessman Ken Gerston finished highest, in third place, with just 8.69% of the votes.

In contrast, Westsiders Tom Hayden and Jack Weiss made the runoff with 33.72% and 22.03% respectively.

“Maybe the Valley is just not ready to have its own representative,” said Gerston, who campaigned heavily in the Valley. “I’m disappointed in the Valley not rallying around a candidate.”

Going back 40 years, long before the current boundaries were drawn, the district has been represented by residents from the West Los Angeles portion of the district, from Ed Edelman to Zev Yaroslavsky to the current incumbent, Mike Feuer.

Gerston said he believes the vote has implications beyond who represents the 5th District, possibly showing that Valley secession will have trouble getting support.

Others suggested the outcome had more to do with raw numbers than Valley apathy.

Sixty-two percent of the voters in the district live south of Mulholland Drive.

FORGET ROMANCE: Haydee and John Pavia of West Hills decided to celebrate their 46th wedding anniversary Tuesday in the Hot Tomato restaurant at the Radisson Hotel in Chatsworth with dozens of supporters for Dennis Zine, a candidate for the Los Angeles City Council’s 3rd District.

“We could have gone dancing,” Haydee Pavia said with a dismissive shrug of her shoulders. “We could have done something romantic, but we wanted to be here.”

The couple had never met or campaigned for Zine. Haydee Pavia, who has lived in West Hills since 1960, began corresponding with Zine via e-mail about law enforcement issues.

By the time election night rolled around, Zine had sent them an electronic anniversary card and invited them to celebrate their big night with him.

“We’re the anniversary couple,” Haydee Pavia said when Zine approached, ready to shake their hands.

Instead, Zine raised a cup, toasted the Pavias and gave them hugs.

“I’m glad we decided to come here,” Haydee Pavia said. “I’m glad we didn’t go dancing.”

A SAFE PLACE: Dozens of out-of-uniform police officers and firefighters descended on the Hot Tomato on Topanga Canyon Boulevard to show their support for Zine, a 33-year Los Angeles Police Department veteran, who favors police reform. They swapped stories of murder and mayhem and dared anyone to break the law.

“This is probably one of the safest spots in the city,” Zine said, laughing.

The camaraderie inspired 22-year-old son Christopher Zine, who plans to enter the LAPD after he graduates this year from St. Mary’s College in Northern California.

“This is fun, and I love helping people,” Christopher Zine said. “But I want to join the LAPD because of my dad. He’s my role model. I’m his biggest fan.”

REMEDIAL MATH: Blame it on the city’s election Web site that went on the fritz. Or the glacial pace of voting results that dribbled in so slowly that candidates asked reporters for snippets of news.

The result was a party for Weiss that pooped out before it ever had a chance to pep up.

With few precinct results to gauge whether he had victory or defeat to contend with, Weiss took an extra hour at home anxiously dialing out to get election results.

When Weiss did show up an hour late to his 9 p.m. bash at Tanino Ristorante in Westwood Village, the party mood remained decidedly low-key among the crowd of 30.

No boisterous applause, no yelps of victory, just plenty of anxious waiting.

Weiss and his lieutenants spent much of the party channel surfing trying to find the best TV election results, or pressed their ears to cell phones, while platters of bruschetta went uneaten at the bar.

THAT’S SOME CHICK: Councilwoman Laura Chick was all smiles Wednesday as she danced from one well-wisher to another during a City Council meeting. Chick had just won a resounding victory in her race for city controller, and it showed.

Cindy Miscikowski, a council colleague who represents an adjoining chunk of the Valley, greeted Chick with a big hug. City Atty. Jim Hahn, fresh off his victorious climb to the mayoral runoff, called to congratulate her.

“Hey you!” Chick gushed into the phone. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. Someone just told me I’m the first chick who’s ever been elected citywide!” Indeed, Chick’s win makes her the first woman ever elected to citywide office--an achievement noted by no less an authority than council gadfly Melrose Larry Green, a mayoral candidate in his own right. Green drew a round of applause when he took the podium to praise Chick.

The meeting was less festive for Feuer, who now faces a tight runoff in his city attorney race against Deputy Mayor Rocky Delgadillo. As Chick merrily greeted another group of supporters a few feet from where he sat, Feuer looked glum. No one clamored around his chair as he sipped from a bottle of apple juice.

“I’ve got a lot of work to do,” he said of the race ahead. But Feuer denied any hint of gloom dampening his usually upbeat mood.

He was just tired, he said. He’d only gotten four hours of sleep before he had to hustle off to a morning meeting with city officials to discuss that most cheery of topics--the energy crisis.

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This report was prepared by Times staff writers Patrick McGreevy, Sue Fox, Kristina Sauerwein and Annette Kondo.