Foes Katz, Alarcon Join to Support Villaraigosa

In one of their first joint appearances since their bitter campaign three years ago, former rivals Richard Katz and state Sen. Richard Alarcon came together Tuesday to lend their support to Antonio Villaraigosa’s mayoral campaign.

During a morning news conference in front of the Van Nuys police station, the two men referred obliquely to their Democratic primary face-off in 1998 and said Villaraigosa would be a mayor who would mend divisions.

“Richard and I know that as contentious as political races get, there’s a more important challenge, and that is fixing our community,” Alarcon said. “We agree that Antonio is the person to do that.”

“As much as I think [City Atty.] Jim Hahn would be a good mayor, there is no doubt in my mind that Antonio will be a great mayor,” he added.

Katz, who had already announced his support for Villaraigosa, said his former Assembly colleague is able to bring together people who have disagreements and help them find common ground.

“Antonio has that ability to reach out to inspire people to be better than they have been, which is really what being in L.A. is all about,” the former assemblyman said.

After thanking them for their support, Villaraigosa stood between the two men, grabbed their hands and raised them over his head.

During the news conference, much of Alarcon’s and Katz’s onetime hostility seemed to have dissipated. The two men greeted each other pleasantly, and Alarcon clapped Katz on his back after he spoke.

“I had the pleasure of voting for Richard Katz eight times,” Alarcon said. “The last time, I voted for somebody else.”

“Well, that answers one question. I now know who one of the 29 other votes were,” Katz quipped a few minutes later, referring to the 29-vote edge by which Alarcon won the election, a result the former assemblyman contested in court.

The two men are among the growing number of San Fernando Valley leaders who Villaraigosa and Hahn have been ardently wooing for support, hoping to gain an edge with the large bloc of Valley residents up for grabs in the run-off.

Last week, Hahn announced the backing of a group he dubbed his Valley “A team,” which included City Councilman Hal Bernson, Police Commissioner Bert Boeckmann, Richard Close, chairman of the secession group Valley VOTE, former Rep. Bobbi Fiedler and former Assemblywoman Paula Boland.

The candidates’ eagerness to outdo each other with endorsements was evident Tuesday, when Villaraigosa’s campaign released a long list of his Valley supporters--a list that mistakenly included the names of Page Miller and Sandra Munz, two community activists who attended the news conference to discuss the need for more community-based policing. Neither woman has endorsed Villaraigosa and both were taken aback at being included as his supporters.

Villaraigosa spokeswoman Elena Stern said Miller and Munz were erroneously added to the endorsement list by Alarcon’s staff and would be removed.

Also Tuesday, Villaraigosa announced a proposal to double the number of police senior lead officers to 336 and expand the number of neighborhood watch groups to 1,000 over the next four years.

“I know, having visited communities all across the city, that if you ask people about the Police Department . . . the one thing that was a common agreement was that community-based policing works,” Villaraigosa said.

The popular senior lead program, in which about 160 officers acted as liaisons with neighborhoods, was disbanded by Police Chief Bernard C. Parks in 1999. After loud complaints from community groups, Mayor Richard Riordan said last month that the program was being reinstated.

Hahn has also voiced support for expanding community-based policing, and has proposed hiring 1,000 police officers on top of the now budgeted 9,800 positions.