Mayor’s Race Sparks Diversity of Opinion Among Valley Latinos

The Los Angeles mayor’s race has sharply divided the San Fernando Valley’s Latino leadership, reopening an old rift between two powerful camps and sparking new debate about which group better represents the Valley’s growing Latino population.

The contest between City Atty. James K. Hahn and former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa for mayor has sparked a replay of a split that divided state Sen. Richard Alarcon (D-Sylmar) and Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar) two years ago over who should succeed Alarcon on the City Council.

In this campaign, the split has potentially wide-ranging implications. Both candidates are targeting the voter-rich Valley to win a majority on June 5.

Despite the Valley’s reputation as a conservative voting area, Villaraigosa fared well in that part of the city, receiving 28% of the vote to Hahn’s 15.9%. Two candidates who had counted on strong Valley support, Councilman Joel Wachs and businessman Steve Soboroff, failed to make the runoff, leaving their supporters up for grabs.

That base has fractured before, most recently in the break between Alarcon and Cardenas. Until 1999, they were close allies who, with the aid of political strategist James Acevedo, had helped each other become the first Latinos from the Valley elected to legislative posts.

But two years ago, when Alarcon won a seat in the state Senate and left the City Council, the alliance that many had hoped would provide a united front for the Valley’s Latino community shattered.

Alarcon backed health agency administrator Corinne Sanchez for his council seat, but Cardenas and Acevedo supported 26-year-old Alex Padilla, a relative unknown who ultimately won.

Now Cardenas, Padilla and Acevedo are united again, this time behind Hahn. They endorsed him in December.

“James Hahn shares my vision for what my priorities and needs are for my district,” Padilla said Thursday.

Last week, Alarcon, three San Fernando City Council members and leaders of the Valley chapter of the Mexican American Political Assn. joined Sanchez in endorsing Villaraigosa in his bid to become the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles in more than a century.

“As much as I think Jim Hahn would be a good mayor, there is no doubt in my mind that Antonio will be a great mayor,” Alarcon said.

With the two camps backing different mayoral candidates, the stage is set for yet another showdown.

The issue takes on added urgency because of new census figures showing the Latino population exploding by 42% in the Valley between 1990 and 2000, four times the rate it grew in the rest of the city.

“The result of the mayor’s race will show which camp wins, which is more in tune” with the community, said Valley activist Carlos Ferreyra.

The outcome of the mayor’s race also could boost the stock of the faction that favored the winner.

“Obviously, they would have more influence, depending on who becomes mayor,” said Jorge Flores, a political consultant not involved in the mayor’s race.

Ferreyra and Flores welcomed a diversity of opinion within the Latino leadership.

“It may seem from the outside that there is a rift in the family, but I think it is healthy to have different views come to the table,” Flores said.

“It reflects the level of sophistication in the community when leaders can agree to disagree in a race,” Padilla said.

For his part, Cardenas said he and Alarcon agree more than they disagree on issues, but that they don’t agree on who should be the next mayor.

“I endorsed James Hahn because I thought he was the most experienced candidate, and he continues to be,” said Cardenas, who planned in 1999 to run for the Assembly speaker position but dropped out after Villaraigosa supported Assemblyman Bob Hertzberg.

“The relationship between Antonio and myself is not very good and people try to make it one issue that pushed us apart, but it was many, many issues where he was consistent in damaging our relationship,” Cardenas said. Villaraigosa’s action on the speakership “was one issue but not the worst,” he added.

As the campaign moves into its final chapter, Hahn in particular stands to benefit from any leading Latino officials--Padilla and Cardenas, for instance--who support his campaign rather than signing on with Villaraigosa.

Parke Skelton, a political consultant for Villaraigosa, said he suspects that Padilla and Cardenas decided to back Hahn in December because the city attorney was favored early in the race and there was much skepticism about Villaraigosa’s chances.

“They went with the polls at the time,” Skelton said. “I think they were clearly mistaken.”

But Kam Kuwata, a spokesman for Hahn, said the endorsements by Padilla and Cardenas are important in the Valley.

“Like anything else, when you have a voice that people are familiar with, it helps,” he said. “It gives us a chance to communicate with voters.”