Famous Names Is the Category

It was an exchange reminiscent of Lloyd Bentsen’s put-down of Dan Quayle in 1988 when he said, “I knew Jack Kennedy. . . . you are no Jack Kennedy.”

The latest Tom Hayden-Jack Weiss tiff in the 5th Council District race is over who is more representative of the Robert F. Kennedy legacy.

It started earlier this week when Weiss invoked the Kennedy name several times at a candidates forum in Bel-Air, noting that his parents were federal prosecutors under Kennedy and saying he was inspired by Kennedy to enter public service. By about the fourth Kennedy reference, Hayden was bugged.

A former state senator, Hayden said Wednesday that he was an honor guard at Robert F. Kennedy’s funeral and has been politically and socially involved with the Kennedy family for more than three decades.

Hayden announced that he has won the endorsements of two sons of the former U.S. attorney general and presidential candidate--Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Max Kennedy.

“Weiss’ attempt to associate himself with the Kennedy family seems to fit a pattern we have noticed of his padding or doctoring his resume,” said Rocky Rushing, Hayden’s campaign manager. The Weiss campaign dismissed Hayden’s attack.

“It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad,” said Larry Levine, a campaign consultant for Weiss. “All Jack did was quote Bobby Kennedy as someone he admired on the subject of cities. If I were Hayden’s consultant, I’d take away his keyboard.”

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Laura Chick has endorsed Judith Hirshberg, an old colleague from their days as council aides in neighboring San Fernando Valley districts, to succeed her in the 3rd Council District.

Chick steered clear of the race for months, her hands full with her own campaign for city controller. With that out of the way--Chick won handily--the councilwoman turned her attention to the two contenders courting her support in the June 5 runoff, Hirshberg and police union director Dennis Zine.

Chick’s ties to Hirshberg go back more than a decade, when the two frequently crossed paths as council deputies. They sometimes had lunch, Hirshberg recalled, hashing out Valley issues and comparing notes on homeowner groups. A few years ago, when Chick criticized the “sexist, good-ol’-boys’ work environment” at City Hall, Hirshberg joined a chorus of women who praised her for speaking out.

But it was Hirshberg’s day-to-day work with constituents (she once headed Councilman Marvin Braude’s Valley district office) that tipped the scales, Chick said Wednesday. “We worked side by side, out in the community,” Chick said. Hirshberg “has a very deep understanding of what constituent complaints are. That was her job as a council aide and she did it well. I’m very impressed with her follow-through.”

Chick also has a long history with Zine, who finished first in the April 10 election. Eight years ago, Chick and Zine battled for the same council seat, vying to depose then-Councilwoman Joy Picus. Later, Chick often worked with Zine in her capacity as chairwoman of the council’s public safety committee.

At one point, she even endorsed Zine, for a spot on the elected Charter Reform Commission that rewrote the city’s constitution. He won the post.

Zine said he was disappointed that Chick chose to back Hirshberg. “She has a long-term friendship with Judith, which I respect,” Zine said. “Not that I wasn’t qualified, but she’s known Judith a lot longer than she’s known me.”

Gender also may have played a part in the decision, Zine said.

The balance of women on the council remains an open question. Only four of the remaining 13 council members are female. That number could drop to two or rise to six, depending on the outcome of the runoffs and a special election to fill the late John Ferraro’s seat.

Zine said Chick told him she wanted to make sure women are well represented on the 15-member council. “Her philosophy was, Judith is a woman and she’s a woman, and there’s got to be women on the City Council,” he said. “I believe leadership is more important than gender.”

Chick said that she does not make decisions based on gender, but added: “I’m very, very eager to see more good women in elected office. I absolutely know . . . that we women elected officials do have a different perspective, a different background, and a different skill set that we bring to the table. It is one that is very healthy for the city.”

Hirshberg, for one, is happy to get the nod from the incumbent.

“I’m just delighted,” Hirshberg said, adding that she plans to highlight Chick’s support on all her campaign material. “Her district likes her very much, so I think it’ll be a good omen for me.”

ORGANIZATION SKILLS: Look for the four women also-rans in the 5th Council District race to have an effect on the June 5 runoff.

Earlier this week, Jill Barad, Laura Lake, Constantina Milonopolous and Robyn Ritter Simon had lunch to discuss their experience as four of the 11 candidates who competed in the April 10 election, and to discuss what role they might play in the runoff.

Simon, a broadcast journalist, reportedly has agreed to a job providing analysis of the race, so she will not be in a position to endorse. But Lake said 5th District residents should expect to hear from the other three women before election day.

CHECKMATE: The San Fernando Valley’s top economic development agency thought it had a lock on a $2-million pot of state money to provide loan guarantees to small businesses in the Valley, but now, some people are not so sure.

On Wednesday, the California Small Business Board decided to seek new bids for the contract after the Valley Economic Development Center was the only bidder. At stake is a contract to serve as a Small Business Financial Development Corp. in the Valley.

Patricia Murphy, acting director of the state Office of Small Business, said in a report to the board that VEDC scored only 103 points out of a possible 150 in a rating system. She added, “I do not believe that the proposed corporation will serve the legislative intent.”

A panel that reviewed the application found more weaknesses than strengths, including a budget that exceeds $300,000, which members say burdens the Small Business Financial Development Corp. with high overhead and limits future use of unrestricted funds.

Roberto Barragan, president of VEDC, said his agency has a good track record of helping small businesses in the Valley but supports the decision to seek new bidding. However, some Valley leaders wonder whether the rebid is an attempt to keep the state contract open for other, more politically connected bidders.

They note that the pot of money was made possible by legislation by Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar). A Cardenas ally, former San Fernando Mayor Silverio Robledo, initially submitted a letter of intent to bid on the contract, but did not turn in a bid on time.

Robledo said Wednesday that he does not plan to bid for the contract. Asked if anyone else close to Cardenas might bid, he said, “That I don’t know.”