Competing Campaigns Ignite Clash Between Old Flames

Even though they just launched competing campaigns for the same Los Angeles Community College Board seat, candidates Dan Rosales Jr. of Sylmar and Joanne Baltierrez of San Fernando have unusually strong knowledge of each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

The two contenders for the East Valley’s Office No. 2 on the college board had a years-long romantic relationship that ended a couple of years ago, Baltierrez said.

The contest between two former flames has become a hot topic among political activists in the northeast Valley, especially because the two candidates have high profiles there.

Baltierrez was the first female mayor of San Fernando, serving on the City Council from 1994-99, while Rosales is a top deputy for Los Angeles City Councilman Alex Padilla.

“People are surprised he is in the race,” she said. “People know the relationship.”

Baltierrez, an instructor and student service specialist at Mission College in Sylmar, said she first approached Rosales a few months ago to let him know she was running for the college board and that Rosales originally offered to help her campaign. She said she was surprised and upset when he announced his candidacy.

Rosales downplayed the relationship.

“I dated her for a long time, but that was a long time ago,” Rosales said. “I wish her well. May the best person win.”

He said that the two don’t talk much to each other but that when they have it has been cordial. Rosales added that he worked on her first campaign in San Fernando for City Council.

There is a political as well as a personal back story with the couple.

Baltierrez said that as a member of the San Fernando City Council she ran up against the political alliance of Assemblyman Tony Cardenas and political strategist James Acevedo.

“I wasn’t their pick or their voice,” she said. “They made sure my life was difficult.”

Rosales and Cardenas have denied that the alliance put Rosales up to run against his former girlfriend, as some have suggested.

Rosales said he decided on his own to run because he wants to provide a strong voice for getting resources to address problems at Mission, Pierce and Valley colleges. Cardenas said that he might have endorsed Baltierrez, but that Rosales came to him first for support before he even knew Baltierrez was a candidate.

Acevedo confirmed that he plans to work on Rosales’ campaign, but he said it was Rosales’ idea to run for the office.

“He asked if I’d help out,” Acevedo said.

At a recent candidate forum, the two did not even speak to each other, said another contender, Scott Svonkin.

“All of the other candidates talk to each other, except those two,” he said. “Everyone else got up and said hello when someone came in, but they just ignored each other.”

THE SHOCK OF ARRIVAL: Joining the California Assembly in the midst of a statewide electricity crisis has given the Valley’s freshman lawmakers something of a jolt.

Suddenly, many of their well-worn campaign pledges about education reform and gun control have been shoved aside as legislators scramble to steady a reeling deregulated market that has triggered rolling blackouts and knocked utilities to the brink of bankruptcy.

“The energy crisis is just dominating all discussion,” said Assemblywoman Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills). “Because electricity is of such critical importance to the economy of our state, everything else has taken a back burner.”

Instead of spending a leisurely January getting to know department heads and lobbyists, novice lawmakers have been thrust headfirst into the frenzy, where 14-hour days spent boning up on topics like electricity spot markets and transmission grids have become the norm. With little time for anything else, they ricochet from daily briefings on the latest negotiations with energy producers to late-night sessions spent crafting emergency measures to keep the lights on.

“It’s not what I expected,” said Assemblyman Paul Koretz (D-West Hollywood), who readily concedes that his previous encounters with kilowatt-hours were confined to glances at his power bill. “I came in with [electricity] being one of the issues that I knew the least about. This wasn’t on my radar screen.”

As these freshmen loped down the campaign trail a few months ago, the looming threat of soaring energy costs, let alone blackouts and bankruptcies, was scarcely mentioned--though Assemblyman Dario Frommer (D-Los Feliz) did propose an energy summit to seek new emergency supplies and maintain reasonable rates. Now, it’s hard to think about anything but the sky-high price of wholesale power.

“I’ve spent hundreds of hours studying the issue,” said Assemblyman Keith Richman (R-Northridge), who held a news conference last week with fellow Republicans to denounce what they called Gov. Gray Davis’ slow response to the energy meltdown. Even his free time has been consumed, Richman said: “I went to bed last night reading [California Public Utilities Commission] decisions.”

But one new member of the Valley’s delegation--Democrat Carol Liu of La Canada Flintridge--landed in Sacramento with a tad more experience when it comes to hydroelectric plants. Liu’s husband of 23 years, Michael Peevey, is the former president of Southern California Edison, one of the utility companies now buckling under mounting debt.

Peevey has been counseling the governor about the energy crisis, and Liu, a former teacher who campaigned on a promise to improve public schools, sometimes calls upon her husband for advice as well.

“Through social occasions or dinners, I’ve heard him speak on this issue, but it doesn’t make me an expert,” she said. “It’s just not my shtick.”

Instead, Liu has gotten up to speed just like all the other electricity neophytes bouncing around the Capitol: She attends caucus briefings and pores over thick notebooks labeled “Energy,” compiled for the occasion by Assembly leaders.

“When we got here three weeks ago, the majority of us didn’t have a clue about energy,” she said. “We’ve had quite an education.”

JACKPOT: Although term limits prevent him from running for reelection, Mayor Richard Riordan is hitting the fund-raising circuit nevertheless, starting Feb. 1 when he hosts a $250-per-person reception for City Council candidate Francine Oschin of Reseda.

The event at the Sheraton Universal Hotel is being co-hosted by Oschin’s boss, Councilman Hal Bernson.

The multimillionaire mayor and his wealthy friends have proved adept at filling campaign coffers with cash, and Oschin is hopeful the fund-raiser will give her an advantage as she runs for the west San Fernando Valley’s 3rd District seat on the Los Angeles City Council.

“It’s very significant for my campaign,” she said of the event. “It shows they are willing to invest the time and energy for me and that they have confidence in me.”

In a council race where candidates are limited to spending no more than $330,000, the one event hosted by Riordan is expected to bring in $25,000.