L.A. Council’s Old, New Guard at Loggerheads

Four months after the Los Angeles City Council elected 28-year-old Alex Padilla as its president, the body remains fractured between the newcomers and the veterans, with bad feelings boiling to the surface during council meetings and spilling over into the upcoming election for the seat vacated by Joel Wachs.

Padilla’s more senior council colleagues continue to say he is too inexperienced to hold such a powerful position. They hope to curb his influence at City Hall by opposing Padilla’s ally, Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar), in the race for the District 2 council seat.

Many of Padilla’s detractors on the council, who have not so quietly been plotting his ouster despite long odds, have lined up behind DreamWorks SKG executive Wendy Greuel for the Dec. 11 vote for the seat representing the east San Fernando Valley. They have turned the contest into a referendum on the council presidency and an escalation of tensions between council factions.

“We’ve got a council comprised of young Turks versus an Old Guard,” said Harvey Englander, a political consultant with ties to City Hall. “The council presidency battle was not pretty, and unfortunately I do see lingering hard feelings. . . . We’ve had decades of calm air in the City Council and now we have turbulence.”

As council president, Padilla runs the meetings and makes committee assignments--the sort of thing that gets little notice outside political circles. But inside City Hall, those powers give the president tremendous influence over the council’s agenda.

The current tumult was triggered by term limits, which forced out five incumbents, and was exacerbated by the death in April of Councilman John Ferraro and the resignation of 30-year veteran Wachs. With eight of the 15 council seats changing hands this year, City Hall is seeing the biggest turnover ever.

Veteran Councilwoman Ruth Galanter had sought to take Ferraro’s place as president, but in a last-minute bid, Padilla won the presidency on a 9-5 vote. Padilla, who was elected to office only two years ago, was supported by five of the six rookies.

Veteran council members Galanter, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Nate Holden and Hal Bernson, and newcomer Jan Perry, found themselves on the losing end. They are sometimes referred to by other colleagues as the “gang of five.”

Padilla says he realizes that some colleagues still have hard feelings over his win and his subsequent reshuffling of council committees, and he knows that he could lose the leadership post any time his opponents garner eight votes.

“I think those stakes are there every day we have a council meeting,” he said.

New Members, Veterans Have Sharp Exchanges

There are frequently sharp exchanges between the new council members and the veterans. Galanter has taken to publicly lecturing her newly elected colleagues about the way things operate at City Hall, causing some to roll their eyes.

Having lost one of his supporters when Wachs resigned the 2nd District seat, Padilla is taking steps to cement his alliances to avoid a coup, mounting a vigorous effort to elect Cardenas, a close friend and former boss.

Bernson, who recently was bumped by Padilla from two key committees, is one of the most vocal council members questioning Padilla’s qualifications to lead the governing body. After sparring publicly with Padilla at a recent meeting, Bernson was overheard mumbling an obscenity about the council president.

“I do have some serious questions about his ability to be the council president,” Bernson said later. “If my colleagues came to me and said they had the votes for someone better qualified, they would have my vote.”

There also remain some bad feelings among a group of African American council members originally excluded by Padilla from key committees dealing with social services and housing. Padilla put Ridley-Thomas and Perry, who are black, on two of the panels only after a large contingent of African American ministers and civic leaders publicly scolded Padilla at a council meeting.

But hard feelings remain.

“It’s clear that key mistakes have been made and there is an increasing level of uneasiness and dislike for those mistakes,” Ridley-Thomas said.

Referring to the push for a new president, he added, “I think that there is a real desire for a fresh start. Things have become more jaded than most would like at this point.”

Holden, the third African American, blamed Padilla’s youth and relative inexperience for the slights.

Holden has publicly criticized Padilla in the last two weeks for repeatedly skipping over him when it was his turn to speak during debates. Holden said Padilla has not shown any remorse when confronted over the issue.

The tension surfaced again Wednesday, when Padilla canceled the council meeting just as Holden and Ridley-Thomas were about to arrive to provide a quorum. Padilla said he had warned his colleagues that he would cancel meetings if they do not start within 15 minutes of their scheduled time.

Still, Holden was angry and accused Padilla of improperly calling off a meeting without asking for a motion from the floor.

“That’s the problem with a new elected officer,” Holden said. “The president of all people cannot walk out on a meeting. I was in the building.”

To unseat Padilla, the dissenters would need to pick up three more votes. Several council members said efforts are being made to recruit from those who voted for Padilla.

Discussions About Replacing Padilla

Councilman Dennis Zine, a Padilla supporter, said he has been approached in recent days by more than one colleague suggesting that Padilla be replaced.

“There are people on the council in discussions about changing the council president and they have talked to me about it,” said Zine, declining to identify the council members.

Even so, Zine said he is opposed to ousting Padilla from the post. “I think we need some stability, some unity,” Zine said.

One part of the pitch to Padilla supporters is that the council’s dynamic could change with last week’s election of Tom LaBonge in Ferraro’s 4th District and the Dec. 11 election to fill the 2nd District seat.

Bernson, Holden, Ridley-Thomas and Perry supported LaBonge. Padilla did not, despite a request to do so, deciding instead to stay out of the race.

On election night, the band of dissenters were close to LaBonge as he made his victory speech. Padilla showed up late and stood to the side much of the time, observers said. The council president has since asked LaBonge to meet with him.

While council dissenters hope their support for LaBonge will translate into him joining their side, LaBonge said he is noncommittal. He said he is focused on taking office and getting to work for his constituents.

Bernson, Galanter, Ridley-Thomas and Perry have endorsed Greuel in the 2nd District. Holden predicted his friend Greuel will be open to challenging Padilla if she beats the council president’s handpicked candidate.

“I’m convinced Wendy Greuel would be mad at [Padilla] if she gets elected because he is going out trying to kill her off” politically, said Holden, who said he has not endorsed anyone.

Supporters Vow to Remain Loyal

Two other council members who voted for Padilla for president--Janice Hahn and Cindy Miscikowski--also are backing Greuel over Cardenas, citing their long relationships with Greuel.

Cardenas, meanwhile, is supported for election by newly elected council members Zine and Eric Garcetti, in addition to Padilla.

Miscikowski, the only veteran among the controlling majority, said she is committed to supporting Padilla as president for the full two-year term. Pacheco and Garcetti said they also are remaining loyal to Padilla.

“The transition from the old guard to the new guard admittedly was bumpy,” Pacheco said. “But I think as time progresses, things will smooth out. As long as the council president stays focused on what I consider to be big expectations from his colleagues, then everything should be OK.”

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Council Alignments

A crop of rookie council members helped elect 28-year-old Alex Padilla council president in July, exposing a rift between newcomers and veterans. As part of an effort to regain control of the presidency, members of the old guard have been active in recent and upcoming council elections.

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Council members who voted for Councilman Alex Padilla for president and when they took office:

Eric Garcetti: July 2001

Janice Hahn: July 2001

Dennis Zine: July 2001

Ed Reyes: July 2001

Jack Weiss: July 2001

Nick Pacheco: July 1999

Alex Padilla: July 1999

Cindy Miscikowski: July 1997

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Council members who voted against Councilman Alex Padilla for president and when they took office:

Hal Bernson: July 1979

Nate Holden: June 1987

Ruth Galanter: July 1987

Mark Ridley-Thomas: July 1991

Jan Perry: July 2001

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Question Marks:

4th Council District

Tom LaBonge: October 2001

Council members Ridley-Thomas, Perry and Holden supported his campaign.

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2nd Council District

Tony Cardenas

Wendy Greuel

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Padilla has endorsed Cardenas in the race to succeed Councilman Joel Wachs. Galanter, Ridley-Thomas, Perry and Bernson are among council members who have endorsed Greuel.

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LYNN MEERSMAN / Los Angeles Times

Council Alignments, LYNN MEERSMAN / Los Angeles Times