Lesson of a Gritty Campaign

Voters in Los Angeles’ 4th City Council District decided that Tom LaBonge’s long record of public service was an asset and elected him Tuesday to fill the seat left vacant by the death of City Council President John Ferraro. LaBonge won 62% of the vote, besting Beth Garfield’s 38% by a comfortable margin.

A longtime mayoral aide, Ferraro deputy and community volunteer, LaBonge brings with him knowledge and experience that should serve both his district and the city overall.

The role he can best play as a council member is that of bridge builder--between his district and others, between continuity and change, between the old City Council and one rapidly being remade by term limits.

The council will soon gain yet another new member, to replace veteran Councilman Joel Wachs, who resigned to take a job in New York City. Candidates vying in the Dec. 11 special election could learn a few lessons from the campaign just ended on how not to run for office.

Garfield, a labor attorney and former community college board trustee, loaned her campaign $700,000, the most personal money ever used by a council candidate. She did so, she said, because she wanted to spend her time talking with voters, not asking them for money, and believed that she would not be able to raise as much money as LaBonge anyway.

The irony is that in using so much of her own money, Garfield triggered the lifting of a city spending cap that LaBonge had voluntarily agreed to observe in exchange for receiving matching city funds. The more Garfield loaned herself, the more LaBonge was allowed to raise and spend.

LaBonge eventually spent more than $1 million to Garfield’s $977,000, the most spent on a council campaign since the city Ethics Commission began keeping records in 1991. That is more than twice what a typical council campaign costs.

Worse is what the money bought: a barrage of attack ads. The negative mail from Garfield was so relentless that political observers said Wednesday it had turned off voters and partly accounted for her poor showing.

That should be taken into account by Tony Cardenas and Wendy Greuel, who are considered the top contenders for Wachs’ San Fernando Valley council seat.

Although the election is weeks away, already there are signs that the race will be another pitched battle. The campaign is expected to pit different factions of the city, and there will be heavy pressure for the candidates to go “negative” in campaigning. When they consider whether to do that, they should remember how it worked for Garfield.