Greuel Leads Cardenas in Council Race

Capping a costly and bitter contest, voters went to the polls Tuesday to choose between film industry executive Wendy Greuel and state lawmaker Tony Cardenas for the San Fernando Valley’s 2nd District seat on the Los Angeles City Council.

Greuel led Cardenas in early returns.

Los Angeles city voters also were deciding Proposition Q, a $600-million bond measure for police and fire facilities, while county voters were deciding on competing proposals to relax term limits.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and county Supervisor Gloria Molina faced light opposition and jumped out to big leads in early returns. Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky was unopposed.

The fiercest local contest was the race to fill the Los Angeles City Council seat vacated by Joel Wachs last year. The two candidates spent a combined $1.7 million on the race.

In mailings and television ads, Greuel, an executive with the entertainment firm DreamWorks SKG, characterized her opponent as a Sacramento politician who moved into the district to run with the backing of interests such as Indian gaming groups.

Cardenas, who is being forced by term limits to leave the Assembly, sent mailers depicting Greuel as a tool of downtown special interests, including the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.

“I think my chances are very good,” Cardenas said after the first returns came in. “People want to vote for a candidate who speaks to the issues as I did.”

He said he got his message out “even though it was clouded by the heavy innuendo put out there by my opponent.”

Greuel was exhausted but encouraged. “I feel good,” she said. “I think people really believe in my commitment to getting the Valley our fair share.”

Greuel, a 40-year-old Van Nuys resident, watched the election returns come in with supporters at a party at Kaffe Mirage in North Hollywood. Cardenas, 38, gathered with supporters at La Sirenita restaurant in Panorama City to wait for returns.

Supporters who attended an election-day rally for Cardenas included police union President Mitzi Grasso and City Council President Alex Padilla. Padilla once worked as an aide for Cardenas and campaigned hard for his former boss, whose election would shore up his support on the council. Greuel, who was backed by nine council members, was seen as a potential new member of an anti-Padilla bloc.

Greuel proposed increasing the police force by 1,500 officers, and expanding the L.A.’s Best after-school program.

Cardenas, who until recently was chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee, called for an expansion of the police force to 10,000 officers.

The race captured the attention of Hollywood as few local contests have. DreamWorks founders Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen held fund-raisers for Greuel, while Walt Disney Co. executives, including Chief Executive Michael Eisner, held a fund-raiser for Cardenas.

Proposition Q, which would provide $600 million for new police and fire facilities, requires a two-thirds majority vote for passage and was close to that margin in early returns.

Supporters, including the police and firefighter unions, said the measure is needed to address cramped and aging conditions at many city police stations.

Richard Close, chairman of Valley VOTE, headed a group of secessionists and taxpayer activists in opposing Proposition Q, saying the city needs more police officers and firefighters, not buildings.

There was less heat over the only other city ballot measure, Charter Amendment R, which would set the city primary in March in future years and move the runoff election to June.

In the Los Angeles County election, Molina was the fund-raising leader over opponent David Sanchez, a community college professor, in the race for the 1st Supervisory District. Baca was fending off challenges in the sheriff’s race from sergeants Patrick Gomez and John Stites.

Agoura Hills voters were considering a controversial measure that would ban any retail building larger than 60,000 square feet. Residents and hardware merchants proposed Measure H in part to stop construction of a Home Depot on prominent Ladyface Mountain, a city landmark. It was losing in early returns.

Los Angeles County Assessor Rick Auerbach was leading for reelection.

Also on the ballot, and winning in early returns, was county Charter Amendment A, which would allow county elected officials, including the supervisors, district attorney and sheriff, to serve three four-year terms, replacing the current law limiting officials to two four-year terms.

A second term limits measure, Charter Amendment B, would apply the three-term limit only to the supervisors. It, too, was winning in early returns.

The third measure on the county ballot, Charter Amendment C, would allow the sheriff to reorganize his department. It also had support in early returns.

Staff writers Beth Shuster, Zanto Peabody, Andrea Perera and Jennifer Sinco Kelleher contributed to this report.