Race for Council Seat Goes Negative

Until now, the race for the Los Angeles City Council in the 11th District has been a genteel affair with little disagreement or negative campaigning.

That changed Thursday when Flora Gil Krisiloff accused one of her two opponents, Bill Rosendahl, of conducting a whisper campaign that she was anti-gay in an effort to “galvanize the gay community” for his candidacy.

The accusation came on the heels of two attack mailers that Krisiloff launched against Rosendahl earlier in the week. One of Krisiloff’s fliers accuses him of being “City Hall’s top lobbyist” for Adelphia cable television, while the other alleges he was a “flip-flopper” on whether the Playa Vista housing development should be built.

In the Playa Vista flier, a photo of Rosendahl is tinted fire-engine red and teamed with the caption “Just Another Typical Politician.”

Rosendahl, who has not held public office, said he was deeply disappointed in Krisiloff. He denied being a lobbyist, said he has always been against Playa Vista and has never told anyone -- and doesn’t believe -- that Krisiloff is prejudiced.

He also said Krisiloff has been telling voters that he’s gay, although he does not believe it should be an issue.

Despite the attacks, Rosendahl said that he intended to keep running a positive campaign and that the attacks were typical of Rick Taylor, Krisiloff’s political consultant.

“If I can’t be on the high road, I don’t want to be on the road at all,” Rosendahl said.

The third candidate in the race, attorney Angela Reddock, has been left out of the fray. Reddock said Thursday that she hoped to pick up votes from those put off by the Krisiloff-Rosendahl feud.

Cindy Miscikowski, who holds the seat for the 11th District, cannot run because of term limits.

Krisiloff said she has been frustrated that the candidates have had little chance to publicly challenge one another’s resumes in the many candidate forums where they have appeared together.

“It’s a real disservice to muzzle the candidates as if it’s a tea party, and that’s what these forums are like,” said Krisiloff, a longtime community activist in Brentwood.

The current tiff centers on Rosendahl’s former role with cable television giant Adelphia. He was the vice president of public affairs while also serving as host of current affairs television programs before leaving the firm in 2003.

Krisiloff says that Rosendahl was representing the corporate giant in attempts to raise rates and offer fewer services to consumers.

Rosendahl says that he was looking out for the best interest of customers, and that he ethically represented the firm when dealing with local governments.

One of the ads calls Rosendahl a lobbyist, but he was not registered as a lobbyist with the city of Los Angeles, according to city Ethics Commission records.

Voters who are tired of campaign mailers should beware: Both sides promise a fresh round before Tuesday’s election.

Krisiloff’s newest ad, which was released Thursday, urges voters to “pull the plug” on Rosendahl.

Rosendahl tried a different tack. His latest ad states: “Flora Krisiloff is making some pretty wild charges about Bill Rosendahl.”

It shows a cartoon of a woman opening a political mailer that says: “Rosendahl kidnaps Elvis!”