Top Advisors Sign On for 7th District Council Campaigns

Less than a day after filings closed, the hotly contested race for the 7th District seat on the Los Angeles City Council has already attracted some of the top political consultants in town.

Signing a high-profile political advisor early on is almost as important to candidates as landing a big endorsement because it gives the campaign credibility.

That’s what Corinne Sanchez appeared to be asserting when she announced her candidacy to succeed Richard Alarcon on the council, saying she had signed Parke Skelton and Steve Gray-Barkan, the team that helped elect Lee Baca as sheriff and a host of other city, county, state and federal officials, including City Council members Jackie Goldberg, Mark Ridley-Thomas and Ruth Galanter and Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa.

“He [Skelton] brings a lot of successful experience to the campaign,” Sanchez said. “He’s been instrumental in getting a lot of nonpolitical people elected.”

Seventh District candidate Alex Padilla countered by hiring political consultant Rick Taylor, who ran sheriff candidate Bill Baker’s campaign, and worked on campaigns for Mayor Richard Riordan, County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, and City Council members Richard Alatorre, Cindy Miscikowski, Mike Hernandez and John Ferraro.

Former San Fernando Mayor Raul Godinez II, another candidate in the council race, has hired Enrique Vela, who helped get Alarcon elected to the 7th District seat in 1993 and Tony Cardenas elected to the state Assembly.

To pay for the high-powered consultants, the candidates are all planning to raise big bucks.

Sanchez and Padilla both said they are aiming to raise and spend the maximum $300,000 allowed for candidates who accept matching funds. Godinez said he is aiming to raise more than $100,000.

Seven other candidates are also starting to raise money.

Alarcon, who vacated the 7th District council seat by winning election to the state Senate, said spending a lot of money isn’t necessary to win the race.

He noted that he forced a runoff in 1993 while spending a little more than $50,000, even though other candidates spent much more.

Anyone who raises more than $50,000 will be a viable candidate, said Alarcon, who endorsed Sanchez in the race.

However, the money will have to be spent well for any candidate to distinguish himself or herself from the large field.

Sources say the vast majority of 7th District voters surveyed in a poll commissioned by Alarcon did not know anything about any of the potential candidates.

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CARPETBAGGERS: Even before candidates in the race have begun addressing the issues in the northeast San Fernando Valley, there have already been charges of carpetbagging.

Both Godinez and Sanchez moved into the district recently. Godinez lived in San Fernando, where he served as mayor for three years, but has moved into his parents’ home in Mission Hills.

Sanchez was living in Panorama City, in the 2nd Council District, but has moved to Sylmar to run. But she said her former home was just six houses from the 7th District and she has worked in that district for years.

Barbara Perkins also moved into the district recently.

Godinez said he grew up in the 7th District and has been active in the area.

Still, consultant Taylor called it “shameful” that Godinez moved from one city to the other in pursuit of political office.

“If you can’t trust him in San Fernando, you can’t trust him in Los Angeles,” Taylor said.

However, Godinez said the poll commissioned by Alarcon found him to be the leading candidate even among voters who knew he had moved into the district.

“It’s a nonissue,” Godinez said.

Alarcon also downplayed the issue, saying voters know who has been active in the district and who has not.

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WHO’S LISTENING: Phil Donahue he isn’t, but Councilman Mike Feuer showed this week he’s not afraid to emcee provocative discussions on the hot-button issues facing the Valley--even if hardly anybody is tuning in.

With little fanfare and almost zero press coverage, Feuer hosted a “Day of Dialogue” forum Tuesday night at Valley College on the state of Latino-white relations in the Valley.

The event, he said, was sparked by recent political tensions among the Latino and white communities, such as the fallout over last year’s state Senate race between Alarcon and Richard Katz, in which both sides were accused of playing the race card.

But Feuer kept the discussion away from specific individuals or events, focusing instead on the root causes, such as lack of communication and understanding.

To get a feel for the public’s views, he put together a 20-member panel of homeowner activists, social service providers, business leaders and students--the only politician other than Feuer was Sanchez, the candidate for Alarcon’s old council seat. Hardly anyone showed up to listen.

“I thought it was worthwhile to initiate a real honest discussion,” Feuer said. “I am tired of hearing the most divisive voices speak.”

The forum was, indeed, honest and heartfelt.

People spoke their mind, but with deference for others. And Feuer kept the discussion in line--asking the occasional spicy question and distilling the issue to its emotional core in a fashion that would have made Oprah proud.

Anti-gang advocate William “Blinky” Rodriguez bemoaned the “lock ‘em up” mentality he sees among many toward juvenile offenders, and talked about the need for more mentoring by the well-off in poorer communities. He recalled his memories of a Jewish vice principal at San Fernando High, who “took me deep-sea fishing and exposed me to a world I never knew existed.”

Peer Ghent, a former president of the Valley Glen Neighborhood Assn., talked about his frustrations with what he saw as a Latino cabal that had taken over his child’s school and excluded the white minority from participating.

Several people spoke about the economic divisions that kept many Latinos and whites from coming together.

Among the conclusions, however, was that the divisions were more perceived than real--it was the so-called Valley “leaders” elected to office who were fanning the flames in efforts to divide and conquer politically.

Feuer nodded in agreement.