School Board Field Thinned; Council Race Lineup Steady

The field of candidates for the West San Fernando Valley seat on the Los Angeles Board of Education narrowed from 16 to 7 on Saturday, the deadline for filing papers to qualify for the April 9 Los Angeles city ballot.

But in local City Council races, the lineups remained basically the same as reported last month when candidates filed “declarations of intention,” the first step in qualifying to run for office. Council members Joy Picus of the West Valley faces five challengers; Howard Finn of the northeast Valley, four, and Ernani Bernardi of the mid-Valley, two. South Valley Councilman Marvin Braude drew no opposition.

East Valley school board member Roberta Weintraub’s opponents dropped from four to one, former teacher Mary Louise Longoria.

Candidates have had since Jan. 14 to submit 1,000 signatures of voters or 500 signatures and a $300 filing fee to qualify for the ballot. The city clerk’s office still must verify the signatures.

One Candidate Unsure

At least one candidate left City Hall Saturday unsure whether her name would appear on the ballot.

Betty Rockwell, a Lake View Terrace homeowner association leader who wants to run against Finn, was told by Assistant City Clerk Joe Giles that her petitions--containing about 600 signatures--had been improperly filled out and were, therefore, “no good.” Giles listed Rockwell as a candidate pending a ruling by the city attorney.

“I just can’t believe this,” Rockwell said. She said she is considering filing a lawsuit, if necessary, to force the city to put her name on the ballot.

The West Valley school board race was thrown wide open by Tom Bartman’s decision not to seek reelection. Bartman represents the Los Angeles Board of Education’s District 4, which covers the Valley west of Sepulveda Boulevard.

Candidates for the board seat are David Armor, a Republican who ran unsuccessfully against Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Tarzana) in 1982; Claude Parrish, a GOP candidate who lost to Beilenson last year; Carolyn Brent, a retired elementary school teacher; Robert Worth, administrator of a management training program for an insurance company; Betty Blake, who listed her occupation for the ballot as “community education volunteer”; Elizabeth Ginsburg, a government-history teacher, and Carie Vacar, a former schoolteacher who has been leading efforts to fight school closures.

Others Identified

Those who had declared their intent to run for the seat but did not return nomination petitions were Marvin Feldman, Eleanore Parker, Pearl Fields, Tony Acampora, Zeke Zeidler, Neale Siegel, Judith Hirshberg, Jo Seidita and Daniel Chernow.

Chernow, a member of the state Board of Education, said he decided not to run because a campaign would require him to take off too much time from work. “That would have been too much of a financial drain,” he said.

If no candidate in the race gets over half the vote, the two top vote-getters will meet in a runoff in June.

A breakdown of the council races:

In the 3rd District, which includes Canoga Park, Reseda and Woodland Hills, Picus is opposed by Gilbert Eisner, a former aide to ex-County Supervisor Baxter Ward; Gary Klein, a former aide to Councilman Hal Bernson; Matt Lynch, an attorney; Jon Robert Lorenzen, son of the late Councilman Donald Lorenzen, whom Picus defeated to win her seat in 1977, and Jeanne Nemo, a Republican activist.

In the 1st District, which takes in Lake View Terrace, Sylmar, Pacoima, Sun Valley and Sunland-Tujunga, Finn is opposed by Noel S. Horwin, past president of the Shadow Hills Property Owners Assn.; Elton (Skip) Michael, a police officer who finished fourth in a field of nine candidates in the 1981 election won by Finn; Louis Cichelli, a printer, and Rockwell.

In the 7th district, which takes in Van Nuys, Sepulveda, Panorama City and part of North Hollywood, Bernardi is opposed by Paul Goldener, a former United Auto Workers official who lost to Bernardi four years ago, and Marty Israel, who listed his occupation for the ballot as “television consumer advocate.”