SAN FERNANDO VALLEY : Yaroslavsky Replaces Her Campaign Strategist

Coming off a second-place showing in Tuesday’s primary, 5th District City Council candidate Barbara Yaroslavsky replaced her Sacramento-based consultant Friday with a local campaign strategist who vowed to bring new energy to the campaign.

Facing a tough runoff June 6 to fill the seat left vacant when her husband, Zev, resigned to become a county supervisor, Yaroslavsky hired Rick Taylor, the Los Angeles-based consultant who successfully shepherded the campaigns for incumbent City Councilman John Ferraro and eight ballot measures.

Taylor replaces veteran Sacramento consultant Paul Kinney, who worked on the campaign of a Democratic congressional candidate who lost last year to former entertainer Sonny Bono.

Although Yaroslavsky, 47, was considered the front-runner, with the endorsement of Mayor Richard Riordan and a hefty fund-raising lead, she received only 26% of the vote, compared to 39% for Mike Feuer, the former director of a legal services clinic.

Taylor, who has known Yaroslavsky for about 25 years, said the key change he will make in the campaign is to concentrate on letting voters know who Yaroslavsky is instead of allowing her opponents or her husband’s reputation to define her.