Valley Can Count Upon Political Intrigue and More in New Year

The political game never ends. There may be a home run here or touchdown there, but victories are short-lived. On the day one campaign ends, another begins. Or as conventional political wisdom decrees: an incumbent never stops running.

So although we can look back on another remarkable political year in northern Los Angeles County, we can also look forward to one that promises intrigue and opportunism, power plays and pratfalls.

The San Fernando Valley is no stranger to political drama. After all, this is an area that has seen two sitting lawmakers go to jail (Alan Robbins and Pat Nolan), the attempted recall of another (David Roberti) by zealous pro-gun advocates and a divisive state Senate battle between Richard Alarcon and Richard Katz that damaged relations between Latinos and Jews so profoundly that the effects could linger for years.

The area has also seen the emergence of an electorate considered important enough to have drawn numerous visits from the president of the United States. The axiom at work here: if you want to carry California, you need to carry Los Angeles. If you want to carry Los Angeles, you had better carry the Valley.

The San Fernando Valley is home to a burgeoning secession movement that could reshape the future of the city of Los Angeles. It has an emerging and powerful Latino political movement that is redefining the power base in Sacramento. And it remains the home to powerful congressional figures such as Howard Berman, James Rogan and Henry Waxman whose influence in national and international affairs is considerable.

The Valley was also the scene of political developments that confused and confounded.

Locally, it was the year Alarcon won a Democratic state Senate seat primary over Katz by 29 votes in one of the closest races in the state’s history. But it was also a bitter victory that set new marks for mud-slinging and low-road politicking. Alarcon went on to win the general election.

It was the year Democrat Scott Wildman, who had at one point in his first term been called one of the least influential members of the Assembly, ran for reelection in a district that has traditionally been Republican. The GOP brain trust proceeded to step on a political banana peel by supporting Peter Repovich, a cop who had more baggage than an LAX skycap. Repovich’s campaign ended before it started when it was revealed he had been suspended from duty twice, for sexual harassment and for violating the department’s “pain compliance standards.”

It was the year dashing and wealthy Randy Hoffman ran as a Republican in an upscale congressional district against the nerdish incumbent Brad Sherman who had a bull’s-eye painted on him by national GOP leaders. So what happens? Sherman rides the Democratic wave and buries Hoffman, who joins Michael Huffington, Al Checci and Darrell Issa in the ranks of multimillionaires who would be king.

There was Republican James Rogan, whose climb to political stardom has been so dizzying he was mentioned as presidential stock in his first term. But Rogan ended up being reelected by less than 4% over actor Barry Gordon. Counted among the members of former speaker Newt Gingrich’s inner circle and a member of the House Judiciary Committee, Rogan was clearly damaged by voters’ perceptions of the impeachment proceedings against the president and his role in them.

How will 1999 top that?

First, there’s Richard Alarcon’s City Council seat. Alarcon’s wife, Corina, will be a strong contender in a district where her husband was a popular figure. Of course, there’s this business of Corina being Alarcon’s second choice; his first, Assemblyman Tony Cardenas, decided to stay in Sacramento.

But don’t count out former San Fernando Mayor Raul Godinez or Alex Padilla, an aide to Cardenas, as contenders.

Up for reelection in the City Council this year are Valley councilmen Hal Bernson, John Ferraro and Joel Wachs, all of whom have become such fixtures that they practically have jobs for life. But all will be running against the backdrop of city charter reform, a prospect that could lead to a confused electorate.

Term limits in 2000 will rob the Valley of many of its highest profile state politicians. Facing ouster are state Sens. Tom Hayden and Cathie Wright and Assembly members Wally Knox, Sheila Kuehl and Tom McClintock.

But don’t say goodbye just yet. Watch for McClintock to run for Wright’s seat and Knox and Kuehl to battle for Hayden’s office.

Add to that Assemblyman Bob Hertzberg, who is considering a run for Los Angeles city attorney before his own term is up in 2002. His chief rival: Valley Councilman Mike Feuer.

Redistricting brings with it demands from minorities for districts of their own, chief among them Asian Americans who are pressing for districts in the San Gabriel Valley. In the Valley, there may be efforts to split districts that spill over the mountains into the Westside. And the pressure for increased Latino representation could cause major changes in some Republican enclaves.

And if all of that doesn’t cloud the political picture, consider this: A group has already launched a campaign to qualify for the ballot an initiative that would allow California voters to register opposition to all candidates for a particular office by choosing “None of the Above” on election ballots.