Fight to Remap City Districts Leaves Losers, Winners on Council

The Los Angeles City Council’s redistricting fight left a legacy of hard feelings in the council chamber, severely damaged the political hopes of Councilman Joel Wachs and cast doubt on the leadership ability of Council President Pat Russell.

For newcomer Richard Alatorre, a tough veteran of the state Legislature who guided the redistricting plan through the council, it was a triumph of his political skills. And for Councilmen John Ferraro and Michael Woo, the final redistricting plan was a reprieve for two men on the road to a political collision.

Those were the apparent winners and losers in the bruising, chaotic redistricting battle which split the council and produced not only new boundaries for most of its 15 districts, but a display of bitterness that still lingers.

“This is the most fractious that I’ve ever seen the council behave in terms of . . . disunity and bitterness, and I think there is still some bitterness there,” said Woo, who has been a councilman for just a year but spent several earlier years dealing with the council as an aide to Senate President Pro Tem David Roberti (D-Los Angeles).

Other council members worry that their fragile public image has been further tarnished. As a body, all were criticized by newspapers and by ethnic and neighborhood groups for putting their own interests first in drawing the lines, rather than giving community concerns top priority.

“I think that as far as public perception is concerned, none of us came out well,” said one council member who asked not to be identified. “Everybody got stuck with the smell of the skunk on this.”

The bitter struggle over redistricting may not be over yet. Councilman Ernani Bernardi is preparing an initiative drive to repeal the redistricting plan. Bernardi and Wachs also are exploring legal challenges to the plan, which is already in effect.

Coupled with the pending resignation of Councilman Dave Cunningham and the recent death of Councilman Howard Finn, the remapping furor could reshape council alliances and topple its leadership.

“To me, there is one and only one motivation in the whole (redistricting) thing,” Wachs said in a recent interview, “and that was to help out a few people’s political fortunes around here.”

Wachs’ political fortunes suffered the most. He is considered by colleagues, other city officials, lobbyists and others who watch the council to be the biggest loser.

Wachs lost more than 90% of his old district, which included the affluent Sherman Oaks-Studio City area where he enjoyed strong financial and political support. The liberal councilman who has championed gay rights and rent control must run for reelection next April in a largely new, unfamiliar district, which includes conservative Sunland-Tujunga.

According to City Hall sources, the remapping was as much an effort to punish Wachs, strongly disliked by his colleagues, as it was to get the council out of a political predicament brought on by the Justice Department lawsuit seeking increased Latino representation on the council.

Wachs is resented for what critics say is his history of breaking one of the cardinal rules of politics: “When you give your word, you keep it.” It also was an opportunity for several council members with mayoral aspirations to hurt a potential rival.

“Joel is getting his comeuppance,” said a council member who, like most of Wachs’ colleagues, spoke on the condition that he not be named.

Wachs conceded that he is disliked by other council members but said it is because he is “not part of the old-boy network.”

Council members who privately are critical of Wachs say two incidents stand out in their minds.

The first was Wachs’ vote in 1981 for the council presidency. After pledging his vote to Russell and, in fact, putting it in writing, he voted for himself at the last minute. He won the presidency and left Russell, who would win the job two years later, vowing to never forget what he did.

More recently, Wachs angered a number of his colleagues when suddenly and inexplicably, he withdrew his support for an earlier redistricting plan. That plan, which would have placed Woo in a predominantly Latino council district, was vetoed by Mayor Tom Bradley.

Alatorre, who drafted the plan, was furious at Wachs, who Alatorre said had promised to support it.

‘Really Angry’

“Alatorre told me that day he was really angry, that I let him down,” Wachs said. “He told me that he wasn’t going to forget it.” Alatorre and Wachs have not exchanged words outside of the council chamber since the July incident, say sources close to both councilmen.

Wachs has never explained why he changed his vote. Sources close to Wachs say he feared that Woo would run against him in his new district, which under the earlier plan gave Wachs much of Woo’s Hollywood political base.

After Finn died and Woo and Ferraro came up with a new plan that targeted Wachs as its chief victim, Alatorre made it clear he had no sympathy for Wachs. During the debate, he told Wachs: “You certainly were not the victim the last time around. You decided to vote for a plan that met your political interests. . . . You are not a political virgin. And I really hate hypocrisy on this floor.”

He’s Still Bitter

Wachs remains bitter. “This stuff has not been forgotten,” he said.

In the meantime, he said, he is putting all of his efforts into getting reelected in his new district, where he faces a possible challenge from a popular former councilman, Bob Ronka. One thing in Wachs’ favor is his accumulation of campaign funds, $635,000 as of June 30.

The other big loser was Russell.

Although her district wasn’t even touched in the redistricting, she lost prestige among her colleagues, many of whom said she showed weakness and duplicity in the process.

“She has demonstrated the failure of her leadership,” said one of her colleagues.

“I think she’s been hurt in the way she handled things,” said another.

Feeling of Betrayal

One of those she angered is Alatorre.

A source close to Alatorre said the councilman felt like Russell “pulled the rug out from under him” in the maneuvering that accompanied the first of three redistricting plans that the council acted on.

Alatorre drafted the first plan, which put Woo in the heavily Latino district. The morning the plan went to the council, Russell, to the surprise of many of her colleagues, unveiled a plan of her own which put Woo and Ferraro in the same district.

Alatorre was furious, said a source close to him. “He felt like he took all the heat for redistricting, and then Russell decides she’s going to be the savior.”

Another council member who said he knew little about the redistricting plans until they were formally presented to the council chided Russell for failing to take greater responsibility for the redistricting. “She let Alatorre run the show,” the council member complained. “She didn’t take control.”

Russell’s influence on future council matters may also erode as her coalition of supporters weakens with the death of Finn, one of her strongest backers, and the resignation of Cunningham, another ally.

Russell, however, said in a recent interview that she has seen no signs that she has lost favor with her colleagues.

‘I Was Wonderful’

“Oh no, I think they all thought I was wonderful,” she said.

Asked if she would run for the council presidency again next July when her two-year term expires, she said, “It’s so far away that I really and truly haven’t thought about it.”

If Russell does falter, the council could replace her in July with Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores, who was largely silent during the redistricting debate and avoided making any political mistakes, several on the council said.

A respected council member, Flores acknowledged that there is some unhappiness with Russell, but she insisted that Russell’s position remains secure for now.

“I don’t believe that the mood of the council is such that it is prepared to reorganize,” Flores said. “I think I would have sensed that, and I don’t.”

Another Winner

For one so close to the fray, Alatorre emerged as one of the biggest winners from the redistricting--a performance that seems to have overcome some of the damage from his recent campaign contribution scandal. He agreed to pay a record $141,966 to settle a lawsuit filed against him by the city attorney for violating campaign laws and to end a criminal case against three Alatorre aides.

The only Latino on the 15-member council, Alatorre also strengthened his political hand by paving the way for election of a second Latino council member, possibly as early as January. Alatorre said he plans to play a major role in the campaign for the open seat in the new, predominantly Latino district located north and west of downtown.

Strong Base

Alatorre’s influence could diminish if the candidates he supports fail to win. But so far, during 10 months on the council, he has broadened a strong political base that he had established during 12 years as a state assemblyman.

Alatorre, whom Latino political activists have boosted as a candidate for mayor, stands to gain if Russell and Wachs, two potential mayoral rivals, suffer setbacks to their own political careers.

The other winners from redistricting were Ferraro and Woo, who likened the process to Russian roulette.

Woo, in the first plan, was faced with losing his Hollywood base of support and running for reelection in a heavily Latino district. The second plan would have treated him a little better, giving him a chance to hold onto his Hollywood seat, but he faced the likelihood of running against the veteran Ferraro.

Rivals No More

The third plan, which is now in effect, put Woo and Ferraro in separate districts--Woo safely back in his Hollywood area and Ferraro in his loyal Wilshire District.

Also emerging as a winner was Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky. The plan moved Yaroslavsky’s largely Westside district into a portion of the Valley, giving him a larger base of support for a possible run for mayor.