2ND DISTRICT IN CLIFFHANGER CARDENAS, GREUEL UNABLE TO CLAIM LEAD.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard and Mariel Garza Staff Writers

Entertainment executive Wendy Greuel and Assemblyman Tony Cardenas were locked in a tight race early today in the runoff election to succeed former Los Angeles Councilman Joel Wachs in the 2nd District in the east San Fernando Valley.

Greuel held a whisper-thin lead in incomplete returns, but wasn't surprised by the close race.

``We always knew this would be a close race,'' she said. ``But we're still very optimistic about victory tonight and we continue to be ahead.''

The outcome of the election in the heavily Democratic district was expected to be influenced by a higher-than-normal Republican turnout because of the competitive GOP gubernatorial primary, and both candidates tried to present moderate, pro-business images to the electorate.

A special election was called after Wachs resigned in October after 30 years on the council to take a job as head of the Andy Warhol Foundation in New York City. Cardenas, D-Mission Hills, beat Greuel by five percentage points in the Dec. 11 balloting but fell just short of getting the majority needed for election.

Cardenas, 38, is in his third term in the state Assembly, where he serves as chairman of the Assembly's Budget Committee, but he cannot run again because of term limits. Previously he was an engineer and owned a real estate sales office.

Greuel, 40, is on leave from her position in the community- and government-affairs department of the DreamWorks SKG movie studio, where she has worked for four years. She was an aide to former Mayor Tom Bradley for 10 years.

Greuel also worked for the federal Housing and Urban Development Department, where she helped coordinate relief efforts after the 1994 Northridge Earthquake.

The two candidates shared a number of similarities on policy issues. Both oppose the appointment of Police Chief Bernard C. Parks to a second five-year term.

Both candidates oppose San Fernando Valley cityhood, although Greuel won support from leading secession advocates by promising to keep an open mind on the issue as more information is made available. She also supports the creation of an independent Valley transit agency.

Both candidates also support adding a new police substation in the Sunland-Tujunga area of the 2nd District. And both said they want to add another council district office in the Sunland-Tujunga region, with Cardenas also saying he wants to add a third office elsewhere in the district.

Fund raising totaled $800,000 during the general election campaign, according to latest reports - including contributions and matching funds as well as independent expenditures by groups acting separately from the candidates.

In the December primary election, Cardenas took almost 48 percent of the vote, falling about 1,000 votes short of the outright majority that he needed to avoid a runoff. Greuel took 42.6 percent.

A third candidate, Van Nuys electrical contractor James ``Jamie'' Cordaro, the only Republican in the race, took about 10 percent of the vote and endorsed Greuel in the general election.

The district includes a variety of communities, from Studio City on the south to Sunland and Tujunga on the northeast and Van Nuys on the west. It includes areas of Arleta, Lake View Terrace, Mission Hills, North Hills, North Hollywood, Panorama City, Shadow Hills, Sun Valley and Valley Village.

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(1 -- 2 -- color) Wendy Greuel gets a hug from a supporter as early City Council election results come in at her campaign party. Tony Cardenas, right, smiles as casts his vote on Tuesday.

Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer