Balancing act: despite concerns, Councilman Martin Ludlow sees progress within the LAPD and says there's a place for 'big box' stores in Los Angeles.

MARTIN Ludlow's election to the City Council a year ago was expected to cement a new progressive alliance in Los Angeles. He had just served as the L.A. County Federation of Labor's political point man and had a track record of campaigning for progressive candidates. However, the council's progressive alliance (Antonio Villaraigosa, Eric Garcetti and Ludlow) has only occasionally flexed its muscle, chiefly to propose a ban on big-box super centers and push ahead with an ordinance for affordable housing set-asides. Meanwhile, as chairman of the council's convention, tourism and entertainment committee. Ludlow has sought to facilitate construction of a convention center hotel

Question: Given your background in labor, there was some concern that you would not be friendly to business interests. Is this how you see yourself?

Answer: This new progressive alliance that would drive business away really was more of a scare tactic. It's way overblown; the sky hasn't fallen. Every city has both business and labor; the smart cities learn how to find the balance. I am most interested in finding ways to spread the wealth and boost the middle class. It's the middle class that continues to get squeezed out.

Q: What are some proposals you're working on to preserve the middle class?

A: Number one is attacking the issue of crime. More than anything, crime has pushed people out of the city and into distant suburban communities. People need to see that there's a sale neighborhood to raise their children in. If you can address that, people will reinvest; they will buy homes, send their children to public schools and shop in the local stores.

Q: So how do you think Police Chief Bratton is doing?

A: The department has made some major strides in the effort to reduce violent crime. Early indications have shown some good results in improving police community relations and increasing the morale of the rank and file. But, we're still seeing a rise in domestic violence and attacks against our police officers continue to be on the rise.

Q: And now there is this Stanley Miller incident. How is this different than the Rodney King beating?

A: There are, unfortunately, striking similarities. We know one of the potential outcomes; we all lived through that in 1992. The videotape victim was another African-American male being apparently mistreated by a group of LAPD officers. Police officials saying don't rush to judgment: those are the similarities. What I think is different is that the top brass of the LAPD is not running from the issue. No one is having to chase Chief Bratton down nor are we having to convince him that this incident is both problematic and has the potential to illuminate a possible institutional problem.

Q: How else is Bratton handling this situation differently?

A: He has, from our understanding, ensured separation of officers immediately after the incident. That's an important part of the reforms and consent decree. This chief has also welcomed additional oversight both from the Inspector General, the L.A. Sheriff and the L.A. District Attorney's Office. Ten years ago, outside investigations were treated as unnecessary and ridiculous. I do have another concern. At the end of the day, police reform requires support from our rank and file officers. Due process must be there for everyone, including the police officers. That's why I support encouraging people to allow the investigations to take their course.

Q: You've run campaigns. What's your take on the mayor's race?

A: The mayor has a very difficult re-election in front of him. He's had four years to show leadership and I think he's done a mediocre job. But he's a perfect 6 and 0 in citywide elections, and he cannot be taken too lightly. As of now, I see Bob Hertzberg, Mayor Hahn and--if he gets in--Antonio Villaraigosa as having good bases for fundraising. I don't know about Bernard Parks, because he's only run one campaign and that really wasn't a test, since he ran against a weak field.

Q: You worked for Villaraigosa in 2001. Whom are you backing this time?

A: I haven't endorsed anyone yet. As to whether I'll endorse Antonio, I'll wait to see if he gets in before making that decision.

Q: You are one of the chief sponsors of the proposed ordinance to limit the spread of big-box supercenters in Los Angeles. Why are you against them?

A: Overall, what we want to do is to ensure a healthy balance in a capitalistic society. What Wal-Mart does is completely unbalance the system. It creates ah unequal playing field. Local businesses lose. Local consumers will lose in the end. And the neighborhood will lose, because the history has been that these supercenters are closed down after a few years. And then what you have left is these huge spaces that you can't fill. That's why we want these supercenter owners to sign 20-year or 25-year leases, so they won't leave communities in the lurch. We also want to limit square footage to something reasonable, to address issues of wages and we want to look at equitable taxation of every product that goes into these stores.

Q: What business does the city have regulating retail product lines?

A: It's the same right that we would have to look at limitations on a prison that would be built in the middle of a residential neighborhood. That's why we not only have the right, but also the responsibility, to look at these limitations. If we see local wages plummeting because of decisions that we made to allow these supercenters to move in and the local economy starts to spiral down, our children would look at us and ask, "How could you let this happen?"

Q: Many portions of your South L.A. district lack supermarkets and reasonably priced department stores. Why shouldn't Wal-Mart fill that gap?

A: Nothing is wrong with that, as long as Wal-Mart meets certain conditions. Remember, in every one of these communities, there are people who raise families and put their kids through college from the revenues of small businesses they own in the area. When a Wal-Mart comes in, it's these people who lose their livelihoods and have to give up their dreams. We cannot let that happen.

Q: You're also on the committee that will draw up a proposed ordinance on affordable housing set-asides.

A: The theory here is to provide incentives for affordable housing and reduce the benefits of building market-rate and above-market housing. The issue is: How do you do this without causing developers to abandon housing construction outright? The Central City Association has done an admirable job in making its case against this ordinance and it has given some people pause, even some people who are easily moved by the affordable housing debate.

Q: Where do you stand on the Hahn-Miscikowski proposal for modernizing Los Angeles International Airport?

A: I think this new Hahn-Miscikowski compromise plan is a step in the right direction. It boosts passenger traffic to what I regard as a responsible level. It also offers critical modernization and security upgrades. But the communities around the airport are going to have to come to grips with the fact that they live next to an airport and it's going to be noisy, no matter what we do there. There will have to be some give and take on that issue.

Q: Until running for the council, you'd worked primarily on behalf of other candidates. What prompted you to run yourself?

A: I would not have run for office if I had continued to find candidates that I thought were offering more than I could offer myself in my own neighborhood. I was very concerned that the quality of representation was spiraling down. Also, I considered myself young enough to be considered part of the new generation in politics.

Q: What was the biggest surprise of the campaign?

A: The fact that I was attacked for not being ethnic enough, for not being Afro-centric and not focusing exclusively on the African-American agenda. But every time I look out my window, I see the most diverse community in Los Angeles. I love that diversity: on one side of where I live is a white couple, on the other side a black and Latino couple, across the street an Asian couple--it really is one big melting pot.

INTERVIEW

Martin Ludlow

Title: Councilman, 10th District

Organization: Los Angeles City Council

Born: Boise, Idaho, 1964

Education: Bachelor's of science, criminal justice, Cal State Los Angeles

Career Turning Point: When he was 20, he joined a union campaign to organize hotel and restaurant workers

Most Admired People: Martin Luther King Jr.; late Rep. Julian Dixon, D-Los Angeles

Hobbies: Gardening, hiking, camping, weightlifting

Personal: Married; three children and a stepdaughter from a previous marriage