CARDENAS, GREUEL GO AFTER GOP VOTE.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer

Forced into a runoff election, 2nd District City Council candidates Wendy Greuel and Tony Cardenas set out Wednesday to woo the supporters of a pro-secession political unknown who got 10 percent of the vote in the East San Fernando Valley contest.

In complete but still unofficial returns, Cardenas, an assemblyman being termed out of state office, won 47.6 percent of the vote in the special election Tuesday, outpolling entertainment executive Greuel, who had 42.7 percent.

But Van Nuys electrical contractor James ``Jamie'' Cordaro denied them the 50 percent majority needed to avoid a March 5 runoff.

Now Democrats Cardenas and Greuel say courting the Republican Cordaro's supporters will be a key part of their game plan to succeed former Councilman Joel Wachs, who resigned Oct. 1 to head the Andy Warhol Foundation in New York.

``The people who voted for Jamie Cordaro are very important,'' said Cardenas, who emphasized that he has a business background from running his own real estate company. Cardenas described himself as ``not a very liberal person.''

``When I got to Sacramento, when I went from being a small businessman to being a legislator, right away people started realizing, when it came to issues that deal with business, I was much more moderate than my Democratic colleagues,'' Cardenas said.

Greuel said she, too, has similarities to Cordaro and plans to reach out to his supporters - as well as to Cardenas' supporters whom she did not meet during the recent campaign.

``(Cordaro supporters) do not want the status quo,'' Greuel said. ``They do not want business as usual. I fit in that same mold of someone who is going to challenge the system. I believe they will find in me similarly an individual who is going to fight for them and fight for their fair share - and doing this not as a career politician but someone who wants to make a difference.''

Cordaro did not endorse anyone Wednesday, and a spokesman said he is not sure if he plans to.

His supporters were ``people who were not satisfied with the status quo, who wanted to see a change,'' said campaign manager Gregory Veiga.

Veiga said many of Cordaro's supporters feel largely overlooked by the local government establishment.

``We've just been ignored. As Jamie said, the further you are from City Hall, the louder the cry is.''

The 2nd District includes parts of the east and central Valley, from Van Nuys to Tujunga and from Studio City to Mission Hills.

Greuel and Cardenas spent about three-quarters of a million dollars in the campaign leading up to Tuesday's election, compared with Cordaro's $15,000. Between them, they are expected to spend at least $750,000 for the runoff.

The March election will coincide with the state primary featuring a gubernatorial race with a contested Republican primary, so turnout is expected to be higher than the 18.6 percent who voted Tuesday. Rick Taylor, a Los Angeles political consultant not affiliated with either campaign, said the race is Cardenas' to lose.

Some observers had pegged Greuel as a favorite because she raised $100,000 more than Cardenas and attacked him aggressively as a career politician. Now, Taylor said, Greuel is going to have to reshape her message somehow to catch up to Cardenas.

``I think she has to rethink her campaign and her message,'' Taylor said. ``Yeah, (her campaign strategy) got a woman that nobody knew 42 percent of the vote, but she also spent $400,000 or $500,000. The message for some reason did not resonate.''