CARDENAS CONCERNED ABOUT MAKEUP OF CITY PANELS.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

A San Fernando Valley City Council member voiced concern Monday over whether his district is being adequately represented on city panels.

Councilman Tony Cardenas, whose 6th District was carved out of the central and northeast Valley as part of reapportionment two years ago, is also upset that city records are out of date, said Jose Cornejo, his chief of staff.

``The councilman is concerned that not all parts of the city are represented,'' Cornejo said. ``They offer different perspectives from the people who traditionally serve on city commissions.''

The Daily News reported last week that Mayor James Hahn, like his predecessors, has turned to residents of the city's wealthiest areas for many of his appointees on boards and commissions. The City Clerk's Office provided figures showing 30 percent of city residents appointed by Hahn come from the Valley - an increase over the 25 percent under Mayor Richard Riordan but still 7 percentage points lower than the Valley's share of the population.

Cardenas was flying to Sacramento as part of a city delegation to lobby state officials to restore local funding and was not available for comment.

However, Cornejo said the councilman has met with Hahn on the issue and the mayor was agreeable to appointing more residents from within his district.

Earlier this month, Hahn said he has been working to increase Valley representation on city commissions and has been meeting with local council members to get their recommendations on nominees.

``This is one of the most important things we do and something I am constantly aware of,'' Hahn said. ``We want to make sure all parts of the city get their fair share and have input.''

Frank Martinez, executive officer of the City Clerk's office, acknowledged the problems in his office - complicated by reapportionment. Council district boundaries were changed in 2001 to reflect population changes found in the U.S. Census.

``We are going through every commission appointment to determine where they live and who appointed them,'' Martinez said.

``We think, at most, there are a couple of dozen people who are in the wrong districts.''

Cardenas' district is an example of the problems, he said.

Records in the City Clerk's office list the district as having 21 residents serving on a variety of city panels. However, when Cardenas had his staff check those figures, it turned out only five lived within his district boundaries.

Prior to reapportionment, the 6th District was wholly in the West Los Angeles area, encompassing the area around Los Angeles International Airport under former Councilwoman Ruth Galanter.

With Galanter being termed out of office, the district was moved completely to create a fifth full district in the Valley. Cardenas was elected to the council last year.

Martinez said he suspects there are also problems in the residency breakdown for other council districts, particularly the 11th Council District represented by Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski.

Prior to reapportionment, half of the 11th District was in the Valley. However, it was moved entirely south of Mulholland Drive after reapportionment and now takes over the area that includes LAX.

``We should have done this earlier, but it just slipped by,'' Martinez said.

In addition to reviewing the residency of commissioners, Martinez said the review - expected later this week - will include the number of commissioners appointed by Hahn as well as those that are holdovers from former Mayor Richard Riordan.

Rick Orlov, [phone]

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com