CHALLENGER HOPES TO COPY CHICK'S FEAT : 3RD DISTRICT PROFILES.

Byline: Dennis Love Daily News Staff Writer

In any election, it's never easy to unseat an incumbent, much less a councilwoman in Los Angeles, a big, insider-politics city.

Just ask Laura Chick, who mounted a successful but arduous campaign in 1993 to dethrone 16-year incumbent Joy Picus in the 3rd District.

Or ask Mort Diamond, who in 1997 is seeking to replace Chick, now the incumbent asking for her second term as the council representative for some 230,000 residents in her sprawling west San Fernando Valley district. If she wins, it will be her final four years on the council because of term limits.

There are significant differences, however, between Chick's insurgent drive in 1993 and Diamond's current bid.

Chick was a first-time office seeker but politically connected - her husband had been on the Airport Commission - and politically savvy from having worked for Picus. Chick's campaign was a fund-raising success, and she employed a respected consulting firm, The Englander Group, to manage it.

Diamond, retired after owning a small business, ran unsuccessfully for the 3rd District seat in 1989 and 1993. He has never held elective office, and his political experience is limited to serving on a neighborhood advisory council - to which Chick appointed him - and pushing for state legislation which would have deregulated food-vending carts.

And, last but not least, Diamond has raised little money for his campaign against Chick, an incumbent who has made issues like public safety and school truancy her priorities.

Diamond's political consultant is relatively unknown, Joe Boyle, who says he managed some political campaigns years ago on the East Coast.

``We obviously are having trouble raising money,'' Boyle said. ``This is an uphill battle. We're swimming upstream. But Mort believes that, particularly on issues like secession, if he can get the ear of the people, he has a chance even though his funds will be very limited compared to hers.''

The ear of the people can be an elusive piece of the public anatomy for a candidate without money or the bully pulpit of incumbency. So Diamond has found himself outside the Hughes market on Sherman Way, gathering signatures in the rain to qualify for the ballot, and traveling the district in his camper draped with a ``Diamond For Council'' banner.

``I've talked to the people, and I've listened to what they want,'' Diamond said. ``I've been at this nine or 10 months now. We'll use volunteer phone committees - whatever it takes.''

Diamond said his primary disagreement with Chick is on the issue of political self-determination for the Valley.

Chick has said that she favors the right of the Valley - or Venice, or San Pedro or any other entity - to determine its own political fate. But she has stopped short of taking a position on actual secession, preferring to wait until various analyses of the potential effect are complete.

``Laura claims she's for self-determination,'' Diamond said. ``I'm for secession. The two go together. It's obvious that the Valley is not getting its fair share.''

Diamond said he thinks positively about secession as potential benefit for the Valley, ``not just cutting it off'' from Los Angeles.

``The money will stay here and not go into the downtown sports arena or anything else,'' he said.

Things aren't so simplistic, according to Chick. ``I don't look at the secession movement as only about the Valley. I think that the secession movement is expressing significant frustrations and yearnings on the part of a whole lot of communities,'' she said.

``My background is in social work, so I tend to look at the cause. What's it about? I think it's less about `We don't want to be a part of L.A.' and more about `We want to have an opportunity to have a say in what goes on in our lives.' ''

Chick, expected to win overwhelmingly, said her most significant first-term achievements include fulfilling her campaign pledge to beef up the LAPD's West Valley Division. She donated more than $110,000 from her council budget - including 10 percent of her salary during the first year - and three city vehicles to the division, she said.

Chick also developed an education council, which brought together school representatives, business leaders, police officers and neighborhood groups to find common ground on local needs and issues.

Her goals for the coming term include shepherding what she calls a ``comprehensive, integrated public safety plan'' to fruition as head of the council's public safety committee, she said, and continuing to promote business development.

Laura Chick

Age: 52

Birthplace: Long Island, N.Y.

Education: undergraduate degree from UCLA, master's degree in social work from USC 

Residence: Tarzana

Party affiliation: Democrat

Quote: ``I want to play a significant role in seeing the LAPD brought into the 21st century equipped properly, staffed properly and managed properly.''

Mort Diamond

Age: 65

Birthplace: Newark, N.J.

Education: paralegal graduate from Los Angeles Mission College, associate's degree in business administration from Chaffey College at Ontario, marketing and sales studies at Cal Poly, Pomona

Residence: Canoga Park

Party affiliation: Republican

Quote: ``I'm really sorry that we don't have 10 people running in this race. That's a shame. Debate is good.''

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, box

BOX: 3rd district profiles

Photo: (1) Laura Chick

(2) Mort Diamond