CHERNY ADS ERODE SUPPORT.

Byline: Beth Barrett Staff Writer

In a backlash to ``hit piece'' mailers from 40th Assembly District candidate Andrei Cherny, several prominent Democrats withdrew their endorsements Friday or jumped into the race on the side of his opponent, Lloyd Levine.

Former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, three local Democratic assemblymen and Los Angeles Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman criticized Cherny.

``For a young, reasonably idealistic young man like Mr. Cherny to go to this level is despicable,'' Miscikowski said in an interview, explaining her decision to break her neutrality in the race.

Miscikowski, who used Cherny's campaign consultant, Rick Taylor, in her 1997 council race against Georgia Mercer, said candidates have to take responsibility for the tenor of their campaigns.

Taylor said Miscikowski also had hard-hitting mailers but declined to release them.

Cherny dismissed the shift in endorsements as insignificant and part of a ``purely political game,'' orchestrated by ``people who do not want to see the Valley have an effective voice.''

Cherny said none of the Democrats called him to discuss the content of the mailers, which he said are accurate.

``The people who support Lloyd never have done anything in the San Fernando Valley,'' Cherny said. ``They don't represent Valley interests and Valley people. They have no idea of the types of things the people in the San Fernando Valley face in terms of crime, guns, gangs, graffiti and daily problems.''

Levine, through a spokesman, said he was proud to add the endorsements to his campaign and that he hopes they send a message ``that despicable campaign tactics'' will not be tolerated.

The three mailers in question - two dealing with crime issues, and a third on abortion - in two cases make the point that Levine worked as an aide to an assemblyman ``from South Central'' - Edward Vincent, now a state senator from Inglewood - against gun control and abortion-rights legislation. Levine calls those statements ``100 percent false,'' as did Vincent.

The third mailer juxtaposes Levine with a Latino portrayed as a gang member with the statement: ``Our streets aren't safe with Lloyd Levine.''

It was the prominent identification of South Central and the use of a nonwhite to represent a gangbanger that prompted Assemblyman Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, to endorse Levine, his campaign consultant Michael Shimpock said.

``He did (endorse Levine) because of the blatant race-baiting and patently false accusations against Levine by Cherny,'' Shimpock said. ``This is the worst kind of political campaigning, the worst promulgation of falsehood at the last minutes, especially in using words and images that appeal to the base elements.''

South Central, Shimpock said, ``is a total code word for 'black, Latino, the other.' To say anything else is completely disingenuous and dishonest.''

Cherny said he used South Central as an accurate geographic identifier, adding only a person with a racist view would read into that a slur.

``There is nothing wrong with South Central. There are good and honorable people there. Only someone who thinks of South Central badly would make a racist accusation,'' he said.

Cherny said Levine has misrepresented his record, noting that the Million Mom March, which endorsed Cherny, repudiated Levine's use of their logo in a mailer.

``You do not have permission to use the name or logo of the Million Mom March, and we demand that you stop this activity immediately,'' wrote Luis Tolley, state legislative director for the Million Mom March united with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Also endorsing Levine was Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood. Assemblyman George Nakano, D-Torrance, withdrew his endorsement of Cherny, but did not endorse Levine.

Villaraigosa did not return phone calls.