Candidates for Woo's council seat shun developers; Hollywood redevelopment expected to be key issue.

Two of the three candidates considered front-runners for Michael Woo's 13th District seat on the Los Angeles City Council say they won't accept money from developers. But commercial development remains one of the central issues in a campaign sure to revive controversy surrounding the long-delayed Hollywood redevelopment.

Hollywood is only one of the communities in the 13th District, which also includes all or parts of Atwater Village, Echo Park, Silver Lake, Koreatown, Glassell Park, Eagle Rock and Mount Washington. But Hollywood's redevelopment is ranked as an important issue in the campaign because, as one local activist put it, "Hollywood is where the publicity is."

The 13th District council seat is one of eight council seats up for election this year. All odd-numbered district seats, as well as the mayor's post, are up for grabs. The primary election is scheduled for April 20. Then the primary's top vote-getters will face off in the general election on June 8.

The three front-runners for Woo's council seat, according to local politicos, are Mike Weinstein, a health care executive; Jackie Goldberg, former president of the Los Angeles School Board; and Tom LaBonge, chief field deputy to City Councilman John Ferraro. Woo is vacating his seat on the council to run for mayor.

Weinstein and Goldberg both told the Business Journal they won't accept any money from developers during the campaign. They both said they see nothing wrong with developer contributions, but they want to avoid even the appearance of being compromised when it comes time to vote on developer permits.

"Everybody is so cynical today that if you take even a nickel from a developer, people will believe that the developer owns you," Goldberg said.

Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation in Hollywood, said he is accepting money from other business interests but not from developers because "in the case of development, the council person is basically the deciding factor on conditional-use permits, and therefore, it's hard to convince your constituents that an approval was not influenced by money you received."

That leaves the lion's share of developer backing for the third of the front-runners, Tom LaBonge. Political oddsmakers say LaBonge, who is on leave of absence from his city post while he runs for election, might have gotten the nod from developers even if Weinstein and Goldberg decided to accept developers' money. That's because LaBonge has already formed connections to the development community as a Ferraro liaison on projects like the Wiltern Theatre and Chapman Place Market in Mid-Wilshire, Wilshire Courtyard in the Miracle Mile and a number of other projects. On the other hand, developers are known to hedge their bets, and the other candidates could probably count on some developer funds if they looked for them.

LaBonge said he is accepting contributions from anyone who wants to support him and had raised a little more than $50,000 by early January, from a variety of sources. Weinstein, who also had more than $50,000 in his warchest at the time, said the winning candidate probably will have to spend about $150,000.

Goldberg, on the other hand, said she hasn't raised any money yet because she was too busy raising money for federal and state candidates in last November's elections. But Goldberg insisted she will have no problem raising as much money as she needs to mount a successful campaign.

Weinstein, Goldberg and LaBonge were among a field of 12 candidates who by early January had filed documents with the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission indicating their intentions to run for Woo's seat.

Jan. 20 was the earliest date candidates could file with the city clerk to officially declare their candidacy, and Jan. 25 is the deadline for filing.

The three candidates all cite redevelopment as one of a number of business-related campaign issues, including the exodus of entertainment companies from Hollywood.

LaBonge, for example, said he sees parallels between the concerns of small businesses and homeowners in Hollywood and his experience in community relations and planning for Wilshire Courtyard, which he said was a ticklish process because it involved construction of a big commercial building next to a residential neighborhood.

Business leaders and community activists say development is a big issue in the campaign because it is tied to Hollywood's revival and efforts to reverse the deterioration that has earned the community a reputation for crime and drugs that are driving businesses away.

Some projects have gone forward, like the Hollywood Galaxy, a 140,000-square-foot shopping center that opened last February on Hollywood Boulevard.

But the long-touted redevelopment generally has been stalled. The CRA attributes much of the delay to lawsuits opposing its plans. The suits were resolved in late 1991 when the California Supreme Court ruled against the opponents of the redevelopment. But other factors have since stymied the CRA's Hollywood makeover.

Late in 1992, for example, the CRA said it had suspended negotiations to provide partial public financing for one of the biggest proposals, the Hollywood Promenade, in light of the "reluctance of the commercial lenders to commit financing in the current economic client." Hollywood Promenade, which would be developed by Melvin Simon & Associates, calls for a 350-room hotel, 400,000 square feet of office space, 275,000 square feet of retail space and parking for 2,800 cars.

Weinstein said he sees redevelopment as part of a larger scenario that is dragging Hollywood down. When he walked the precincts to solicit support, he said, "The overwhelming issue for both businesses and residents" is rising crime, which is ruining the environment for development.

"It (crime) creates a vicious cycle of economic decline feeding more crime feeding more economic decline," he said.

Leron Gubler, executive director of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, said businesses believe the crime problem has to be solved to encourage development. It is one of the three top issues on the chamber's election agenda, which includes the CRA's redevelopment plans and concern that upcoming Metro Rail construction on Hollywood Boulevard will disrupt businesses there.

Gubler said business generally supports the CRA, so any candidate opposed to the CRA's plans would have to explain what he or she is proposing in place of the CRA's plans.

Vlada Holec, president of the Hollywood Boulevard District Improvement Association, a merchants' group, agreed generally with that assessment, but said small Hollywood businesses are worried about being left out of the revival.

"We support every bit of constructive development, but we're leery of too many big projects that would kill the spirit and atmosphere of (Hollywood) Boulevard," he said, explaining that some fear "a Century City approach, with big skyscrapers."

The CRA last July sold its first series of Hollywood redevelopment bonds, raising $46.7 million for its revitalization of the 1,100-acre Hollywood Redevelopment Project Area. The CRA said at the time that the bond proceeds would be used to "spark economic development" and meet other CRA goals. But critics say the CRA is still sparking more controversy than confidence.

Norton Halper, a member of the original citizens' advisory committee to the Hollywood redevelopment project and a plaintiff in the lawsuits against it, said there is "a lot of dissatisfaction about the lack of progress."

"There's no financing, so there is no commercial development here or anywhere in L.A.," Halper said. "So the CRA can't spend its money on any hard projects." The few projects that have gone forward, like Hollywood Galaxy, have succeeded primarily because of the efforts of private developers, Halper said.

According to Goldberg, the project delays have been avoidable.

"A lot of what goes on, I think, is a lack of courage on the part of council members who won't say, maybe to a developer who has contributed to them, this is not a project I support," Goldberg said. "If a project is going to help the community, it should go through quickly. I don't think the (project approval) process is slow for any good reason."

Weinstein also cited unwarranted delays in project approvals, saying the approval time needs to be shortened to promote development.

He also said a better plan needs to be devised for compensating businesses that will suffer from Metro Rail construction. Such a plan should include business loans with terms longer than the current 5-year terms being offered, and grants enabling businesses to relocate at least until the rail construction is done.

Halper said Hollywood redevelopment will likely occupy much of the candidates' time between now and election day, even though many other neighborhoods are situated in the 13th District.

"The publicity is all in Hollywood," Halper reiterated.