KNOX, ROSS DISAGREE ON KEY VALLEY ISSUES : CHALLENGER, 42ND DISTRICT ASSEMBLYMAN STEP UP FIGHT.

Byline: Eric Wahlgren Daily News Staff Writer

With just two weeks until election day, Democratic incumbent Wally Knox and Republican rival Adam Ross are stepping up their campaigns to represent the 42nd Assembly District, where Democrats outnumber Republicans about 2 to 1.

The candidates, both law school graduates, differ on at least two issues of fundamental importance to San Fernando Valley voters: the proposed breakup of the Los Angeles Unified School District and whether only Valley residents should have the right to vote on forming their own city.

Ross, a 28-year-old graduate of Loyola Law School running on a campaign to ``return real power to the people,'' said he would have backed a proposal by Paula Boland, R-Granada Hills, to strip the City Council of power to veto any secession movement.

Knox, a 49-year-old lawyer from Larchmont Village, opposed the initial Boland bill that left secession to a Valley vote only. But he backed a revised bill calling for a citywide vote.

The assemblyman said he supports decentralizing the LAUSD and forming more charter schools but does not favor an outright breakup of the district.

``I have a problem with any plan that is going to result in a larger number of bureaucrats and bureaucracies,'' said Knox, who holds a law degree from Hastings College of Law and served on the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees before he was elected to the Assembly in 1994.

Ross, a West Hollywood resident who owns a small business that provides Internet access, supports breaking up the district, a move he says would increase local control over schools.

``I don't think we should force the breakup of the LAUSD, but if people want it, give it to them,'' said Ross, who recently took the bar exam and is waiting for the results.

But both Knox and his Republican challenger oppose building an east-west subway line in the Valley, saying they prefer a light rail system as a less costly alternative.

Although the 42nd district includes the Valley communities of Encino, Sherman Oaks, Studio City and Universal City, most of the district spans the Westside and Hollywood, including such tony areas as Bel Air and Beverly Hills.

Its political registration makes the area what political observers call a safe Democratic district, presenting Ross with a tough chance of ousting Knox.

``I don't know what it could possibly take to remove (Knox),'' said Joe Cerrell, a longtime Democratic political consultant who lives in the district but did not vote for Knox in the Democratic primary.

Nevertheless on the campaign trail, Ross believes he has picked the right issue - schools - to get voters to cross over. The political newcomer is touting a voucher-type ``family grant'' system that would provide parents with money to enroll their students in the state-accredited school of their choice.

``Parents will take their money where they think they are getting the best value for their education,'' Ross said.

Knox opposes school voucher programs, saying that other education reforms such as the recent $971 million state plan to trim class sizes have more promise.

``I think a lot of the other proposals we hear about are just words,'' said Knox, who has made crime the central issue of his campaign.

The assemblyman wants to reform the justice system by tightening sentencing requirements to prevent the release of prisoners deemed likely to continue endangering citizens. Knox also envisions mandating literacy and other classes for prisoners.

``We have the right to sentence people to incarceration,'' Knox said. ``You can certainly sentence a person to a program of getting their act together.''

In his bid to seek a second term, Knox said he has raised more than $100,000, giving him a 10-to-1 spending advantage over Ross.

But Ross, who refers to himself as the ``Jewish, gay, pro-choice, vegetarian, Republican'' candidate, said he believes his message is nevertheless getting out to ``open-minded'' Democrats and Independents.

``(My background) covers virtually every type of voter out there,'' Ross said.

Knox said he opposes the so-called California Civil Rights Initiative that would end gender and racial preferences in state education, hiring or government contracting, while Ross supports Proposition 209.

Both Ross and Knox said they oppose a bill that would prohibit California from recognizing marriages performed in other states between members of the same sex.

Also vying for the Assembly seat are Beverly Hills residents Herbert Paul, the Natural Law Party candidate and a tile contractor, and Libertarian candidate Eric Fine, a business consultant.

``The government that governs best governs least,'' said the 33-year-old Fine, who is campaigning on a platform to decriminalize drugs, privatize the welfare system and launch school vouchers.

If elected, Paul said he plans to push for increases in teacher salaries, the expansion of Head Start programs and the introduction of transcendental meditation in government and schools.

``(Meditation) has been proven in schools to decrease the truancy rate,'' said Paul, 53.