RICHARD ALATORRE: COUNCIL SCANDALS FAN FLAMES OF DISCONTENT.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy and Rick Orlov / Daily News Staff Writers

With two charter reform panels looking to overhaul Los Angeles' government and secessionists seeking to break up the city, the forces of radical change are finding ammunition - inside City Hall.

In October, Councilman Mike Hernandez pleaded guilty to felony cocaine possession after undercover LAPD officers videotaped him buying drugs and using them in his city car.

Over the past two months, two federal probes have been launched into possible improprieties in Councilman Richard Alatorre's personal and official dealings.

These scandals have shaken City Hall at a pivotal time for Los Angeles - just as Angelenos are considering whether the status quo municipal government works or whether dramatic change is required.

``These kinds of things just foment demands for change,'' said Studio City attorney David Fleming, who with Mayor Richard Riordan led the drive for an elected charter reform commission.

``Clearly when you have this kind of problem, it generates more momentum for secession.''

Any erosion of public confidence in City Hall brought about by the recent difficulties of council members also makes it more difficult for city officials to govern.

``Government has to be respected to be effective,'' said Councilman Joel Wachs. ``Obviously, when an individual gets in trouble, it's always bad for the image of the council.''

Records subpoenaed

The FBI and Metropolitan Transportation Authority's inspector general have subpoenaed Alatorre's personal financial records as part of a probe into whether he has benefited financially from business figures that he attempted to help get government assistance.

Law enforcement sources have told the Daily News that the FBI also is looking into whether Alatorre improperly benefited financially from businessman Samuel S. Mevorach or his associates while pushing for the city to buy the Mevorach's Wyvernwood Garden Apartments.

Alatorre denies wrongdoing.

However, he agreed in September to pay $8,000 in fines to state and city ethics agencies for not disclosing income received by his wife's event-planning firm and for improperly asking a city regulator to allow his wife's firm to continue operating, even though it lacked proper permits.

Council troubles mount

Hernandez's cocaine arrest and the probes of Alatorre's finances put City Hall's reputation at risk in a way that goes beyond the scope of the periodic peccadillos that have occurred in recent years.

Five months before Hernandez's arrest, Councilman Hal Bernson was fined $1,500 by the Los Angeles Ethics Commission for violating ethics rules by using his political officeholder account to buy tickets to the Hollywood Bowl for his personal use.

In 1996, Mayor Richard Riordan agreed to pay $3,000 in fines to the state Fair Political Practices Commission for violating state conflict-of-interest laws by increasing a city contract for a tenant in a building he co-owns.

Alatorre, in an interview, downplayed the impact of the members' problems, saying the council has been hurt worse by infighting, including calls for Hernandez to resign and criticism of Alatorre.

Alatorre is angry that several of Hernandez's council colleagues have called for Hernandez to resign.

``I think we're to blame for that. We enter the fray,'' Alatorre said. ``We're the ones who criticize our own. It's about hypocrisy, man.

``I respect the institution that I've worked in. To me the institution is more important than the personalities.''

Alatorre attributes council clashes to his colleagues' ambitions - several council members want to be mayor - and to racial politics.

``It's about mayorality politics some days; it's about racial (politics) another day,'' Alatorre said.

Crisis in confidence

Wachs said he is concerned about the latest allegations against Alatorre because they have the potential to hurt City Hall as an institution.

``Hernandez's arrest is more an individual problem,'' Wachs said. ``The Alatorre situation is potentially a greater impact on the council as a whole because that goes to the public perception that they (council members) are all a bunch of crooks. That fuels that perception.''

A longtime political observer who deals with the City Council on a regular basis and asked not to be identified said public confidence in City Hall was very low before the Hernandez and Alatorre problems arose.

``The public is already pretty disgusted with the way city government operates and doesn't trust them,'' the observer said. ``In some ways, this just confirms the view that people on the inside think they can get away with anything.''

Apathy or reform?

If the scandals contribute to more public cynicism about their government, one result could be an increase in apathy and lower turnouts at the polls on election day, some worry.

``That's always a risk,'' said George Kieffer, chairman of the city's appointed Charter Reform Commission.

However, Kieffer and others say the view that City Hall cannot be trusted might also serve to charge up citizenry and force fundamental reforms.

``Any time you're reading about elected officials having these kinds of problems, you undermine faith and trust in government,'' Kieffer said. ``That sometimes leads to apathy. But sometimes it leads to anger and reform.''

Kieffer's commission and a separate elected Charter Reform Commission are both rapidly moving forward on proposing changes in how city government operates.

At the same time, a group of San Fernando Valley leaders are close to petitioning for a study of creating a separate Valley city.

Jeff Brain, the co-chairman of Valley Voters Organized Toward Empowerment, said the council's troubles are providing a rationale for a separate Valley city.

``We will be using it,'' he said. ``People are angry.''

Wachs said the momentum for secession and charter reform would be strong even without the current controversies at City Hall.

Referring to the 15 council members, Wachs said, ``Even if you had 15 paragons of virtue you would still need changes in the charter.''

Eric Schockman, a political scientist and assistant dean at USC, views the Hernandez and Alatorre cases as separate incidents.

``Los Angeles traditionally has been a pretty squeaky clean city,'' Schockman said. ``There might have been individuals who needed to be examined, but Los Angeles has never had the systematic corruption you see in other cities.

``I don't see where you take what has happened with Hernandez and Alatorre and say connect the dots,'' Schockman said. ``That just doesn't apply.''

May help reform

But, he acknowledged, to a public skeptical of all levels of government with demands for greater involvement, it fuels discontent and may help the charter reform effort now being carried out by two panels.

``It helps people focus about questions on are we doing governance right,'' Schockman said.

Fleming said the Alatorre and Hernandez controversies fly in the face of claims by opponents of charter reform who say the current charter was written to prevent corruption.

``We are faced with a charter adopted because they wanted to make city government super clean, and it's obvious that's not working,'' he said.

``Clearly, these kinds of things should foment a lot of soul-searching and thinking about what kind of a city we should have and what kind of government we should have.''

Xandra Kayden of the League of Women Voters said the council's troubles could reinforce already existing opinions of many voters that ``all politics is corrupt,'' which could result in fewer people voting or participating in government.

Kayden said the impact on voter skepticism is magnified by stories out of Washington, D.C., about allegations that the Democrats and Republicans have both violated political fund-raising laws.

``I think the cynicism and alienation may have more to do with what is going on in Washington than what is going on here,'' she said.

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Photo: (color) no caption (Richard Alatorre)