RIORDAN ENDORSING PADILLA; MAYOR'S CHOICE FOR 7TH DISTRICT COUNTERS ALLY ALARCON'S SELECTION.

Byline: Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writer

Mayor Richard Riordan has decided to endorse Alejandro Padilla in the closely contested 7th City Council District race as the deadline to submit nominating petitions closed Monday, sources said.

In making the endorsement, probably today, Riordan is breaking with longtime ally state Sen. Richard Alarcon, who had held the council seat. Alarcon, D-Van Nuys, is backing community health director Corinne Sanchez in the April 13 election.

Padilla, an aide to Assemblyman Tony Cardenas, D-Panorama City, has already qualified for the race, as have community college executive Barbara Perkins and youth services director Tony Lopez.

Those who returned their petitions or are waiting to hear if they qualify for the ballot are Sanchez; government relations director Ollie McCaulley; teacher-outreach worker Connie Acebo Rodriguez; registered professional engineer Raul Godinez II, the former mayor of the city of San Fernando; and pastor-educator Dudley Chatman.

It is the second endorsement by Riordan in an open seat for the City Council. Earlier, he announced his support for Nick Pacheco, a deputy district attorney and elected charter reform commissioner, in the race for the 14th District seat opened with the announced retirement of Councilman Richard Alatorre.

In meeting Monday's deadline to submit nominating petitions - with the signatures of 500 registered voters in their districts - candidates now have until Feb. 18 to learn if they have qualified for the ballot.

In other City Council races, candidates and those who have qualified as of Monday include:

Council District 2: Councilman Joel Wachs and marketing youth director John Spishak have qualified. Other announced candidates include business owner Kathy P. Anthony and retired city employee John Joseph Bunte.

Council District 4: Council President John Ferraro has qualified. Other candidates include construction supervisor Benjamin Lucas, actor-writer-philosopher James P. Dunlap and clinical research associate Lillian Fay Lipson.

Council District 6: Councilwoman Ruth Galanter is waiting to hear if she has qualified along with potential opponents Rex Frankel, no occupation listed; Realtor-environmental activist Sal Grammatico; pharmacist Kenneth Michael Rosenfeld; and tax analyst John Melcombe.

Council District 8: Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, attorney John Caldwell and Sandra Farrington-Domingue have qualified. Other candidates are investment banker-author Mervin Evans, physician-Biblical instructor Delaney Smith, businessman-community organizer Earl ``Skip'' Cooper II and sociologist Shawn Carlos Royal.

Council District 10: Councilman Nate Holden, employment development specialist Scott Suh and pastor-community leader Madison T. Shockley have qualified. Others include consultant-teacher-paralegal Kwame A. Boateng, and Marsha Brown and Ann Holbert, no occupations listed.

Council District 12: City Councilman Hal Bernson has qualified. Others include activist Marilyn Stout, David Guzman and Charles Rubel.

Council District 14: Qualified candidates include Pacheco, engineer-public servant Luis Cetina, community activist Victor Griego, Juan Jose Gutierrez, City Council aide Armando Hernandez, engineer Paul Konrad Melero, State Bar manager Cathy T. Molina and county commissioner Alvin D. Parra. Others include business development director Juan Marcos Tirado, community activist Juan R. Jimenez, printer Art Leon Romero, teacher Ezequiel ``Zeke'' Quezada, regional coordinator Yolanda Gonzales, constituent service advocate Ramiro Moseley, businessman Jim Beckham, motivational speaker-actor Paul Gonzales, and Sylvia Robledo, no occupation listed.

Los Angeles Board of Education:

District No. 1: Incumbent Barbara Boudreaux has qualified. Others include education activist Genethia Hayes, teacher-mediator-author Moses Calhoun and employment recruiter Austin Dragon.

District No. 3: Incumbent Jeff Horton, mother-businesswoman Caprice Young and David Smith, no occupation provided, are waiting to hear if they qualified.

District No. 5: Incumbent David Tokofsky and Yolie Flores Aguilar, no occupation listed, have qualified. A third candidate is early childhood specialist Violet Dewitt Staley.

District No. 7: Incumbent George Kiriyama has qualified. Others are pastor-mechanic Earl Raymond High and child development professional Mike Lansing.

Community College District Board of Trustees:

Office No. 1: Community college instructor Nancy Pearlman and college teacher-educator Sylvia Scott-Hayes Doctor have qualified. Others include divinity minister Addie Miller, educator Sesar A. Carreno, college lecturer-educator Richard Groper, education commissioner Gilbert Carrasco, doctor of education Evelyn Metoyer-Williams, business owner Marilyn Grunwald, community college advocate Sergio Carillo and businessman-broadcaster Peter Ford.

Office No. 3: Incumbent Julia Wu and community college professor Mona Field have qualified. A third candidate is pastor-teacher-educator Jules S. Bagneris III.

Office No. 5: Incumbent Georgia Mercer has qualified. Waiting are sales-medical educator Gordon Murley, resource consultant Floyd Xray Frazier, engineer Khalil Khalil, Jonathan Leonard and William D. Zuke.

Office No. 7: Incumbent David Lopez-Lee, teacher-businessman-commentator Mark Isler, educator-legislative staff member Warren Furutani, attorney-graduate student Andrew Kim, college funding analyst Dianne Pasillas Araujo and Cecelia Atwood have qualified.