TIPOFF DUFFY, BREWER HIDE IN PLAIN SIGHT FOR PRIVATE-BUT-PUBLIC SESSION.

Byline: RICK ORLOV

When you are a power player, you go to power restaurants.

And what better way to throw off people trying to follow you than by going to the most obvious place in the city?

That was the thinking of United Teachers Los Angeles chief A.J. Duffy when he held his first meeting last week with David Brewer, the Los Angeles Unified School District's incoming superintendent.

``I think you call it hiding in plain sight,'' Duffy said. ``I picked the most obvious place I could think of and asked for a table in the middle so everyone could see us.''

His choice: the Pacific Dining Car in downtown Los Angeles, often ranked as the top choice of the city's power brokers.

``Everyone keeps saying how sneaky I am so I thought the best way to throw everybody off was to go to the most public place in the city,'' Duffy said.

It worked.

The two were able to have a quiet meal uninterrupted by either staff or reporters. And Duffy picked up the check.

``He said he'd get the next tab,'' Duffy said of Brewer.

Election junkies, take heart.

Even if you're beginning to have withdrawal symptoms as Election 2006 comes to a close, another one lurks right around the corner.

Starting today, filings will be accepted for candidates for Los Angeles City Council, LAUSD Board of Education and Community College District board of trustees.

Voter-approved changes moved up city elections to March, so the filing period was shifted to give officials sufficient time to verify nominating petitions and candidate qualifications.

Next year, City Council seats representing even-numbered districts will be decided. All incumbents -- Wendy Greuel, Tom LaBonge, Tony Cardenas, Bernard Parks, Herb Wesson, Greig Smith and Jose Huizar -- are expected to seek re-election.

The only open seat to be decided will be a special election to fill out the term of Councilman Alex Padilla, who is expected to win easy election Tuesday to the state Senate.

There will be a lot of attention to the school board and the role Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will play in trying to elect supporters to the board.

School board incumbents seeking re-election are Jon Lauritzen, David Tokofsky and Marguerite LaMotte. School board member Mike Lansing has said he will not run again.

While a number of potential candidates have been rumored, Villaraigosa aides said he is waiting to see who emerges in the field before deciding which candidates to back.

Meanwhile, it appears Villaraigosa is feeling pretty confident about his upcoming court battle with the school district over AB 1381.

His Committee for Government Excellence and Accountability contributed $25,000 to the Yes on Measure H campaign, according to campaign finance filings released late Friday.

The mayor's committee has $1.4 million on hand to hire lawyers and campaign for the change he is seeking in the district. But then perhaps the mayor feels he owes Measure H proponents a helping hand.

Organizers initially proposed a $500 million housing bond, but at the October 2005 Housing Summit, Villaraigosa took the stage, surprising staff and supporters by upping the ante and promising a $1 billion bond.

As efforts to bring a National Football League team to Los Angeles fade, there is one local official who refuses to give up the dream.

Councilman Bernard Parks, who has been working on the matter since he first took office, has no plans to surrender -- even as the Coliseum Commission on which he serves all but threw in the towel last week.

``He'll just play `good cop' to the Coliseum's role of `bad cop' and continue to meet with the NFL and team owners,'' said Parks' top deputy, Bernard Parks Jr.

Parks plans to attend the Super Bowl in Miami -- which is the next time team owners are scheduled to gather -- as well as the owners' meeting in May.

The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy is being asked by the city to name one of its new trails after former Mayor Richard Riordan and his wife, Nancy.

Councilman Bill Rosendahl was expected to announce this weekend -- at an event honoring Nancy Riordan for her fight against pancreatic cancer -- that he will urge the Mount Saint Mary fire road be renamed after the couple because of their efforts to protect open space.

Rosendahl said the Riordans played a major role in uniting residents of the Mountaingate Community and the conservancy to develop the trail without litigation.

Staff Writer Kerry Cavanaugh contributed.

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