TUESDAY D-DAY IN DISTRICT 2.Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer The sharply contested race for City Council in the eastern San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. Valley's 2nd District comes to a head Tuesday, when voters from Studio City to Tujunga to Van Nuys will choose a successor to Joel Wachs Joel Wachs served for several terms as Los Angeles City Councilman for the 2nd district. He was first elected by defeating incumbent James B. Potter. While in office, Wachs chaired the Public Works Committee and vice-chair of the Environmental Quality & Waste Management , who held the seat for 30 years. The race has featured sharp sniping between two well-funded candidates, Assemblyman Tony Cardenas Tony Cardenas served in the California State Assembly. In the Assembly, he had the powerful position of chair of the Budget Committee. He is now a Los Angeles City Councilman, representing the 6th district, which includes parts of the San Fernando Valley. , D-Mission Hills, and DreamWorks SKG SKG Stichting Kwaliteit Gevelbouw (Dutch) SKG Spielberg, Katzenberg,and Geffen (DreamWorks Studios) SKG Thessaloniki, Greece - Thessaloniki (Airport Code) SKG Smith and Kraus Global executive Wendy Greuel Wendy Greuel is President Pro Tempore of the Los Angeles City Council representing the 2nd District. Greuel was elected in 2002 to fill the remainder of the term of Councilman Joel Wachs. She was elected in her own right in 2003 and reelected in 2007. , who combined are spending close to three-quarters of a million dollars in hopes of getting elected. A third candidate, Van Nuys electrical contractor James ``Jamie'' Cordaro, has struggled to be heard in the fray with only a fraction of the funds raised by Cardenas and Greuel. Greuel has attacked Cardenas as a career politician who has taken excessive money from special interests and is out of touch with district voters. Cardenas has defended himself - saying he has lived in the area his whole life and held elected office for only five years - and campaign observers say he has run a more positive campaign and launched fewer attacks. ``When people ask for the differences between Tony Cardenas and Wendy Greuel, one is, I've lived in this district almost all my adult life and did not move in three months ago to run for office,'' Greuel said. ``People don't like career politicians. He has run for three offices in the last year - secretary of state, city council and before that, Assembly.'' Cardenas considered a bid for secretary of state this year, although he did not officially become a candidate for the office, and then switched to the 2nd Council District campaign after Wachs' surprise resignation. Cardenas, 38, said he is not a career politician because he has held office for only five years and previously ran a business selling real estate. He said he has lived in the Northeast Valley all of his life, and lived in the 2nd District seven years ago before moving to Sylmar. He moved back to the irregularly-shaped district - to a home in Panorama City - about three months ago to run for the council seat. ``Certainly her being my opponent, I don't put it past her to overembellish things or make things up,'' Cardenas said. ``I grew up here in the Northeast Valley. I went to San Fernando High School San Fernando High School, located in San Fernando, California, is a secondary school that is a part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school colors are black and gold. All girl teams are referred to as Lady Tigers, all boy teams simply as Tigers. . I owned a business right here in Mission Hills.'' Cardenas has represented the Assembly's 39th district - Mission Hills, Pacoima, San Fernando, Sun Valley and North Hollywood - since 1996. He is chairman of the powerful Assembly Budget Committee but will be forced to leave the Assembly next year because of term limits. When asked why he thinks voters should reject Greuel, Cardenas instead replied: ``I know why I should be elected: I have a proven track record responding to the community.'' He said he will use his experience and contacts in Sacramento to bring more state and federal resources to the city, especially for the Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . and to improve basic city services The examples and perspective in this article or section may represent an unduly geographically limited view of the subject.Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. like street maintenance. Greuel, 40, was an aide to former Mayor Tom Bradley Noun 1. Tom Bradley - United States politician who was elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles (1917-1998) Bradley, Thomas Bradley for 10 years, and then worked at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for four years, helping coordinate relief efforts during the 1994 Northridge Earthquake The Northridge earthquake occurred on January 17, 1994 at 4:31 AM Pacific Standard Time in the city of Los Angeles, California. The earthquake had a "strong" moment magnitude of 6. . She is on leave from her job at DreamWorks SKG, where she has worked in community and government affairs for the past four years. Greuel said she, too, places basic city services and the LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. as top priorities. She also said she wants to continue Wachs' populist legacy. ``That is, for me, the No. 1 priority - to ensure people do not feel a disconnect from City Hall,'' Greuel said. ``(To ensure) that when they call downtown, they get someone who answers their phone call and is responsive.'' Despite the long odds, Cordaro remains confident, saying he is running a grass-roots campaign that is gaining steam. He portrays both Cardenas and Greuel as political insiders who are too beholden be·hold·en adj. Owing something, such as gratitude, to another; indebted. [Middle English biholden, past participle of biholden, to observe; see behold. to campaign contributors. ``I'm not poisoned by the system,'' Cordaro said. ``I'm not painted with special interests. I've raised less than $15,000 in this campaign. My opponents have raised over half a million dollars. Who do they have to answer to first?'' Other than the tone of the campaigns, Cardenas and Greuel agree on many issues. Greuel criticizes Cardenas for strongly opposing secession to win a key endorsement from the County Federation of Labor, but her view is that it's premature to take a position until a concrete proposal is developed. Still, she makes it clear she wants to work hard on the council to avoid secession. Cordaro is one of the few council candidates this year to support Valley secession. Both Cardenas and Greuel support term limits and say they would not have tried to weaken it as the current council tried last month. Mayor James Hahn For the Iowa politician, see . James Kenneth "Jim" Hahn (born July 3, 1950) is an American politician from the Democratic Party. He was the Deputy City Attorney (1975-1979), City Controller (1981-1985), City Attorney (1985-2001) and Mayor of Los Angeles, California vetoed the action, and the council failed to override the veto. The oddly-shaped council district encompasses diverse populations, from the rural atmosphere of the Sunland and Tujunga communities to heavily Latino neighborhoods in Mission Hills and Panorama City to the wealthier Studio City area south of Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east-west thouroughfares in the San Fernando Valley; as it was originally a part of the El Camino Real (the trail between Spanish missions), Ventura Boulevard is the oldest route in the San Fernando Valley. It was also U.S. . Wachs had held the seat since 1971 and developed a reputation as a maverick and a fiscal watchdog, sporadically fighting taxpayer subsidies for development projects. He often found himself on the losing end of major battles. Following a weak showing in this year's mayoral race, Wachs resigned, effective Oct. 1, to head the Andy Warhol Noun 1. Andy Warhol - United States artist who was a leader of the Pop Art movement (1930-1987) Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts visual arts npl → artes fpl plásticas visual arts npl → arts mpl plastiques visual arts npl → in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . Wachs has endorsed Greuel, although his legacy has only been a minor part of the campaign. If none of the three candidates receives more than 50 percent of the votes Tuesday, a runoff election between the top two will be held March 5. Political analysts say if the race is close, Cordaro will siphon off Verb 1. siphon off - convey, draw off, or empty by or as if by a siphon siphon, syphon draw, take out - take liquid out of a container or well; "She drew water from the barrel" enough votes to force a runoff. The candidates have spent much of the campaign attacking each other. Greuel has accused Cardenas of taking Indian gaming money and skirting campaign finance laws, and one of her complaints led to him being fined nearly $2,000 by the city Ethics Commission In the United States, an Ethics Commission is a commission established by State law to discourage dishonest practices by their public employees and elected officials. Almost all American states have such a commission. for filing campaign statements late. Cardenas has accused Greuel of sending out misleading mailers about where money for his aborted secretary of state campaign came from and falsely saying he did not return most of it to donors. Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. political consultant Rick Taylor, who is not affiliated with either campaign, said the negative mailers he has seen and heard about have all come from Greuel. Negative campaigns can be successful sometimes, he noted. For example, James Hahn won the mayoral election this year after a harsh campaign in which he hammered rival Antonio Villaraigosa for supporting presidential clemency Leniency or mercy. A power given to a public official, such as a governor or the president, to in some way lower or moderate the harshness of punishment imposed upon a prisoner. Clemency is considered to be an act of grace. for a convicted drug dealer, the son of a campaign contributor. But negative campaigns also can backfire, Taylor noted. 2ND COUNCIL DISTRICT TONY CARDENAS Age: 38 Occupation: Assembly member Residence: Panorama City Web site: None Money raised: $277,661 Issues: Valley secession: Opposes Public safety: Would seek more funds from Sacramento and Washington to increase size of police force. Supports flexible work schedule for officers. Term limits: Supports current two-term limits for council members. Others: Promises to maintain three offices in the district for constituent services. JAMES ``JAMIE'' CORDARO Age: 45 Occupation: Electrical contractor Residence: Van Nuys Web site: None Money raised: $17,966 Issues: Valley secession: Supports Public safety: Police need to tighten hiring procedures to avoid Rampart- type scandal. Term limits: Would support changing current statute to three-term limit. Others: Says city needs better growth plans. Supports light rail and more subways in the Valley. WENDY GREUEL Age: 40 Occupation: Entertainment executive Residence: Van Nuys Web site: www.wendygreuel.com Money raised: $343,096 Issues: Valley secession: Opposes Public safety: Police Department needs to reform its disciplinary system. Flexible work schedules should be reviewed continually to see whether they are working. Term limits: Supports two-term limit. Others: Wants to improve responsiveness to constituent needs and plans to have at least two district offices. CAPTION(S): 3 photos, box Photo: (1) TONY CARDENAS (2) JAMES ``JAMIE'' CORDARO (3) WENDY GREUEL Box: 2ND COUNCIL DISTRICT (see text) |
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