The scandal-scarred Los Angeles Community College District and its supposedly too-genial Board of Trustees will remain undisturbed comrades for the next four years.
However, by far the most remarkable Election Day development exploded in former U.S. Rep. Jane Harman’s (D-Venice) old Congressional district along the Southern California coastline, from Venice to San Pedro.
Lazily billed as a showdown between two liberal women Democrats, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn and Secretary of State Debra Bowen, a Republican, of all unlikely persons, seems to have mangled their plans.
In a largely faceless field of 16 wannabes, including 12 automatic also-rans, the little-known Republican businessman Craig Huey seems to have ousted Ms. Bowen by an almost invisible 206 votes. Ms. Hahn, with easily the highest name recognition in the crowd, sprinted into first place, followed by Mr. Huey, Ms. Bowen and the anti-war radical Marcy Winograd. The remaining dozen are known only to relatives, the booby prize winner Michael T. Chamness attracting 93 votes.
A white-haired South Bay native and Torrance small business owner, Mr. Huey’s anti-liberal message — “We need to get big government and meddling politicians out of our hair” — appealed to a surprising number of voters.
“Unlike the politicians,” said Mr. Huey, “I’ve actually created jobs by growing my business. I’ve provided opportunity for more than 100 employees and former employees. And I’ve led my business through 5 recessions where we had to tighten our belt just like everyone else—and cut spending.
“The politicians’ only concern is the care and feeding of the special interests and lobbyists that help them get re-elected, while the lawyers guarantee their future employment by needlessly complicating our lives and passing more unnecessary laws.”
If the voting order holds up — all precincts are in but numerous ballots remain uncounted and challenges may lie ahead — the unlikeliest of all runoff scenarios will happen July 12, Mr. Huey, a Republican in a very Democratic district, will be matched against Ms. Hahn.
A Predictable Outcome
In the lowest-key possible for a single-race runoff yesterday, Community College District Scott Svonkin, the only incumbent forced into a runoff last March, edged challenger Lydia A. Gutierrez, 9, 530 votes to 8,708, or to say it differently, 52.25 percent to 47.75 percent, with all precincts reporting.
A month before the election, a carefully timed Los Angeles Times series of negative stories about rampant trustee-administration cronyism, plus spectacular structural and policy foulups created a stir only among activists. The voluble series had no discernible effect on voters.
Except for Mr. Svonkin, whose re-election merely was delayed for two months, his deeply ensconced colleagues generally breezed to perspiration-free victories in March.
Behind Hahn’s Triumph
Ms. Hahn, who owes her re-election in part to her much-loved late father, a former County Supervisor, and higher-profile brother, a former Mayor of Los Angeles, seems to have led this rather bizarre race all the way.
From the time Ms. Harman abruptly resigned on Feb. 7 to become President/CEO of the Woodrow Wilson Center and later was widowed when her 91-year-old husband died, Ms. Hahn had been given an edge over the colorless Ms. Bowen.
For many voters, Ms. Bowen, who has proceeded traditionally through the political ranks, has been seen as background noise because of her entrenched blandness. The entirely unnoticed Secretary of State’s office never has been regarded as a launch pad.
Ms. Hahn won with 13,137 votes (24.66 percent) to Mr. Huey’s 11,648 (21.87 percent) and Ms. Bowen’s 11,442 (21.48 percent).
Ms. Winograd, who did not create as much noise as usual in her latest failed bid for office, earned fewer than half as many votes as the Republican Mr. Huey. This may be the most galling blow of all for the strident perennial candidate. She drew 5,066 votes (9.51 percent).
