2 Councilmen May Back Woo Over Stevenson

In what would be a break with tradition, Los Angeles City Council members Marvin Braude and Zev Yaroslavsky are expected to oppose the reelection of a colleague, Peggy Stevenson, and endorse the candidacy of her challenger, Michael Woo.

Woo’s campaign manager, Harvey Englander, said Wednesday that Woo would hold a joint press conference this morning with two members of the City Council to discuss an important campaign development. While Englander refused to name the council members or elaborate on why the press conference was called, sources close to the councilmen and the Woo campaign have told The Times that the purpose is to announce endorsements by Braude and Yaroslavsky.

Braude refused to comment when asked if he planned to endorse Woo.

Yaroslavsky, in turn, would say only: “I refuse to confirm anything.”

Woo, a 33-year-old former aide to state Sen. David Roberti, is making his second run at Stevenson, who represents the 13th Council District, which includes Hollywood, portions of the Hollywood Hills, Los Feliz, Silver Lake and Echo Park. In 1981, Woo lost to Stevenson in a runoff after nearly upsetting her in the primary.

Once again, the two are engaged in a runoff campaign after Woo finished second among five challengers in the primary.

Stevenson said she had been anticipating Braude’s and Yaroslavsky’s endorsements of Woo for “some time,” adding that Braude and Yaroslavsky had worked behind the scenes for Woo during their 1981 contest.

“It’s just Westside politics again,” Stevenson said. “The Berman-Waxman machine. They want control of this seat.”

She was referring to a loose alliance of liberal Democrats named for Reps. Howard Berman of Studio City and Henry Waxman of Los Angeles. While Yaroslavsky has been an ally of the Berman-Waxman group, Braude has not been generally identified with that group. Stevenson said a Braude-Yaroslavsky endorsement of her opponent would not affect the campaign.

“People in my district don’t care what they do,” she said.

It is rare, but not unheard of, for council members to campaign against one of their colleagues. Stevenson, who has been in office for 10 years, has antagonized Braude and Yaroslavsky by her votes in favor of controversial developments in their districts. In their view, her votes contrary to their wishes have violated council etiquette.

Occidental Vote

Braude, in particular, was upset by members of the council who reversed past positions to approve an application by Occidental Petroleum Corp. to drill for oil in the Pacific Palisades portion of his district. Stevenson had opposed Occidental’s drilling bid in the past, but switched sides late last year.

Woo has made Stevenson’s pro-Occidental vote a central issue in his campaign against her, pointing out that she received a $15,000 contribution from the oil company before the final vote.

In addition, Woo has criticized Stevenson’s record on development issues in her district, arguing that she has been duplicitous in her dealings on the issue--proclaiming support for the efforts of neighborhood groups attempting to limit new development, but voting to allow developers to build in the same neighborhoods.

Sources close to the Woo campaign also have told The Times that Woo hopes to add the name of Republican County Supervisor Michael Antonovich to his list of supporters.

Antonovich, who is the chairman of the California Republican Central Committee, would be helpful to Woo in offsetting a drive by Stevenson to cultivate Republican support in the nonpartisan council race.

Asked about a possible endorsement, a spokesman for Antonovich offered a carefully worded reply, saying: “Antonovich says that he is not in a position to deny the report of such an endorsement.”

Stevenson has been endorsed by City Council President Pat Russell and by a majority of the 15-member council. She also has the backing of several state and local officials--including Democratic state Sens. Art Torres of South Pasadena and Herschel Rosenthal of Los Angeles, and city Planning Commission President Dan Garcia. While he has stopped short of endorsing her, Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl F. Gates has offered Stevenson high praise in speeches he has made in the 13th District since the outset of the campaign.