Allard Handily Wins Race for Assembly Seat

Lucille Roybal Allard, daughter of longtime Democratic Rep. Edward R. Roybal, easily followed in her father’s political footsteps Tuesday by winning a special election for the Assembly in the Eastside by a wide margin.

Complete unofficial returns showed Allard had 62% of the votes cast, enough for her to win outright the 56th Assembly District seat that Gloria Molina gave up to run successfully for the Los Angeles City Council.

Allard’s closest challenger was Commerce City Councilman James B. Dimas at 16%. The remaining eight candidates, including former State Sen. Alex P. Garcia and former political aide Monica Delgadillo, trailed far behind. The voter turnout was 16.8%, a low total that is typical in special elections.

The Roybal name proved an unbeatable force in the predominantly Latino district, some of which has been represented by Roybal for almost four decades. A charity administrator by profession, Allard is the congressman’s eldest daughter and had never before run for office.

But, in spite of criticism that her major qualification for political office was her bloodline, she captured a majority of the votes and managed to avoid a runoff. The strong name identification of Roybal on the Eastside was compared by some Democrats to the clout that the Kennedy name has had in national politics.

In a victory celebration held in a hall called Kennedy in East Los Angeles, it was Roybal who declared his daughter the victor.

“She is declared the winner!” Roybal shouted to about 200 cheering supporters. Allard, taking the stage, thanked campaign workers but made no victory speech.

In an interview at the victory party, she attributed her victory to “excellent support and the fact that we ran a full-fledged campaign and didn’t take the 56th District for granted.”

Allard, 45, was considered an early front runner because of her father. Her family affiliation--and the support of Molina, other prominent Latino politicians and from major contributors--made Allard the candidate to beat in a race that lacked new or striking issues to set the candidates apart.

The district covers Civic Center, part of Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Boyle Heights, unincorporated East Los Angeles and the cities of Commerce, Maywood, Vernon and Bell Gardens. The area includes the site of a proposed Eastside prison, which Molina fought vehemently when she was in the Assembly. Each candidate in Tuesday’s election had pledged to carry on the fight against any prison site in the district.

The major controversy of the campaign centered on Allard, a planner with United Way, who described herself as one who “works real hard and concentrate(s) on my objective. . . . My style is not confrontation. It’s more diplomatic, respectful.” She decided to run, she said, after a Molina aide decided not to run “and I thought, why not?” But rivals said she sought to virtually inherit the seat.

“There’s a lot of resentment about elected officials handing it to someone, deciding behind closed doors that there is a consensus candidate,” said Garcia. “Whose consensus? Lucille is not known.”

But Latino politicians’ near-unanimous backing of Allard did serve a purpose. It forged agreement, at least temporarily, among former antagonists--Molina and two fellow Democrats, Councilman Richard Alatorre and state Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles)--all of whom backed Allard. Alatorre and Torres had placed their political weight behind school board member Larry Gonzalez, Molina’s opponent in her February council race. Molina won, but not without damaged feelings on both sides.

The special 56th District Assembly race, on the other hand, inspired no such tug-of-war. But Allard’s opponents united in their criticism of her as a political novice taking advantage of family connections.

Allard raised $108,000, far more than other candidates, according to her April 25 campaign contribution report. That total does not include several more recent contributions to Allard, including $2,500 from Molina, $2,500 from the Women’s Political Committee, and several thousand from union political action committees.

Focus on Experience

Garcia reported raising only $7,676 and spending $7,877. He considered his experience of 14 years in state government, three terms in the Assembly and a two in the Senate as an advantage because many voters were already accustomed to seeing his name on a ballot.

But with that familiarity came negative publicity, notably during a bitter reelection race he lost in 1982 and published reports of what another state senator termed Garcia’s “drinking problem.” Garcia, 57, has denied having a drinking problem, saying the reports were “never proven.”

In the current race he did not campaign actively, shunning the endorsement meetings that several candidates attended. “I’m seeking only the voters’ endorsement,” Garcia said.

Second to Allard in fund-raising was Dimas, who reported $21,526 in contributions. Dimas, 46, is a Los Angeles County deputy sheriff and a city councilman in Commerce. A recent $50-per-person fund-raiser yielded $10,000 and accounts for most of his contributions.

Dimas received endorsements from several officials in Commerce, Maywood, Vernon and Bell Gardens. He had banked much of his hope on a higher turnout in Commerce, where he is best known.

“The people in this district don’t want anyone to tell them who to vote for,” Dimas said. “I’ve lived here more than half my life and people want help for their businesses, redevelopment, education. Not someone telling them who to vote for.”

Stress on Leadership

Delgadillo, a former aide to Rep. Matthew Martinez (D-Monterey Park), who is now a contract compliance representative for the Southern California Rapid Transit District, said she represents “new blood, new leadership” for the district. Delgadillo, 37, reported contributions of $5,424, in addition to a recent $1,500 contribution from Democratic activist Lucy Casado.

Other Democrats in the race included Craig Freis, 43, who ran for Los Angeles County tax assessor last year and who said he would give back his salary at the end of a term if he could not reduce crime 50%. Another candidate, Lowell (Ernie) Akui, who described himself as an anti-prison coordinator, also had run for office before.

Three Republicans sought the office. Tomas Alvarado, 39, a former legislative aide in Sacramento, who opposes sex education clinics in schools, concentrated his campaign in heavily Republican pockets within the district. Victor Chuck Valencia, 49, a businessman, said he wanted to promote welfare reform. Hank Ramey, a 22-year-old student, said he ran because he is “tired of machine politics.”

Gloria Garcia, 32, the candidate for the Peace and Freedom Party, said she hoped to appeal “to people who are fed up with the Republicans and the Democrats.”

Also contributing to election coverage were Steven R. Churm, Alma Cook, David Ferrell, Kevin Fox, Mary E. Gilstrap, Bill McElhaney, Jeffrey A. Perlman, Richard Simon, Jill Stewart and Ted Vollmer.

THE VOTE

100% Precincts Reporting Votes % Democratic *Lucille Roybal Allard 5,443 61.9 James B. Dimas 1,440 16.4 Alex P. Garcia 702 8.0 Monica Delgadillo 224 2.6 Lowell Akui 93 1.1 Craig Freis 28 0.3 Republican Tomas Alvarado 340 3.9 Victor Chuck Valencia 169 1.9 Hank Ramey 118 1.3 Peace & Freedom Gloria Garcia 235 2.7

Elected candidate is marked witn an asterisk (*).