Dana Shows New Image in Redistricting Vote : Politics: His plan provides election security for himself and three colleagues at the expense of Supervisor Pete Schabarum. The move strengthens Dana’s alliance with the liberal wing of the board.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Deane Dana has emerged as the power behind the scenes in the redistricting plan submitted to a federal court Wednesday as a possible settlement of a lawsuit seeking to increase Latino political clout.

Dana, sometimes working alone and sometimes with the county’s political consultant, drafted the plan that provides political security for himself and three colleagues at the expense of his one-time mentor, Supervisor Pete Schabarum. And, by casting the tie-breaking vote for the plan, Dana strengthened an alliance he has often forged with the board’s liberal minority.

“Soft-spoken, quiet Deane Dana turned out to be a pretty wily politician,” said Robert Naylor, former state Republican Party chairman.

The plan places Schabarum in a new, predominantly Latino district that may be difficult for him to hold. Dana benefits by exchanging Democratic areas such as Compton and Malibu, now in his district, for Republican strongholds in southeastern Los Angeles County.

Dana acknowledged that alternative plans could have hurt him politically and in seeking to develop his own plan, he said, “I wasn’t going to shoot myself in the foot.”

The proposal was the subject of a two-hour, closed-door meeting in court Wednesday between attorneys for the county and the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Afterward, Judge David V. Kenyon told reporters that the parties “are still working on this matter. . . . They have agreed not to discuss this matter (publicly) because it could harm their work.” Another meeting has been set for next Tuesday.

In the suit, the U.S. Justice Department and two civil rights groups have accused the supervisors of drawing their district lines in such a way as to preclude the election of a Latino to the five-member board.

Two Latino politicians who have expressed interest in running for the county board offered mixed opinions Wednesday on whether the plan is likely to settle the lawsuit.

Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alatorre said the county’s proposal creates a good opportunity for a Latino candidate and should be accepted with minor revisions.

Rep. Esteban E. Torres (D-La Puente) said the map leaves out areas with high Latino voter turnout, such as Montebello and Pico Rivera. “I don’t think the courts are going to accept that,” he said.

Still, Latino politicians generally agreed that the proposal was an important and positive step in the year-long legal dispute.

Although the suit was closely followed in the Hall of Administration, Dana said Schabarum showed no interest in the remapping until a week ago. Dana said he and Schabarum were driving back together to the county Hall of Administration from a Coliseum Commission meeting when Schabarum began “asking me what’s going on with this redistricting?”

“I said, you know, we really are going to have to do something . . . to satisfy the judge, or he will probably come out against us,” Dana said.

On Tuesday, Schabarum criticized the proposed settlement, saying that he and the Republican Party were sold out by Dana, a fellow Republican. Schabarum vowed to have the party pressure Dana into reconsidering his vote. The board is officially nonpartisan.

Schabarum, who was out of town Wednesday, could not be reached for comment. But his spokeswoman, Judy Hammond, said, “We want people to let him (Dana) know how upset they are that he put his own self-interest above the party’s interest. This isn’t just a Pete Schabarum-Deane Dana personality issue.

“This may result in a liberal majority on the board.”

Dana’s decision to vote with liberal Supervisors Ed Edelman and Kenneth Hahn in presenting the plan to the court was no surprise to political insiders.

Alan Clayton, state civil rights representative for the League of United Latin American Citizens, added, “Dana has been battling Schabarum at the board for a while.”

Schabarum helped elect Dana in 1980, and the two formed a conservative alliance on the board with Supervisor Mike Antonovich.

Since then, Dana has taken more moderate positions, teaming up with liberal supervisors on issues such as increased funding for social programs.

Dana insisted that he has not abandoned his Republican philosophy and often votes with Antonovich and Schabarum on a number of issues, such as private contracting of county services.

The combative Schabarum has increasingly found himself isolated from his conservative colleagues--to the point where Schabarum dispels the notion that a conservative majority exists any longer on the board.

Some state Republican officials said they doubt that GOP pressure will have any effect on the supervisors’ decision.

Naylor said Dana is “viewed as an independent force” who did not rise to power through the party structure and many GOP officials might be reluctant to get involved in what is viewed as a “local sandbox fight.”

Times staff writer Cathleen Decker contributed to this story.