Molina Allies, Rivals Weigh Council Pick

Allies of City Councilwoman Gloria Molina said Wednesday that they will announce a candidate for her empty council seat within a week, while Molina’s rivals said they would hold off in deciding whether to back an alternative candidate.

The most frequently mentioned contender from Molina’s camp is Mike Hernandez, a Latino community activist who narrowly lost a 1986 state Assembly race to Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles).

Hernandez, who campaigned almost daily for Molina in her victorious race for county supervisor, acknowledged Wednesday that he is seriously considering running for the council seat that will be open when Molina joins the Board of Supervisors on March 8.

“I am trying to find out if I have a base of support among Latino leaders and community people before I decide whether to announce,” Hernandez said Wednesday at Molina’s campaign headquarters in South El Monte. “I am seriously considering the race.”

At a news conference, Molina told reporters that she has not yet decided whom to back. “I am very concerned that it be somebody with a style very similar to mine--interested in services and in responding to the problems of residents in my district,” she said.

Molina’s seat will be filled in a special election on a date to be determined by the City Council.

Three of the five minority-held council seats are up for grabs this year because incumbents are not running. The other open minority seats are those of Councilman Robert Farrell, who is stepping down, and Councilman Gilbert Lindsay, who died. Both seats will be filled April 9.

Other names suggested to succeed Molina include state Assemblywoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Los Angeles), Molina campaign manager Alma Martinez and Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Ed Avila. However, those potential candidates have stated recently that they are not interested in the post.

It was unclear Wednesday whether Molina’s rivals--particularly Councilman Richard Alatorre and state Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles), whom Molina defeated Tuesday--would promote a competing candidate for her council seat.

Reached at his parents’ Montebello home, Torres declined to speculate on who would run for Molina’s seat and whom he would support.

Al Avila, an aide to Alatorre, said Alatorre also has not made any decisions. He said Alatorre will wait to see whether Molina backs anyone against him during his bid for reelection to the City Council this year.

“There is no doubt about it, (Molina) has got a machine,” Avila said. Alatorre, he said, is waiting to see “if she decides to help somebody against us. . . . It all depends what kind of attitude she has.”

Hernandez, the most likely candidate for Molina’s seat at this point, lost to Polanco by about 300 votes in 1986. The race was an unusually bitter one, in which Polanco repeatedly attacked Hernandez for his family’s business--running a bail bond company.

The race left deep divisions between local Latino leaders, with Alatorre backing Polanco and Rep. Edward R. Roybal (D-Los Angeles) supporting Hernandez.

Henry Lozano, administrative assistant to Roybal, said he hopes a candidate backed by Roybal and Molina will be announced within the week.

“We are looking for someone who can really work with people, as Gloria could,” Lozano said. “We also want someone to be team player from within the district, a home-grown product who’s well-known and has had a lot of contact in the community.”

Contributing to this story were Times staff writers Hector Tobar and Richard Simon.