Candidates Jostle for Open Assembly Seats : Campaign: 23 Democrats file for primaries in the 41st, 42nd and 47th districts. Friedman’s and Margolin’s seats will be vacant, and Moore’s may be.

Lured by the prospect of up to three open seats, a flock of would-be Westside state legislators, most of them Democrats, have declared their intention to run for the Assembly.

In all, 23 Democrats have signed on for the June 7 primary in the 41st, 42nd and 47th Assembly districts.

The first two seats are being vacated by Democratic Assemblymen Terry B. Friedman (D-Brentwood) and Burt Margolin (D-Los Angeles).

Assemblywoman Gwen Moore (D-Los Angeles) has declared both for her current Assembly seat and for secretary of state. However, the mere possibility that she might seek statewide office has opened the floodgates. Eight Democrats, including Kevin Murray, the son of longtime Assemblyman Willard Murray, have thrown their hats in the ring.

Candidates have until March 11 to make a final decision on which office, if any, they will seek.

In an exception to crowded fields elsewhere, first-term Assemblywoman Debra Bowen (D-Marina del Rey) of the 53rd Assembly District, which includes part of the Westside, has the Democratic primary to herself. Moreover, only two Republicans, both of them relatively unknown, will vie to take her on in November.

Amid persistent rumors that she is in line for a job in the Clinton Administration, state Sen. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles) declared her intention to seek reelection in the 26th State Senate District.

Veteran state Sen. Ralph Dills (D-Gardena) is running in the newly drawn 28th Senate District, much of which is new territory for him. Among his Democratic primary opponents is Torrance City Councilman George Nakano. David Barrett Cohen, who unsuccessfully challenged Rep. Mel Levine several years ago, is the only Republican in the race.

The 41st Assembly District, now represented by Friedman, is a mixed Westside-Valley area that has drawn candidates from both sides of the mountain, but the field is mostly Westsiders.

On the Democratic side, the declared candidates include Sheila Kuehl, a women’s rights attorney from Santa Monica; Roger Diamond, a Pacific Palisades attorney who led the fight against oil drilling in the Palisades; and attorney Bill Rothbard, also from Pacific Palisades. Rothbard, who is on the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Board, was an unsuccessful applicant for the job of Santa Monica city attorney.

Kuehl, an expert on spousal abuse, said the issues in the race will be public safety, education and health care. Early on, however, the toughest challenge will be getting exposure, she acknowledged.

“It will be a battle for recognition,” she said.

A key question in this race is how much Friedman will be able to promote his friend Rothbard. As a candidate for Superior Court judge, Friedman must follow the judicial canons of ethics, which bar political endorsements.

From the Valley, Calabasas Councilwoman Lesley Devine and John Shallman are also in the 41st District race. The others in the Democratic field are Edward Tabash, a Malibu attorney, and Pat McGuire.

Republicans declaring their intention to run in the 41st District primary are Michael Meehan, Peter Eason and Stu Stitch.

The contest for the seat being vacated by Margolin is even more crowded, with eight Democrats declaring for the post. Among the contenders are environmental activist Laura Lake, Los Angeles Unified School District board member Mark Slavkin and West Hollywood council members Abbe Land and Paul Koretz.

Los Angeles Community College board Trustee Wally Knox and gay rights attorney John Duran are also on board.

“It’s wide open,” said Lake, who sees the issues as people’s fear for their safety, their jobs and their children’s futures.

The lone Republican in this slam-dunk Democratic district is Robert Davis.

Noticeably absent from the Westside political equation so far is the organization headed by Reps. Howard Berman and Henry Waxman, which has dominated Westside politics in past contests but has not publicly backed any of the candidates in this year’s races.

“Everyone wants to know what the heck the Waxman-Berman people are doing,” said Republican consultant Allan Hoffenblum.

Open Seating

There’s no shortage of Democrats who have declared an intention to run for two open Westside Assembly seats. Among them:

* Sheila Kuehl, who once played Zelda Gilroy in the Sitcom “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,” founded the California Women’s Law Center.

* Paul Koretz, a West Hollywood city councilman, is active in the anti-smoking movement.

* Laura Lake is an environmental activist who failed in two bids for the Los Angeles City Council.

* Mark Slavkin represents the Westside on the Los Angeles Unified School District board.

The Candidates 41ST ASSEMBLY DISTRICT Includes Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades, Calabasas and Agoura Hills

* Democrat: Lesley Devine, Roger Diamond, Sheila Kuehl, Pat McGuire, Bill Rothbard, John Shallman, Edward Tabash

* Republican: Michael Meehan, Peter Eason, Stu Stitch

* Libertarian: Philip Baron

* Green: Jill Swift

42ND ASSEMBLY DISTRICT Includes Beverly Hills, West Los Angeles and Westwood

* Democrat: John Duran, Wally Knox, Paul Koretz, Laura Lake, Abbe Land, Bruce Margolin, Mark Slavkin, Stephanie Van Vliet

* Republican: Robert Davis

* Libertarian: Eric Fine

* Peace and Freedom: Hugo Rassmussen

47TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT

Includes Culver City, Palms and West Los Angeles * Democrat: Jimmie Gray, Ed Johnson, Marsha Kimble, Neil Liss, Gwen Moore (incumbent), Kevin Murray, Leslie Roberson, Valerie Shaw, Rudolph Thompson

* Republican: Kathleen Brundo, Jonathan Leonard

* Libertarian: Kevin Murphy

* Peace and Freedom: Tamara Taleebah

26TH SENATE DISTRICT Includes Culver City, Palms and West Los Angeles

* Democrat: Diane Watson (incumbent)

* Republican: Lynne Davidson, Joe Piechowski

* Libertarian: Bob Weber

* Peace and Freedom: Yassin Saededdin

28TH SENATE DISTRICT Includes Venice, Mar Vista, Marina del Rey and Playa del Rey

* Democrat: Ralph Dills (incumbent), George Nakano, Jo Ann Rodda, Michael Sidley

* Republican: David Barrett Cohen

* Libertarian: Neal Arvid Donner

* Peace and Freedom: Cindy V. Herderson