On the surface, there are few differences between businesswoman Christine Essel and Assemblyman Paul Krekorian, who face off Tuesday in the special election for the 2nd City Council District seat.

Both agree on the need to boost business development, deal with runaway film production and pay more attention to neighborhood needs in a district that stretches from Studio City to Sun Valley.

"This election is about an opportunity to restructure government, to put together reforms to make the city more efficient," Essel said at a recent debate.

Krekorian has tried to tap into voter anger.

"Much of what's going on in this city is not working anymore," Krekorian said. "I think I can bring about the change that is needed."

The disagreements have been more over style and resumes than policy. Essel paints Krekorian as a career politician seeking to remain in elected office while Krekorian portrays Essel as the candidate of the downtown power structure.

The election will decide who completes the 18 months left on the term of Wendy Greuel, who was elected controller earlier this year. It has been the second most expensive City Council race in history, with more than $1.3 million raised and spent, according to the most recent Ethics Commission reports.

Most observers say the election is a toss up - even with Essel having a major fundraising edge of 2-1 over Krekorian - in a district where voter fatigue is expected

to keep turnout below 15 percent. This is the fourth election this year in which voters in the district have been asked to go to the polls.In recent days, the campaign has turned sharply negative.

Essel had accused the Krekorian campaign of burglarizing her campaign office to take a letter from Villaraigosa. The Krekorian campaign sloughed off the accusation and called it a waste of time.

A last-minute mailing by the Essel campaign created a weekend controversy with accusations of sexism and anti-semitism. Essel sent out a picture of City Hall with barbed wire wrapped around it and a headline: "Intolerance has no place at City Hall."

The Essel campaign recently created its own anti-Krekorian webage, www.truthaboutpaul.com/, that portrays him as a political opportunist who favors tax hikes and accepts gifts and contributions from special interests.

Krekorian, in turn, has criticized Essel for the amount of money spent on her campaign by city unions. In particular, he has attacked the amounts spent by the IBEW local, which represents workers at he Department of Water and Power.

Essel's campaign has benefitted by more than $170,000 from the IBEW, primarily for mailings to the district. The Los Angeles Police Protective League has spent more than $400,000 on her campaign, including radio and cable television commercials.

Krekorian, 49, has represented the Valley Glen portion of the district - where he moved to qualify for the ballot - since 2006 after serving for four years on the Burbank Board of Education.

He now serves as assistant majority leader in the Assembly and is seeking to become the sixth state legislator among the city's current slate of elected officials. The caravan of state politicians began with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a former Assembly speaker who was elected to the council before becoming mayor, followed by former state lawmakers Richard Alarcon, Tony Cardenas, Herb Wesson and Paul Koretz.

Essel, 59, who also had to move into the district to qualify for the election, began her work at Paramount Pictures beginning as an accountant and moving up to senior vice president. She later served as director of the California Film Commission.

She has been involved in civic and government affairs since 1992 when then-Mayor Tom Bradley appointed her to the Community Redevelopment Agency. Mayor Richard Riordan re-appointed her, while Villaraigosa later named her to the Airport Commission.

Both have stressed their roots in the Valley. Essel grew up in the Chatsworth area and graduated from California State University, Northridge.

Krekorian grew up in the Van Nuys area, also attending local schools. He worked his way through the University of Southern California and received his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He worked in private practice for a number of years and, in 2002, ran for the Burbank Board of Education. In 2006, he left that post when he was elected to the state Assembly.

The two emerged from a crowded field of 10 candidates, most of them from neighborhood councils or activists in other areas.

Much of the campaign has been fueled by the neighborhood councils, who have sponsored a number of forums and debates to try to press their agenda and generate public interest.

It has worked to some extent. City election officials said nearly 22,000 absentee ballots had been requested and more than 9,800 returned.