The LAPD union, a political consultant and city councilman all came out on top. But LAPD Chief William J. Bratton, a developer and, yes, sea lions are all worse off.
It was a tough election cycle at Los Angeles City Hall. Now that the mailers and attack ads are behind us, whose fortunes rose -- and fell -- because of the whims of the electorate?
Winners
LAPD union: The Los Angeles Police Protective League spent nearly $746,000 on behalf of former prosecutor Carmen "Nuch" Trutanich, who defeated Councilman Jack Weiss in a runoff election. Even more significant: In a race that was notably nasty, the police union's ads were by and large positive.
Parke Skelton: The political consultant saw client Judy Chu, a member of the state Board of Equalization, come in first in the race for the 32nd Congressional District in the San Gabriel Valley. And in the race for a Westside seat on the Los Angeles City Council, Skelton client Paul Koretz, a former state assemblyman, narrowly pulled ahead of his opponent, neighborhood council member David T. Vahedi. They were separated by only 335 votes, but Koretz looks strong.
Councilman Dennis Zine: Although most of his colleagues either stuck with Weiss or stayed quiet, the San Fernando Valley councilman came out early and often for Trutanich, regularly going on talk radio to stump for his candidate. On election night, Zine predicted that other council members eventually would fall in line behind Trutanich -- once all of the results were in, of course.
Losers
Police Chief William J. Bratton: Already under fire this year for endorsing so many political candidates and causes, the LAPD chief has another problem: his candidates aren't winning. Weiss lost his bid for city attorney despite TV ads featuring Bratton. State Sen. Gil Cedillo, backed by Bratton, fell short in his bid for Congress. And, two months ago, Proposition E, a proposal making it easier for L.A. businesses to get taxpayer subsidies, went down to defeat. Those three losses come at a time when council members are unhappy with Bratton's tough talk about the city budget.
Developer Michael Rosenfeld: Who's he, you might ask? The man who wants to raze the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City and replace it with two 50-story towers, that's who! The only thing is, Rosenfeld announced his plan in the middle of a political campaign, immediately prompting both candidates for Los Angeles City Council to denounce it. Koretz went the extra mile, sending a letter to voters promising to do everything within his power to stop the demolition of the Space Age-era hotel.
Sea lions: There were plenty of TV ads featuring the cute little mammals in the final days of the campaign, with backers of Weiss pointing out that Trutanich, a defense attorney, had represented a man who admitted to shooting at sea lions. One mailer even featured the adorable creatures behind a bull's-eye! Still, the ads weren't quite the ace in the hole that Weiss' supporters hoped for. And L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca argued that it is unreasonable to equate a defense lawyer with the crimes of his client.
