Coming Down to Cases : The Times endorses 12 in Tuesday’s local elections

Destiny rides again Tuesday. Registered voters from the city of Los Angeles will go to the polls to decide key races for the City Council, the Board of Education and the Board of Trustees of the L.A. Community College District. Also on the ballot is the fate of two important bond issues.

On the Los Angeles City Council, eight seats are up for grabs--out of the council’s 15. But in three of the races (Districts 6, 8 and 10), The Times prefers not to endorse. The newspaper’s policy is not to endorse in every race merely for the sake of having made an endorsement, but to express our preferences selectively, on a case-by-case basis. Some races seem to us to present choices that offer a slender margin of difference, or to offer a list of too many comparably qualified candidates that will need to be winnowed down to two finalists in a likely runoff.

Here are the recommendations for Tuesday:

City Council

District 2: Joel Wachs

This 52-year-old incumbent councilman is attentive to the interests of his San Fernando Valley district.

District 4: John Ferraro

This likable six-term incumbent, representing Hancock Park, Los Feliz, Silver Lake and parts of the San Fernando Valley, is running unopposed.

District 6: No Endorsement

District 8: No Endorsement

District 9: Rita Walters

Ten candidates are running for this downtown/South-Central Los Angeles seat that opened up with the death last year of longtime incumbent Gilbert Lindsay. Rita Walters, who represented much of this district for 12 years as a school board member, is preferred in a close call over Lindsay aide Bob Gay.

District 10: No Endorsement

District 12: Walter Prince

Six candidates are running in this San Fernando Valley district--including the incumbent, Hal Bernson, school board member Julie Korenstein and businessman Walter Prince, who is thoughtful, informed and articulate.

District 14: Richard Alatorre

Three candidates are challenging incumbent Alatorre, but this should not be their day: Alatorre is a stand-up politician, who is flexible without being plastic.

Board of Education

District 1: Sterling Delone

Rita Walters’ ambition for the City Council opened up this South-Central Los Angeles seat. Of the eight candidates, the most knowledgeable is Delone.

District 3: Jeff Horton

Horton, a teacher and former aide to departing incumbent Jackie Goldberg, is a solid choice.

District 5: Leticia Quezada

Quezada, running for her second term, has been an outstanding school board member.

District 7: No Endorsement

L.A. Community College

Office No. 1: Wallace Knox

The incumbent, Knox, a lawyer, is the class of the field.

Office No. 3: Julia Li Wu

Incumbent Wu is an articulate and persuasive education advocate.

Office No. 5: Kenneth Washington

Twelve candidates filed; the best is Dr. Washington, who has an impressive background in both public and private education.

Office No. 7: David Lopez-Lee

Incumbent Dr. Lopez-Lee, a USC professor of public administration, is highly qualified.

Ballot Propositions

Proposition 1

(911 Improvements): Yes

The $235-million bond measure would end the dangerous penny-pinching with public safety.

Charter Amendment 2

(Contract Approvals): Yes

This technical amendment would clarify time periods for various contracts approved by the City Council.

Proposition C

(Community Colleges): Yes

The city’s community college system is the economic and intellectual lifeboat for many residents who otherwise might be unable to improve themselves; this $200-million bond measure is intended to expand and improve local community colleges.