The 15th Dustrict Race : Flores Expected to Retain Council Seat

As the campaign for the 15th District seat on the Los Angeles City Council enters its final days, observers across the district and at City Hall say two things are certain:

First, it will take a dramatic upset--one of proportions rarely seen in city politics--to oust incumbent Joan Milke Flores from the Watts-to-San Pedro district she has represented since 1981.

Second, some residents nonetheless want to make sure Flores doesn’t get too comfortable and will vote for her two opponents, Wilmington activist Jo Ann Wysocki and South Los Angeles write-in candidate Clifford E. McClain.

“We don’t think (Wysocki) has a chance in the world, but we would like to scare Flores a little bit,” said one Wilmington resident, predicting that many voters in that port-side community will vote for Wysocki.

With Flores’ reelection a virtual certainty, however, community leaders from various parts of the district have been reluctant to publicly criticize her because “we cannot afford to alienate her,” as one of them said.

The situation has been particularly sensitive in Wilmington, where Wysocki has her political base and where strong anti-Flores sentiment helped unite the community in the early 1980s. For years, Wilmington residents--rallied by leaders of the Wilmington Home Owners, the community’s largest homeowners group--complained that Flores ignored problems in Wilmington and did not respond to requests for better services.

Relations between Flores and Wilmington residents have gradually improved as Flores devoted more time and resources to the community and agreed to residents’ demands to restrict apartment construction. Although Wysocki, vice president of the homeowners group, complains that the councilwoman still has not done enough, others in the group say it is time to work with Flores rather than fight her.

“In the past, I think we maybe didn’t use her office the way we should,” said Simie Seaman, a Flores supporter who serves on the homeowners board of directors. “I have found out that by contacting her and keeping her informed, things get done. The things we have been strong on, we are getting a response from her.”

The split in the homeowners group has created an awkward situation during the campaign. Many members are hesitant to offend Wysocki, who is a co-founder of the group and has been one of its most dedicated members. At the same time, some members are eager to ingratiate themselves with Flores, whom they see as Wilmington’s ticket to better times.

“Even if Jo Ann would win,” one Wilmington resident said, “she would never have the clout that Flores has on the City Council.”

As a result, the homeowners organization--usually a leader in community activities--has been notably absent from the 15th District campaign debate. “If this were a case that was so clear that 99.9% of the community felt one way or the other, then we would probably take a lead and voice that opinion, and even do some campaigning,” said Peter Mendoza, the group’s president, who said the group’s board voted that he should maintain a public stance of neutrality.

“We have made some progress now with the council office, where the organization now has a little more respect and there is a little more communication. Things are improving.”

The group sponsored sessions with Mayor Tom Bradley and his two leading challengers, but it never invited Flores, Wysocki or McClain for a pre-election meeting with its members. And Mendoza said he has been instructed by the board to maintain a public stance of neutrality.

The group, however, has allowed Wysocki to keep her post as vice president during the campaign--something several members say is inappropriate--and some of its members have openly declared their support for one candidate or another.

Others decline to say in interviews whom they support, but have indicated in other ways how they may feel--board member Olivia Cueva Fernandez, for example, has a Wysocki campaign sign outside her home.

Wysocki said early in the campaign that she would seek the homeowners’ endorsement, but later backed off once she realized how divisive the request would be. Regardless, she said, she has broad support within the organization--with most of the 110 volunteers who have been making telephone calls for her campaign coming from its ranks.

Flores has avoided pressuring the group for an endorsement, saying she is confident that she has “good support” from the homeowners. She said she encourages activists--including Wysocki--to speak out when they feel her office has been unresponsive.

“In the past, the difficulty of getting anything done in Wilmington was that there was no strong coalition of citizens to work with,” Flores said. “An elected official can accomplish very little if the people of the community aren’t behind you and aren’t giving you direction as to what they want.”

Flores’ attitude toward Wilmington in many ways reflects her overall philosophy about government. The San Pedro resident is described by colleagues as a consensus builder who does her homework and consults with others before taking positions. While she has been a leader on some citywide issues--such as cable television franchises and matters relating to the Port of Los Angeles--she is generally not comfortable imposing her views.

At the local level, that philosophy translates into governing by citizen committees. In San Pedro, for example, Flores has set up committees to explore everything from the future of White Point park to pollution in San Pedro Bay. Flores, who rarely goes against recommendations generated by the committees, said in an interview that she sees them as her link to the people.

“The committees multiply my eyes and ears by 25 or 30,” Flores said. “You really are getting the widest kind of input that you can get. . . . The important thing is that it works and it makes the community a better place.”

But some critics complain that Flores uses the committees to avoid taking leadership on controversial issues. Last month, for example, Flores set up a committee to look into zoning issues in San Pedro, but only after a grass-roots group that advocates a ban on apartment construction began pressuring her to do something about the demolition of single-family homes.

“A lot of people think the committee is basically a smoke screen,” said Frank Fasulio, a member of the group. “There is an urgency in town for her to do something now.”

During the campaign, Wysocki has focused her criticism on Flores’ long record of government service, which, Wysocki says, falls short on accomplishment. Flores worked 25 years--13 as chief deputy--for former Councilman John S. Gibson Jr. before succeeding her boss in 1981. Wysocki said Flores’ sudden interest in Wilmington’s problems--such as efforts to gain waterfront access, control truck traffic and revitalize the downtown--is mere window dressing for years of neglect.

“She has had . . . years to do something about the problems, and she has not responded,” Wysocki said. “She has had her opportunity and has blown it.”

Wysocki, hoping to attract voters who have felt neglected, promises to bring more city services to the district. She says she would assign a full-time building and safety inspector to cite violators in the harbor area, hire a full-time traffic officer to ticket illegally parked trucks and post street-sweeping signs throughout the district.

Wysocki has collected $6,300 in donations--including $2,500 of her own money and $300 from her mother. She has spent most of her funds on postage, envelopes, advertising and printing. She is mailing about 4,000 copies of a two-sided campaign sheet to households “where people are known to vote”--mostly in San Pedro and Wilmington.

Write-in candidate McClain, 48, has focused his campaign in Watts and South Los Angeles, where he hopes to siphon enough votes from Flores to force a runoff. If no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers will face off on June 6. McClain, a community development consultant who has raised little campaign money, said Flores should do more for blacks and Latinos in the district --particularly in places such as Watts, where he says economic redevelopment has benefited more people outside the community than in it.

Flores, 52, has collected about $200,000 for her reelection and has been running on her record. She says she is most proud of her accomplishments in Wilmington over the past four years, although she also points to the long-awaited construction of the Sheraton hotel in downtown San Pedro, plans for a new recreational center in Harbor City and new commercial development in Watts.

Flores said in an interview that she enjoys working as a council member, although she hinted that she may set her sights higher after this election. She said she would consider a bid for mayor or county supervisor if either Mayor Tom Bradley or Supervisor Deane Dana left office.

“I don’t want to be in this job for ever,” she said. “People get stale. You get tired of doing the the same thing. But as long as it is a challenge, and I feel I can be successful, it is the very best kind of feeling you can get.”