1st District Race Comes Into Focus : Supervisors: Rep. Martinez and state Sen. Torres prepare to join Gloria Molina and Sarah Flores as candidates. Alatorre bows out.

The field of candidates jostling for the powerful post of Los Angeles County supervisor in the 1st District came into sharper focus Tuesday as U.S. Rep. Matthew G. Martinez and state Sen. Art Torres prepared to enter the race while City Councilman Richard Alatorre bowed out.

In what is becoming a battle royal, Martinez (D-Monterey Park) and Torres (D-Los Angeles) are expected to join City Councilwoman Gloria Molina and Sarah Flores on the Jan. 22 ballot in the newly created, heavily Latino district.

In planning to enter the race, Martinez and Torres--both well-known Latino Democrats--appear to deliver a fatal blow to Molina’s efforts to establish herself as the consensus Democratic candidate.

Officially, the race is nonpartisan, but Democrats contend that the election of Flores, a Republican backed by conservative Supervisors Mike Antonovich and Deane Dana, would represent a continuation of the policies of the board’s conservative majority.

Torres scheduled a news conference for today to announce his plans. He could not be reached Tuesday, but sources close to him said he intends to run.

Martinez also could not be reached. An aide to the congressman said his boss picked up candidacy papers Tuesday to run for the seat.

State Sen. Charles M. Calderon (D-Whittier) said Tuesday that he is considering running for the seat, being vacated by retiring Supervisor Pete Schabarum.

The Jan. 22 election was ordered by U.S. District Judge David V. Kenyon, who ruled that the district boundaries drawn by the all-Anglo Board of Supervisors diluted the voting power of the county’s 3 million Latinos. He approved a new 1st District designed to help elect the first Latino to the county board this century.

Alatorre left City Hall on Tuesday, leaving behind only a statement announcing that he would not be a candidate for supervisor.

“Running for two offices at the same time seems selfish and is not fair to my constituents,” said the statement. Alatorre is up for reelection to the council in April. He had expressed concern about whether he could legally run for supervisor and the council at the same time.

Molina, a longtime rival to Alatorre, said, “I think that Richard has realized there are a lot of people in his own district who are not really happy with him.”

Of Torres’ expected candidacy, Molina pointed out that she has gone up against the state senator before and won, defeating a Torres-backed candidate to win election to the council in 1987. Molina worked for Torres when he was an assemblyman.

“I have always been up against tough opponents,” Molina said. “I’m going to work very hard to make the opposition . . . known for what it is. The opposition is Sarah Flores, not Art Torres or anyone else.”

Flores said she had mixed feelings about Alatorre’s departure from the race. She said she might have been helped in the race with Alatorre and Molina cutting into each other’s support. However, in the end, Flores said she was glad that Alatorre, a potentially strong challenger, declined to run.

“I think I’m going to ask for Mr. Alatorre’s support,” Flores said.

Of Torres’ possible candidacy, she said, “He is a tough candidate. . . . But I am tough.”

Calderon, whose Senate district takes in about 45% of the new supervisorial district, said, “I’m going to ensure that the San Gabriel Valley has a voice (on the Board of Supervisors). If it means I have to run, I will consider that.”

Calderon said Molina’s ties are to Los Angeles’ Eastside, which is a different community from those in the San Gabriel Valley.

“You’ll find a more moderate to conservative political philosophy” in the San Gabriel Valley, Calderon said. “You’ll find less of a tie to the partisan line in the San Gabriel Valley than you might find in other parts of the county.”

Calderon said he was disturbed that he and other Latino officials, including Flores, were excluded from recent closed-door meetings to choose a consensus candidate from the Latino community.

“Sarah Flores should have been there,” he said. “I don’t care about her party. We should have included more of the leadership there. There are many elected officials in this San Gabriel Valley that may not have an interest in running, but certainly have in interest in who gets elected.”