Don’t Let Key Issues Get Lost in the Shouting

When I think of the local elections, my mind centers on the television advertisement Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti is using against his opponent, John Lynch.

As Lynch’s face ripples and changes colors in a sinister graphic process, he looks as though he is being taken over by a space alien. Through the brief commercial, Lynch appears to be fighting the alien, but losing.

I won’t get into the substance of the ad. This column is supposed to be a broad look at the impact of the local contests on our future and it would take most of my space to analyze Garcetti’s charges. Anyway, if it is true, as the ad implies, that the inner Lynch is now occupied by an alien from outer space, perhaps that would be a plus for the challenger. Nobody from this planet has had much success in running the D.A.’s office for the past several years.

What’s interesting about this ad is not its substance but the decision to use it. It was necessary for Garcetti to do something truly dramatic to get the public to notice his attacks on Lynch amid all the television and radio commercials for president and a long list of unusually complex ballot measures.

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Garcetti had it easy compared to others. The high visibility of the office, intensified by the O.J. Simpson case, has focused attention on the D.A.’s race, as has the expensive advertising campaign.

Another race attracting attention is the intense coastal area contest for Los Angeles County supervisor between Don Knabe, who has a well-financed advertising campaign, and Gordana Swanson.

But two ballot measures that, in the long run, are as important as the D.A. and supervisor contests are being lost in all the shouting.

One is the Los Angeles school bond issue. Proposition BB would authorize the Los Angeles Unified School District to issue $2.4 billion in bonds to repair and improve aging campuses. Air conditioning would be installed in schools in the most sweltering parts of the district. Old schools would be rewired, and lead paint removed. Computers would be installed. And playgrounds, some of which are pothole-ridden obstacle courses, would be fixed up.

This is going to cost property owners an annual property tax increase of about $38 for each $100,000 assessed valuation to repay the bonds. The tax increase, and the two-thirds vote required for passage, make this one a tough sell.

We can thank the late Howard Jarvis for the two-thirds requirement--Jarvis and the taxpayer revolution he led in 1978, when California voters approved the tax-limiting Proposition 13. Legitimate anger over the runaway property taxes of the era fueled the revolt. But the resulting law put a straitjacket on government agencies that supply basic services, such as public education.

There’s a way to win such an election--television and radio advertising, targeted mailings to public school families, door-to-door campaigning in precincts favorable to the schools. But that takes the money this campaign doesn’t have.

Another important local measure has also been submerged--Proposition B, the measure that would, for the first time, impose limits on campaign contributions in Los Angeles County elections.

It’s a badly needed campaign reform. The news from the presidential campaign reminds us each day that the current campaign contribution system is corrupting the political process. Most voters think it should be changed.

Possibly it will be. But it is just as possible that this worthwhile proposal will be lost in the noise of the political process.

With all the noise, how can we rise above the clutter and cast intelligent votes, particularly on the complex ballot measures?

Someone asked me that Wednesday night at a forum on ballot measures sponsored by the Show Coalition. I had moderated pro and con discussions of several state measures and, like everyone else in the room, was overwhelmed by the explanations and arguments.

I said it was a tough question. You could just vote no on everything as a protest to ballot bloat, but that would be pretty negative. I wouldn’t recommend that.

No, you’ve got to work at it.

Few have the time to read the text of all the measures. But you can study the endorsements of groups you trust--the Sierra Club, the NRA, the AARP or any other organization whose views you share.

Read the newspapers--recommendations, editorials and the stories. The dedicated might even read the summaries sent out by the state. And if you want the summaries, or want to participate in an Internet discussion, try the Center for Governmental Studies Web page, www.Democracynet.org.

This is heavy lifting. But look at it this way: It’s a contest, between you and the cynical political and advertising consultants who dominate the political process with their outrageous advertisements. Maybe this time, you’ll win.