City’s Youngest Councilman Attains Heartthrob Status

Alex Padilla, sex symbol?

Apparently so, if Fox 11 News is to be believed.

The city’s youngest councilman is “tall, dark, handsome, nice, smart and quite popular,” according to a recent broadcast.

Padilla, 26, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology grad who grew up in Pacoima, seemed a bit embarrassed when reporter Linda Mour pressed him to divulge the secret to his allure. He confessed he had no “talking points” on the matter and glanced off camera, as if seeking out an aide to help him.

Such modesty clearly has its appeal, however.

“At a recent black-tie affair, we watched as the women went after him,” Mour said, cutting to a video clip of Padilla surrounded by a horde of female fans at a Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund event last week.

“He’s a young city councilman,” said his spokesman, David Gershwin. “He ain’t bad looking, either.”

Padilla needn’t be shy about his newfound heartthrob status. After all, he’s in good company. Another city leader, Police Chief Bernard Parks, was named one of the 50 “most beautiful people in the world” last year by People magazine. After his TV appearance, however, Padilla was playing hard to get. He dodged questions on Wednesday about whether he has a girlfriend, saying only: “I’m dating. I’m a single guy.”

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STUNTED FROM THE START: With great fanfare and urgency, the Los Angeles City Council voted in July to assemble a team of top city administrators to negotiate with DreamWorks SKG for a film studio in North Hollywood.

Although DreamWorks, which had just abandoned plans in Playa Vista, said it wasn’t interested, the motion by City Councilman Joel Wachs of Studio City proposed that the city “immediately” put together a package of incentives to offer the film company.

So what has happened?

Nothing.

Four months later, no negotiating team has met with the representatives of the studio founded by media moguls Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen.

Tom Henry, an aide to Wachs, said he has lobbied Chief Legislative Analyst Ron Deaton, who was put in charge of the project, for faster action.

Deaton said this week there is nothing to report.

“We’re trying to schedule some time with them, but it’s on the back-burner,” Deaton said.

Was Wachs’ urgent action just a stunt to get publicity for his mayoral campaign? He had announced his candidacy just one week before.

Henry insisted that Wachs was serious about the motion, but noted that another firm, Jarco, is going ahead with plans for a studio development in North Hollywood.

“If DreamWorks [was] looking like it was interested in the site, we’d be very frustrated,” Henry said. “But we have plenty of other things to be frustrated about.”

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CRAVING THE SPOTLIGHT: Direct Line Partners, which includes former Burbank Mayor Michael Hastings and Los Angeles city contractor Larry Kosmont, has been helping the CIVIC Foundation and Valley VOTE get organized and develop an outreach program.

Hastings said he is working on the commission to get the public more focused on the Valley’s possible secession from Los Angeles, now that the Local Agency Formation Commission is about to launch a study of the issue.

In particular, Hastings said he will try to get Los Angeles radio and television stations to provide more educational information on secession.

“I don’t think it will be that big a challenge. The LAUSD is helping us,” Hastings said, referring to controversies that have plagued the Los Angeles Unified School District and have sparked calls for the district’s breakup.

CIVIC was formed by city commissioners and Valley business leaders Bert Boeckmann and David Fleming to provide educational and research resources during the commission’s study.

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FUND-RAISING APPEAL: When it comes to drawing deep pockets to a campaign fund-raiser, which works best? A national political figure or a Hollywood actress?

Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon (R-Santa Clarita) covered his bases during a recent fund-raiser by inviting both.

McKeon reported raising $100,000 for his 2000 reelection campaign at a recent event in Granada Hills that featured both House Majority Leader Dick Armey and actress Morgan Brittany.

Armey was the featured speaker, and Brittany, a former star of the television series “Dallas,” was the emcee.

Armey’s talk about lowering taxes and reducing government was well received, but it didn’t hurt to have a Hollywood actress on the bill as well, said David Foy, a campaign spokesman.

“Morgan Brittany obviously has a certain appeal,” Foy said. “L.A. is a very celebrity-conscious town. But it’s hard to find actors willing to go out and do something like this and admit that they support Republicans.”

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CYBER-CHIC: Slowly, the marvels of the info-tech age are catching up with the sluggish bureaucracy at City Hall. Of course, there’s nothing like an election to spur progress.

Witness the fresh face of Councilwoman Laura Chick’s newest Web page, a lovely ensemble of green and beige featuring a soft, blurry-edged photo of the councilwoman and inviting links such as “Get to know Laura.”

Chick has been in office six years, but she has especially been interested in getting to know you these days, as she gears up to run for city controller in 2001. The new Web site, launched Friday, may help the councilwoman introduce herself to a broader audience.

“I think it is an opportunity for people who are not familiar with her to get an idea of what she thinks, not just about the council, but about the whole city.” said Gary Boze, Chick’s spokesman.

The site is chock-full of useful information for constituents as well--a striking contrast to many other council Web pages, which offer little more than generic listings of local libraries and bland descriptions of council districts. Visitors to Chick’s virtual home can check out a handy guide to business permits or find out how to get involved with her Neighborhood Planning Advisory Councils.

“What we tried to do is give it a more personal touch, a flair for Laura,” Boze said.

Some of Chick’s Valley colleagues, including Wachs, Hal Bernson and John Ferraro, would do well to steal a page, so to speak, from the councilwoman. None of the three politicians--all old-guard councilmen elected decades ago--offer even a biography on their Web sites. Under a spot marked “Latest News,” Wachs--a mayoral candidate who recently announced publicly that he is gay--had nary a word to say, while Ferraro did not bother to point out that he is the council’s president.

At least Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, who also neglected to include a bio, departed from the standard-issue city Web page with a few features, such as “Meet Your CD11 Staff.” Too bad at least two of the staff members listed no longer work for her.

Newly minted Councilman Padilla, meanwhile, is planning an overhaul of his cyber-image.

The chairman of the council’s Information Technology Committee, Padilla currently offers the basic menu of Web site choices, but he’s jazzed up the format a little so viewers can find out where the councilman goes to church and check out color photos of him reading to children.

Padilla spokesman Gershwin allowed that Chick’s new site looked swell, but said his vote for best picture went to Wachs, for his studied black-and-white profile.

“He looks like a ‘40s movie star,” he said.