Rivals Getting In Their Last Shots in 2nd Council District Race

Los Angeles City Council candidate Tony Cardenas attacked opponent Wendy Greuel on Wednesday for her role in the controversial Playa Vista project, while she criticized Cardenas, a state assemblyman, for the state budget deficit.

With Tuesday’s election just days away and control of the council potentially at stake, both contenders have flooded the east San Fernando Valley’s 2nd Council District with mail attacking each other.

In a new mailer and on a live radio debate, Cardenas criticized Greuel for her role as an executive with DreamWorks SKG in negotiating with the city for $35 million in tax credits for a project to build a movie studio as part of the large Playa Vista development near Marina del Rey.

“My record shows I bring resources to the Valley,” Cardenas said on radio station KPCC-FM (89.3). “Her record shows that she lobbied to get a $35-million tax credit for a project over by the waterfront, not for the San Fernando Valley.”

Cardenas’ mailer asserted that “as a lobbyist for a $35-million city tax credit for her company’s development on the beach, Wendy was taking money from the Valley.”

Greuel called the charge “preposterous.” She said she was never a lobbyist, the DreamWorks project was canceled in 1999, and it was never planned on the beach.

She said that Cardenas shares some of the blame for the state’s budget problems because he served as chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee until recently.

“You need to take responsibility that we have a $17-billion deficit,” Greuel said.

Cardenas said as head of the Budget Committee he was instrumental last year in creating a $2.5-billion state reserve fund.

“I put together the biggest budget reserve ever,” he said during the debate. “After Sept. 11, it went downhill fast.”

He said the loss of tens of thousand of jobs after the terrorist attacks, as well as the loss of dozens of conventions in California, hurt the state budget.

Greuel and Cardenas are competing to fill the council seat in a district representing Studio City, Sunland-Tujunga, Shadow Hills, La Tuna Canyon and parts of North Hollywood, Mission Hills, Lake View Terrace, Arleta, Valley Village, Van Nuys and Panorama City.