ELECTIONS / L.A. CITY COUNCIL 5TH DISTRICT : Opponents Rap Yaroslavsky for Skipping Forum

By HUGO MARTIN

March 31, 1995 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Barbara Yaroslavsky, the favorite for the vacant 5th District City Council seat, came under renewed fire Thursday when she missed a candidates debate in Van Nuys and sent City Controller Rick Tuttle in her place.

“This shows tremendous disdain for the public,” said an angry Roberta Weintraub, a former school board member who is vying for the same council post. “I think it’s time for Mrs. Yaroslavsky to speak for herself.”

Candidates Jeff Brain, a Sherman Oaks businessman, and Mike Feuer, the former head of a free legal center, also criticized Yaroslavsky, saying she was depriving voters of a chance to pose questions to her.

“I came here to debate Barbara Yaroslavsky, not Rick Tuttle,” Brain told the crowd of about 50 at the Valley Cities Jewish Community Center.

Yaroslavsky, whose husband, Zev, held the council post for 19 years before resigning in December to become a county supervisor, is considered the front-runner because of her name recognition and her ability to raise money. So far, she has accumulated about $362,000, leading all candidates.

A Yaroslavsky campaign spokeswoman said Thursday that the candidate could not attend because of a conflict with a previously scheduled event.

But Weintraub charged that Yaroslavsky has missed 10 scheduled forums in March, and Brain suggested she is staying away from the debates because she performs poorly at public events.

In defense of Yaroslavsky, Tuttle, who has endorsed Yaroslavsky, said she has attended at least seven forums this month.

“If she goes to every forum . . . it would take from the thrust of her campaign,” Tuttle said.

The crowd appeared disappointed. Some shook their heads in disgust when Tuttle took the floor.

“You did not come out to see Rick Tuttle,” Weintraub told the crowd. “You came out to see Rick Brain, Mike Feuer, Roberta Weintraub and Barbara Yaroslavsky.”

The 5th District stretches from Sherman Oaks to West Los Angeles. The primary is April 11.