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By HOWARD FINE

Staff Reporter

After 14 years on the City Council and 14 years prior to that in the state Assembly, Eastside lawmaker Richard Alatorre is stepping down on June 30.

He was the first Latino elected to the City Council in 25 years and the first Latino state legislator in decades to achieve key leadership posts. In both the council and the state Assembly, he left his stamp on redistricting plans that opened the way for more Latino representation perhaps his most enduring legacy.

But instead of being celebrated, the 55-year-old politician leaves office under a cloud of admitted personal failings and investigations into his personal and political dealings that many believe played a role in his decision to step down.

He has admitted to cocaine use throughout much of his career and was recently involved in a bitter custody battle involving his third wife’s niece, in which allegations of drug use played a central role. Earlier in his council career, he admitted to campaign-law and conflict-of-interest violations. Now, he faces federal investigations into his personal finances, including criminal allegations that he purchased his home in Eagle Rock with help from a businessman with city contracts and accepted $13,000 from Telacu, a business and social agency on the Eastside, to finance a roof for the home.

Even as he faced these allegations, Alatorre pressed on, winning council approval last month for the $158 million Adelante redevelopment project that he hopes will revitalize his district. He sat down last week with the Business Journal to discuss his career.

Q: What is the most important lesson you have learned during your years in office?

A: When I first came into this business, people were looking for things and people to blame for the ills of society. They blamed government and corporate greed. And I must admit to being one of those people. One thing I have learned since then, though, is that if you don’t have a healthy economy, the people you are representing are the ones who are being hurt by your advocacy against big business and small business. If you advocate against business, you are destroying the very thing you are seeking.

Without a vibrant economy, you can be the greatest advocate for the people whose lives you want to improve, and still they would be hurt.

Q: Since you first came on board the City Council, how has it changed?

A: I have a lot of respect for the institution and I don’t believe in tearing the institution down. But what you are seeing is ambition being more important than the institution you are a part of. And much of this can be traced back to term limits. I’ve never been a believer in term limits. I think term limits create an atmosphere of “Where do I go next?” rather than investing in becoming good at what you’re supposed to be about, which is representing your district.

Q: So you think term limits make people more ambitious?

A: Well, let me give you an example. There are people running for my seat, who haven’t been elected yet, who are already talking about running for mayor or for governor. That to me is idiotic. How about talking about getting elected and being given the opportunity to do a good job for the people you are representing? But now, with term limits, they are already looking at the next step.

Under term limits, the first term you learn where the toilet is, the second term you get to know a little bit about your district, and the third term you are transitioning out. And that’s if you last that long. Many people now go in for two years and then they are off to something else.

Q: When you consider some of the allegations that have been raised against you, they seem to belie what you’re saying. The allegations indicate a person who is interested in power and influence above all else. How do you explain that?

A: I’ve been in elected office for 28 years. If I was interested in greed and power, I’d be president of the United States by now. Look at some of the people in office now. They have held three offices in six years. That is not me… I’ve helped a lot of people, not in a negative sense but in a positive sense. I’ve helped a lot of kids get into college. I’ve helped people establish their businesses. That, to me, is what an elected official should be about.

Unfortunately, I don’t represent a wealthy community that has the economic resources to be able to do certain things. People rely on elected representatives to help them. If I’m guilty of helping people, then so be it.

The newspapers must have great admiration for me. They spend more time on me than almost any other local elected official. For the amount of time they’ve spent looking at me, apply it equally to everybody else. But it hasn’t been applied equally.

Q: But the fact remains, you are under federal investigation. There aren’t too many other elected officials in L.A. who fall into that category.

A: Look, if I look at you long enough, I’ll find a way to get you investigated. But you know what, I know that I can sleep at night and I can be proud of what I’ve done and the people I’ve helped and the things I have been able to accomplish.

Q: Yet you are leaving office under a cloud of allegations, and some say that’s what’s driving you out of office.

A: No, that’s not true. I have chosen to leave now, to retire. I wasn’t run out. I could have won re-election. There would have been a price to pay for that. But you know what, in my life, my family is more important. I mean that sincerely. Nobody ran me out. I believe I had 28 great beautiful years in elected office.

Being in politics has taken a toll on my family. My sons grew up with a part-time father. Their father was in Sacramento five days a week. I don’t want to see that happen with my little girl. People may view the life of a politician as exciting, but the reality is that it is very time consuming. And you have no private life.

Q: What are your plans after you leave office?

A: Sure, I want to get an appointment, probably at the state level. I want to probably start a business. I want to use what I’ve learned and my ability to bring people together to provide wise solutions to problems. Probably a government consultant. But I don’t want to be a lobbyist that’s not something that holds a lot of attraction for me.

Q: Have you discussed the prospect of a state appointment with Gov. Davis or anyone else in Sacramento?

A: It’s safe to say that. In the near future, before I leave office, there might be something announced in that area.

Q: Whoever your successor is, what advice would you give him or her?

A: Learn your profession and be a good public servant. Above all, help people. If you do that, the people will help you on the way toward something else, if that’s what you want.

Q: As you leave office, are there things you would have liked to accomplish but weren’t able to?

A: There are some companies that I would have liked to have brought into the area. I would have liked to help bring in more commercial ventures like Starbucks or large multiplex theaters. My dream was always to have a regional mall in the area. And maybe the Adelante redevelopment project will be the thing that really gets it going.

Q: Besides economic development, is there other unfinished business?

A: Improving the transportation available for our community is very important. I fought long and hard to secure the money for the (MTA) Red Line to go into the eastern part of Los Angeles to provide an alternative mode of transportation. But that got bogged down. If we had moved in a more appropriate manner early on, we would have dug the hole and we would have completed that project, just like they are going to do with the Pasadena Blue Line. I fought hard for both projects. And I think both will happen. We’ll just see the Blue Line before the Red Line.

Q: You think the Red Line to the East Side will be built even though L.A. voters have said no?

A: The voters of L.A. didn’t know what they were voting for, to be perfectly honest. They voted more against an agency and not against the recognition of the need for a multi-modal system of transportation. They voted against the problems that the agency had. Ask the people in East Los Angeles if they want the Metro Red Line. They need it more than other areas, but they are the ones who got negatively impacted by some of the shortcomings of the agency. Those shortcomings were created by the mistakes of the agency and the whims of some of the members of the board of directors. But those board members didn’t care; they cared more about headline hunting. That’s one thing I detest about some politicians: For a headline, they are willing to sacrifice the greater good of the people.

Q: Are you referring to people like (L.A. County Supervisor) Zev Yaroslavsky?

A: I’ll let your readers be the judge of that.

But, since you asked, there is one other thing I would have liked to have seen that has not come about. And that is for Los Angeles to become a true 24-hour city, which any real city must be to reach greatness. We are right at the cusp now, but we’re not there yet. There is no soul in this city yet. When you talk about a true city, you talk about a place like San Francisco. But we have just as much class and status, and we can be the center of it all.