HOLDEN OUT FOR MORE
Controversial L.A. maverick Nate Holden is fighting his way back into politics, but he doesn't want
By Joe Piasecki
When the enigmatic Nate Holden checked in with CityBeat last June, term limits had just forced the 73-year-old four-time L.A. City Councilman to relinquish his seat. It seemed his controversial 30-year political life was over and there was nothing he or anyone else could do about it.
But Holden's back - this time running for the 47th District state assembly seat left vacant by former Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson, who himself was forced out by term limits.
The usually outspoken Holden had nothing to say to reporters when contacted twice for a comment about his potential political rebirth as an assemblyman. He promised to talk to reporters only after votes had been cast, and would not respond to questions about his platform and goals for the office.
"Talk to me after March 2. I'll give you the best story you'll ever have in your life. That's a commitment," he said.
Holden is not the kind to disappoint, especially when the subject is political stories. In 1995, Holden was cleared in L.A. Superior Court of charges that he sexually harassed his receptionist in a case that nonetheless saw him lambasted by critics and the media. He also drew heat in the mid-1990s when photographs surfaced showing him cavorting with strippers during a junket to South Korea.
"That's just how they do business over there," he had said at the time, prompting Asian-American and women's rights groups to demand an apology and even his resignation. He apologized, but remained defiant. "They didn't elect Jesus Christ. They elected Nate Holden," the councilman once said to CityBeat senior editor Kevin Uhrich, then of the Los Angeles Reader.
Holden now refers to those days as "the worst of times." There have been bad and worse. The L.A. Ethics Commission cited him for 31 campaign finance violations in his final Council race, then just the latest installment of more than 300 total incidents investigated by the commission.
Yet, many have given Holden credit for improving the quality of life in his old council district, leaving it in far better shape than he found it. And time after time, the voters chose him. Now, one of five Democratic candidates in the race, Holden faces a crowd that consists largely of relative political neophytes who have not previously held elected office. The others seemed reluctant to even talk much about Holden.
Attorney Rickie Ivie, 52, who carries Wesson's endorsement and served as a volunteer under him, said if elected he plans "to hit the ground running" in continuing the health care, education, and economic policies established by Wesson. "I personally think that much of [Holden's] name recognition is not necessarily good in the minds of the public," he said.
Karen Bass, an instructor at the USC School of Medicine and a grassroots community activist, also cites health care, education, and economic development as key issues in her campaign. Bass, 50, founded the Community Coalition, which, after the 1992 riots, successfully lobbied to block reconstruction of liquor stores in the area, and in the late 1990s fought welfare reforms that would cut off former convicted felons from aid. She is endorsed by Congresswoman Diane Watson and state Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg.
Candidate Richard Groper, a political science professor at Cal State Fullerton, could not be reached.
Another candidate is David Cooper, a business consultant, former correspondent for National Public Radio's All Things Considered, and a onetime Fullerton professor. He said he was targeting fiscal responsibility, joining the race because "the Legislature has been negligent in meeting its responsibilities to the people of California over most of the last decade." Once a World War II paratrooper, Cooper also wants to increase affordable housing opportunities in the city 10 percent each year, and require state high school students to practice 100 hours of community service before graduation.
When asked about Holden, he said he didn't think his candidacy represented a change for the better. "But I don't want to knock Nate Holden," said Cooper emphatically. "He has his own issues. He'll have to deal with them."
Published: 02/19/2004
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