Campaigning for nearly two years for the Democratic nomination in the 41st Assembly District, Barry Groveman has been endorsed by a broad spectrum of leaders: Senator Dianne Feinstein, Sheriff Lee Baca, L.A. City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, and California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell. But as he met for an interview with the Palisadian-Post at Mort’s Deli two weeks ago, Groveman admitted to one frustration. “My biggest problem is I’m running against two potent legislators.” He meant Assemblywoman Fran Pavley of Agoura Hills, who is termed-out this year, and State Senator Sheila Kuhn of Santa Monica, who previously held the 41st District seat for three terms. These two strong leaders have both endorsed Julia Brownley, president of the Santa Monica-Malibu School Board, and their support could prove decisive in a primary election with an anticipated light voter turnout. Another strong contender in this winner-take-all primary is 35-year-old attorney Jonathan Levey, who has been endorsed by the L.A. Times and the L.A. Weekly. Yet as Groveman assessed the final stages of a long, grinding campaign from South Oxnard to Santa Monica, he was optimistic that voters would endorse his career accomplishments, his energy, his candid opinions and his collaborative skills. “This campaign has presented a market place of ideas and the person who puts forward the best ideas should win,” said Groveman, who has been offering a flurry of problem-solving proposals drawn from his 27-year career as an environmental advocate, criminal prosecutor, public official and community volunteer. Born in New York and raised on Long Island, where his father owned an electronics company, Groveman graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in political science and then moved out to Los Angeles to earn his law degree at Southwestern University School of Law. He began his legal career in the L.A. City Attorney’s Office in 1979, and from 1980 to 1983 he was head of environmental protection for the city, serving as counsel to Mayor Tom Bradley, the City Council and city commissions. He then led a countywide Toxic Waste Strike Force and, in 1986, was principal co-author of the landmark environmental law, Prop. 65, the “Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act.” After entering private practice in 1987 with Musick, Peeler & Garrett, Groveman continued to play an active role in environmental issues’from perchlorate contamination in water supplies in San Bernardino County to MtBE contamination of water supplies in Santa Monica and Morro Bay. He also was appointed to head an independent “School Safety Team” looking into environmental problems concerning several school sites within the LAUSD, which ultimately led to closure of the infamous Belmont Learning Center. In 2000, Groveman ran unsuccessfully for District Attorney against incumbent Gil Garcetti and Steve Cooley (“Cooley won because Gil and I split the vote”) but came away with important campaign insights. “In order to win in the future, you have to survive losing, because it teaches you a lot,” Groveman said. “I’ve run my whole Assembly campaign differently because of that.” What did he learn? “That there’s no substitute for my own judgement. I have to rely on a lot of people, but at the end of the day, my judgement is very important and there’s no substitute. Also, my instincts are good and I need to rely on them.” In that vein, he generally travels alone to interviews and other appearances. “This is not something that requires handlers,” he said at Mort’s. “I’m my own handler. I want to be accessible and free, and I know what I’m saying’I have 30 years experience; I don’t have to worry about what to say about a particular issue. I know the issues.” After being elected to the Calabasas City Council in 2003 and “bringing forward a series of reforms that were approved and implemented by the council,” Groveman served a short stint as mayor beginning March 23, 2005. He cites his council accomplishments as an important factor in holding his base of support on the “Valley side” of the district, which includes Agoura Hills, Encino, Hidden Hills, Oak Park, Tarzana, Westlake Village and Woodland Hills. The Valley has 41 percent of the district’s registered Democrats, compared to 28 percent in Santa Monica, where his four opponents all live. Helping Groveman make inroads along the coast is an endorsement by Santa Monica Mayor Pro Tem Bobby Shriver, who said in a statement that he supports Groveman because “he will focus on homelessness” as a regional challenge that requires “bringing other cities into this work” beyond Santa Monica and L.A.’s Skid Row. “Also, Barry will work hard to develop and finance a system that cleans all storm drains in the Santa Monica Bay watershed…[He] has committed to me that he will make regional storm-drain cleanup a priority.” Meanwhile, Groveman said he wouldn’t concede education votes to Brownley, arguing that he’s an advocate of everything from anti-bullying statues to charter schools. “Charters have some good, innovative ideas that we need to look at. They’re showing good results, and I also like the competition that they create for public schools’keeping people on their toes, keeping them accountable, and giving more control back to the community.” Like every candidate running for office in Los Angeles, Groveman has ideas for how to ease traffic congestion. He emphasizes a regional approach, starting with the appointment of a high-level “road superintendent” whose responsibility would include focusing on traffic flow issues along critical roads’such as Sunset, PCH, and the 10 Freeway leaving Santa Monica every afternoon’and marshaling the necessary resources to reduce gridlock. Other traffic ideas include (1) “computerizing all signals at major roadways and on/off ramps,” (2) “stopping rush-hour construction projects,” and (3) “removing freeway accidents in six minutes,” a plan modeled “on Houston’s successful traffic mobility program, which includes clearing non-injury collisions, fender benders and flat tires within six minutes, thus reducing backup that leads to gridlock and additional accidents.” If elected, Groveman vows to “fight aggressively to bring universal health care to all Californians, beginning with uninsured children.” He said at Mort’s, “I really believe I’m the only candidate in this race who has the bipartisan skills and bipartisan support to broker that kind of solution,” based on the recent Massachuetts plan. “My opponents are criticizing me because I have business support and criticizing me because there are Republicans who support me. But Im running to be a representative for everybody in this district. And as a lawyer I’m skilled at representing a lot of different parties.” Groveman also wants to “increase cigarette taxes by $2.60 per pack to invest to public health.” As Calabasas mayor, he helped pass a groundbreaking secondhand smoke ordinance which does not ban smoking, but requires individuals to smoke in designated outdoor areas, away from others. Married, and with a son in fifth grade, Groveman stays fit and trim by jogging every day in the Santa Monica Mountains near his home. “I’ve been running my whole life, but in the last 12 years’since my son was born’I’ve tried to run at least a half-hour every day, without fail. I run in the dark, I run in the weather, I’ve even run with injuries. I’m not competing for anything, it’s just a nice discipline: I do my best thinking and I get the tension out of my body.” Groveman’s wife, Susan, and son Brandon are actively involved in the campaign. “I’m lucky that they are into what I’m doing,” Groveman said. “Susan calls people who have been invited to events and is very effective. Brandon has enjoyed coming to the debate forums to sit in the audience and make me smile. One time I had him come up and stand with me on stage and get a feel for what it’s like when you look out at a thousand people. Pretty soon he tugged on my jacket and whispered in my ear, “Dad, listen, if they ask you a tough question you’re not sure about, I’ll take a crack at it.” Barry Groveman is a serious, intense fellow, but when he told this story, his face beamed and for a moment he could forget about his all-consuming quest for political office.
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