UCLA student seeks nomination to Assembly

UCLA student seeks nomination to Assembly

By Michael Angell

Daily Bruin Contributor

Around midnight, Mike Gatto and his friends were walking down
Sixth Street and Lafayette near Downtown Los Angeles when they were
approached by a woman asking for a light.

One of Gatto’s friends, a heavy smoker, gave the woman his
matches. She pulled out a glass pipe and lit the end. Gatto knew
his neighborhood was a drug supermarket, yet he had never seen
anyone smoking crack before.

With his UCLA degree coming in June, Gatto could probably leave
the central city neighborhood where he was born. But he said he
loves the area so much, he hopes to represent it in Sacramento.

The 21-year-old history student wants the Democratic nomination
for the California Assembly.

"Politics have been a lifelong passion," Gatto said. "Our
generation is labeled a do-nothing generation but I want to show
that 18 to 30-year-olds want to do something with our lives."

But before Gatto reaches Sacramento, he must defeat Democrat
incumbent Louis Caldera, who is seeking re-election for a third
term in the Assembly.

According to the Los Angeles County Registrars office, the
majority of voters are registered Democrats. Gatto expected that
the race for the Democratic nomination to be the real competition
for the Assembly seat.

Gatto has been out in the precinct drumming up support, said his
campaign manager Scot Diaz, a fourth-year political science
student. Diaz argued that his candidate has a viable chance at
victory.

"I am confident that Gatto will win in March," Diaz said.

While Assemblyman Caldera does not dispute Gatto’s enthusiasm,
the incumbent believed that one needs to have much more experience
to be a competent legislator.

"Some people who are passionate are not effective politicians,"
Caldera said. "You’ve got to learn how to pick issues and pick
moments which resonate with the public."

Gatto and Caldera will face off on March 26 in the Democratic
primary, vying to represent one of the poorest, most violent areas
of Los Angeles – the 46th district.

The district, which includes Downtown, Boyle Heights, South
Central, MacArthur Park and portions of East Los Angeles, is one of
the poorest parts of the county according to 1990 census figures.
The Rampart district police station, which serves the area, has the
highest murder rate in the county.

And Gatto conjectured that the densely populated district may
hold more than double the official estimates because of the number
of illegal immigrants residing in the area.

Despite the poverty and crime, Gatto continues to live in the
district while commuting to UCLA via the MTA.

After graduating from Loyola High School near downtown, Gatto
attended UC Berkeley for two years. But Cal’s reputation for
political involvement did not live up to Gatto’s expectations.

"Berkeley was not the kind of place to get internships," Gatto
said. "I came to UCLA with the express intent of getting involved
in politics."

When Gatto transferred to UCLA in 1994, he changed majors from
political science to history, and jumped into the world of politics
with an internship for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Kathleen
Brown.

He later switched to the John Garamendi campaign because Gatto
felt that Brown was too much of a professional politician.

"I gave the Garamendi campaign all my spare time," Gatto said.
"I worked 10- to 13-hour days."

Gatto was also elected to the Democrat’s Los Angeles County
Central Committee, which meets once a month to discuss their
party’s position on various issues. Gatto said that the campaigns
and the committee have given him an understanding of the political
process and a sense of what it takes to get elected.

One of the main problems facing any primary campaign is voter
apathy. Only about one quarter of the district’s Democrats voted in
Caldera’s first primary, according to figures from the Secretary of
State.

Gatto said that if he is elected, he will draw people into the
political process by being a highly visible politician like San
Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and Santa Monica State Senator Tom
Hayden.

"These are visible politicians who use their position as a bully
pulpits," Gatto said.

But Caldera, who is also serving in his first elected office,
said enthusiasm and visibility are not enough.

"The demands of the job are tremendous," he warned. "It’s not a
game. Is there a place for young people? Absolutely. There is an
appropriate role. The Clinton White House is filled with
20-somethings."

If it accomplishes nothing else, Gatto hoped his campaign will
serve to show that there are serious young people who are
interested in politics.

The campaign is important for young people’s image, agreed
Tristen Sotomayor, president of Bruin Democrats.

"Mike’s an extremely intelligent and able person," Sotomayor
said. "What he’s doing is good for students because he proves that
young people are not apathetic."Comments to
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