Friday, November 15, 1996
PROFILE:
Galaviz, Honarvar enter politics to spark peer interestBy Julie
Brighton
Daily Bruin Contributor
Sixteen units. Work. Midterms. Maybe a social life. Who has time
to vote in local elections, much less try to make a difference in
the community through local politics?
This lack of interest in politics at the local level is what
motivated third-year political science student Houdin Honarvar to
enter this year’s race in his community as campaign manager for
longtime friend John Galaviz, 20, of Mission Viejo.
When they filed papers for Galaviz’s candidacy for Mission
Viejo’s city council last summer  under the agreement that
Honarvar would act as unpaid campaign manager  "eyebrows were
raised, and I was the talk of the (current) city council," says
Galaviz, who at the time was 19, the youngest contender ever for a
Mission Viejo city council seat.
Although he did not win one of the two seats, Galaviz garnered 6
percent of the vote and both he and Honarvar gained some invaluable
experience.
Galaviz continues the political legacy of his father, Fernando
Galaviz, an advisor to President Carter on minority issues in the
late 1970s. Although Galaviz does not share his father’s Democratic
affiliations  he is a Republican  he has been
influenced to become politically active by his father’s
example.
As an immigrant from Mexico with a high school diploma, his
father has shown him "that it is possible to make a positive
difference in society through government."
Galaviz himself became active in politics last January when he
received a paid staff position with Sen. Pete Domenici (R.-New
Mexico) in Washington, D.C. Honarvar had also been working in
politics in Washington, and when both returned, he convinced
Galaviz to enter the city council race.
The attention Galaviz attracted because of his age landed him in
the local newspapers and speaking at community clubs and on local
television, where he conveyed his message to motivate younger
voters to "care about the local issues that affect them on an
everyday basis."
"The national elections get the most attention," Galaviz said.
"but the local government is so accessible, there is such an
opportunity there to get involved."
His action-oriented message gained Galaviz the biggest honor of
his campaign, an endorsement from the Saddleback Republican
Assembly, an Orange County subdivision of the California Republican
Assembly which has the power to endorse and contribute financially
to local candidates.
Rosemary Johnson, member of the Saddleback Republican Assembly
enthusiastically "endorsed John Galaviz because he had a real
passion and vision for the office and was willing to serve very
unselfishly."
She noted that Galaviz intended to accept only half of the usual
city councilman’s salary if elected, and would contribute the
remainder to community programming for children and the
elderly.
"I felt that he was very sincere and trustworthy," Johnson said,
"and his age didn’t bother me because he was so sincere and
passionate about his cause."
She added that she felt his loss in the election was due to lack
of funding and an established political reputation, but personally
hopes that he will run again because his chances will continue to
be stronger.
In a nonpartisan election, this endorsement was important for
this "common-sense fiscal Republican" who worried that the
"community would see (him) as some kind of radical," because of his
age.
Although they received a few comments such as "You don’t know
what you’re talking about!" because of their youth and
inexperience, Galaviz and Honarvar encountered mostly enthusiasm
from younger voters, and appreciation for their activist ideas,
says Honarvar.
Not being among the top contenders, they also avoided much of
the mudslinging wrought by Tom Potocki and incumbent Bill Cracraft,
the eventual winners of the election with 27 percent and 26 percent
of the vote, respectively.
"It was pretty ugly among the top three of the six candidates,"
Honarvar said, "We weren’t a part of that."
Younger voters made up the majority of volunteers for Galaviz’s
campaign. Fellow students from Saddleback College volunteered their
time passing out flyers and posting signs, and Honarvar spoke at
alma mater Mission Viejo High School to recruit campaign help.
"It was a grassroots effort," Honavar said, noting that they
spent only around $1,500 on the campaign as opposed to the upwards
of $15,000 spent by opposing candidates. Galaviz estimates that
they spent about 25 cents for each vote, while the other candidates
spent about $1.25 per vote cast in their favor.
The financial aspects of the campaign were the most surprising
for Honarvar, who realized the importance of fundraising because
"money makes it all go. If we had it to do again," he says, "I
would have started getting our name out and raising funds earlier.
If people know that you are running, it makes them more likely to
vote, and that takes money."
The Republican Assembly endorsement attracted a few
contributions, but the majority was funded by Galaviz and his
family.
Convincing the public of the seriousness of the campaign was
another concern for Honarvar. Although they had media attention due
to the novelty of Galaviz’s age, Honarvar said it was important to
"make people believe that we had a chance, that we were serious
about the issues and about the importance of community
government."
The biggest challenge for Honarvar, however, came with trying to
manage full time studies at UCLA with running a campaign.
"We basically did in three days what the other candidates had
seven days to do," says Honarvar, who commuted from Westwood to
Orange County every Friday to work on the campaign, then returned
exhausted Sunday evenings to resume his school week.
"It was really a challenge," he added. "A lot of late
nights."
Galaviz dealt with time pressures as well while taking classes
at Saddleback College and running his own computer consulting
company, Spectra Corporation.
Now that the race is over, Honarvar plans to enjoy his free
weekends. As for politics, he says, "in the back of my mind I’m
considering future involvement, probably behind the scenes. But it
will be a few years before I’m banging on doors again."
Galaviz’s immediate plans include starting the advanced degree
program in Finance at USC in January and going to work for
California State Assemblyman Bill Morrow’s office in Orange
County.
He is currently "exploring other avenues and higher levels of
political service," but declined to state whether he will run for
city council again.