Wesson says he won’t seek Burke’s seat

Ending months of speculation, Los Angeles City Councilman Herb Wesson said Wednesday that he did not intend to run for county Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke’s seat if she retires next year.

Burke has said that she likely won’t run in 2008 for a fifth term. Wesson, her chief of staff before being elected to the state Assembly in 1998, had been viewed in political circles as a favorite to succeed her.

His decision, which was disclosed in an interview with The Times, boosts the prospects for other possible candidates, including Councilman Bernard C. Parks and state Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles).

Longtime Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) also has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the supervisor’s job, but on Tuesday she told Allan Hoffenblum, publisher of the California Target Book, that she would not run for Burke’s seat but would seek reelection to Congress.

Councilwomen Jan Perry and Janice Hahn said Wednesday that they intended to seek reelection to the City Council in 2009 and would not vie for Burke’s job. Perry’s council district overlaps with Burke’s 2nd District in South Los Angeles, and Hahn’s father, former Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, represented the district for 40 years.

Ridley-Thomas said he was thinking about seeking the supervisor’s post.

“It’s no secret that this is a post that I’ve paid attention to for quite a while, and I take public office very seriously,” he said. “I think the business of the county is very important, and I continue to get feedback about it.”

Bernard C. Parks Jr., chief of staff for his councilman father, was noncommittal.

“Right now we’re trying to get through the city budget,” Parks Jr. said. “Once we get out of that, we’ll take a look at it.”

Supervisors hold powerful, if comparatively low-profile, jobs when compared with elected offices in the city.

The five Los Angeles County board members represent 2 million constituents apiece and help dole out funds from a $21.2-billion annual budget. Because it’s expensive to mount campaigns in any of the giant supervisorial districts, competitive races for board seats have been rare.

Wesson said that he had come to prefer serving in City Hall.

“I enjoy the challenges; I enjoy this job,” he said. “Being on the [board of supervisors] and being on the Assembly are phenomenal jobs, but this is up close and personal, and I get to touch people.”

He also said he relishes dealing with the ongoing changes in his 10th District, which includes Koreatown, the Mid-City area and parts of South Los Angeles.

“When you have an opportunity to change the face of a community

Wesson, a former Assembly speaker, first won his council seat in a special election two years ago and was reelected in March. Under the city’s term-limits law, he is eligible for two more four-year terms, potentially remaining on the council until 2019.

In his most recent campaign, Wesson ran ads hinting at an interest in running for mayor.

Most observers believe that the best route to the mayor’s office is through an elected post at City Hall, which tends to receive more media exposure and has fewer thorny issues, such as conditions in jails.

“If you are a true public servant, who wouldn’t want to be the mayor of the greatest city on the planet?” Wesson said Wednesday.

“But Antonio is going to be here for a while,” he added, referring to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

*

steve.hymon@latimes.com

Times staff writer Susannah Rosenblatt contributed to this report.