Parks to Back Hahn’s Rival

Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard C. Parks said Monday that he plans to endorse Antonio Villaraigosa, giving the mayoral challenger another high-profile ally from the city’s black community, which had overwhelmingly supported James K. Hahn in his 2001 race against Villaraigosa.

“I came to the conclusion that he gave the city the best chance to make some impact on some important issues,” Parks said in a telephone interview. “The issue of leadership, the issue of integrity and the issues of the performance of the city.”

Parks was the city’s second black police chief -- until Hahn pushed him out in 2002. That move has cost Hahn considerable backing among black residents, who were once among his most loyal supporters.

Parks’ endorsement could undermine Hahn’s attempts to woo back his black base. Parks ran for mayor and came in fourth in the March 8 election, but a Times exit poll showed he had won a majority of black votes. Those voters could prove critical to the winner in the May 17 runoff.

The Parks endorsement also comes on the heels of nods from other prominent black politicians such as county Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) and is yet another crucial sign of support for Villaraigosa, a city councilman, from leaders in South Los Angeles.

“Antonio is lining up endorsement after endorsement of key African American elected officials,” said political strategist Darry Sragow, who is unaligned in the mayor’s race. “And these are happening in a paced way that continues to build momentum for him.”

But to secure those votes, Villaraigosa may have to overcome what one of his supporters, the Rev. Ozell Cliff Brazil of Bethel AME Church, calls the “fear of a brown mayor” -- that is, a concern among blacks that a vote for Villaraigosa will help Latinos consolidate power in Los Angeles at their expense.

Parks said he plans to campaign vigorously to convince black voters that Villaraigosa is a safe bet.

“I hope ... the black community does not let color get in the way of choosing the best person,” he said.

A spokesman for the Villaraigosa campaign declined to comment on the endorsement, which is scheduled to be formally announced at 9 a.m. today at the Ted Alexander Science Center School near Exposition Park.

The Hahn campaign, meanwhile, downplayed its importance. “Antonio Villaraigosa has had four or five different positions on Bernard Parks,” said Hahn strategist Kam Kuwata. “But Bernard Parks has had one consistent position in the mayor’s race, and that is to be against Jim Hahn.”

Hahn has repeatedly attacked Villaraigosa for waffling, saying that Villaraigosa told San Fernando Valley voters in the 2001 campaign that Parks was not “the right person for the job” of police chief and later told voters in South Los Angeles that he was “committed to working with” Parks.

Parks was widely thought to have entered the mayor’s race as a grudge match to wound Hahn -- a charge he has consistently denied. As he campaigned, he blasted Hahn for a lack of leadership and the investigations into city contracting that have plagued his administration.

In that sense, the endorsement comes as no surprise.

But Parks and Villaraigosa differ significantly in their politics, although both are Democrats who represent urban Los Angeles.

Parks, who tends to be more conservative, has frequently been critical of unions, while the more liberal Villaraigosa is beloved by many in the city’s labor movement.

Still, the two men have been close on the City Council and can often be spotted slapping each other on the back or greeting each other warmly.

On the day Parks moved into his City Hall office two years ago after being elected to the council, Villaraigosa -- with news cameras in tow -- showed up to help him haul boxes around.

The two men and their families have also dined together.

For the last few weeks, Parks has been coy on whether he would endorse Villaraigosa. When queried, he would offer a Cheshire cat grin and refuse to answer, saying that he was going to meet with Hahn before making up his mind.

The two met last week in South Los Angeles. Kuwata said the meeting went “as expected.” “It was very clear to Jim that Parks was going to oppose him. Before, during and after,” Kuwata said.

On Monday, Parks said he was most concerned about restoring “integrity” to the mayor’s office.

Parks also said the two men did share some common ground. A vehement opponent of Hahn’s $11-billion modernization plan for Los Angeles International Airport, Parks said he was impressed that Villaraigosa had voted against the plan over the objections of the city’s union leaders.

The former police chief also said he liked the candidate’s ideas about adding LAPD officers without increasing taxes. And he said that Villaraigosa had “verbally committed” to trying to solve what Parks sees as dangerous problems with the city budget.

“I don’t expect we’re going to agree on 100% of the issues,” Parks said, “but I believe we’ll be able to work on 100% of the issues -- although everyone may not get everything they want.”

Also on Monday, Walter Moore, a Republican lawyer from Westchester who finished sixth in the March 8 election with 2.8% of the vote, endorsed Hahn. Moore had said that he was inspired to run for mayor by his outrage over to Hahn’s $11 billion plan to modernize Los Angeles International Airport.

In a statement released by the Hahn campaign, Moore said, “Jim Hahn is straight with you and he follows through on what he says he’s going to do. That’s the difference in this race.”

The Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley voted Monday to endorse Villaraigosa.