Out With the Ho-Hum

Negative campaigns depress voter turnout, probably because they depress voters, period. But resist the urge to stay home and pull the covers over your head on May 17. This campaign will end. And when it does, City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa will make a better mayor than incumbent James K. Hahn.

It’s no secret that before the March election, we were rooting for a runoff between Villaraigosa and his fellow former Assembly speaker, Bob Hertzberg. Given their differences in philosophy as well as style, we had envisioned genuine debates over how best to speed traffic, rein in gang violence, fix schools, create jobs and otherwise make Los Angeles a better place to live and work, with a bigger profile in the world.

Instead, Hahn, always a more energetic campaigner than leader, edged out hugmeister Hertzberg, setting up a rematch of his 2001 runoff against Villaraigosa. That election didn’t turn bitter until the end, when Hahn rode sleazy attack ads to a come-from-behind victory. This one has been a mud fight for the last nine weeks, with one to go.

These two candidates, both liberal Democrats, hold almost indistinguishable (if frustratingly vague) positions on education, immigration and just about every other issue affecting the city. Despite Hahn’s efforts to portray him as soft on crime, Villaraigosa is as big a fan of Police Chief William J. Bratton as Hahn, who appointed the brash New York reformer. And Hahn has more union endorsements than his supposedly more liberal opponent, a onetime union organizer.

As before, however, the two candidates differ significantly in style, which means voters do have a choice. Villaraigosa’s drive, people skills and knack for coalition-building earned our endorsement in 2001. Given Hahn’s lack of dynamism, those traits seem even more desirable four ho-hum years later.

It was Villaraigosa, not Hahn, who stepped in to settle the 2003 transit strike, and who rallied the state’s congressional delegation to clear funding for an Eastside light-rail line. Villaraigosa energizes others. He is intuitive, quick at sizing up situations and recognizing talented people with good ideas.

Hahn deserves credit for hiring Bratton and campaigning to defeat a city breakup. But these accomplishments stand out because they are exceptions. They are symbols of the mayor Hahn might have been, not the disengaged technocrat he is.

Hahn’s problem is not just that of a charm-challenged personality. It is not just leadership limited to fixing potholes and adding left-turn signals. Hahn’s lax oversight and flawed appointments have fueled at least the perception that city contracts are for sale to the highest campaign contributor. His kindest critics say he was not “well served” by his lackluster staff. Prosecutors have not charged Hahn or any in his administration with corruption, but investigations continue and several top deputies and commissioners have resigned. An executive of a large PR firm that did “free” work for Hahn’s office has been indicted for allegedly padding bills to another city department.

Villaraigosa’s campaign fundraising has also come under investigation. The county district attorney is looking into whether the head of a Florida company pressured employees to contribute or reimbursed them. Villaraigosa’s campaign denies any knowledge of coercion and has returned the money, which was the right thing to do. But given the central role that pay-to-play allegations have had in this election, it’s hard to comprehend why his campaign didn’t assign someone to flag questionable contributions.

Now Hahn, who is apparently without shame or irony, is running scathing TV ads on the investigation into the Florida contributions. Unable to bring his own approval ratings up, he is trying to bring Villaraigosa’s down or at least discourage voter turnout with this “everybody does it” message. Don’t buy it. These two candidates are not alike.

Villaraigosa’s record, particularly as Assembly speaker in Sacramento, is of pulling together the right people to get things done. The city’s needs keep growing. Villaraigosa as mayor would offer the promise that they would be attacked with relish and intensity. He is the best choice to lead Los Angeles.