Same as It Ever Was, Says the ‘Chick in the Red Jacket’

It’s been 12 years since I ran for mayor of Los Angeles -- and everything and nothing has changed in the city. From my desk here in Chama, N.M., where I oversee a lodge, I remember with a laugh that race in which I was the only female candidate.

In Chama -- population 3,000 -- printing up campaign posters is a big deal. In one week, I could meet virtually everyone eligible to vote.

In Los Angeles -- population 3.6 million -- television advertising remains the primary and best way to communicate with voters. Raising money to pay for the 30-second TV spots was important then, and it still is.

But what a shame that most Angelenos get to know the candidates only through these ads. One of the fondest memories of my campaign was knocking on doors from Highland Park to Watts, from Studio City to Mar Vista, and meeting voters. Many of their issues, sad to say, were the same as those in the current campaign: jobs and the economy, crime and gangs, education, and the improvement of the Los Angeles Police Department.

About all you can do in 30 seconds is craft an image. To this day, people recognize me from my “infamous” TV ad, in which I wore a bright crimson blazer and walked among nine black-and-white cardboard cutouts of my male opponents. I remain “that chick in the red jacket.”

What’s changed most is that today’s candidates face more scrutiny. The city’s major newspapers do a better job. Los Angeles magazine and the L.A. Weekly are in the mix as well. And little escapes the bloggers. The backdrop of the current mayoral race is not dire as it was in 1993, when L.A. was still reeling from the previous year’s civil unrest and the effects of a deep economic recession. The school district was in disarray, and city government broke. Los Angeles was viewed worldwide as a city that had hit rock bottom.

Today, the city’s economy is stable, riot-torn neighborhoods have rebounded, crime is down, and schools are being built. But there are new challenges: housing shortages caused by sky-high prices, increasing traffic congestion, rising illegal drug use, unaffordable healthcare and a diminishing manufacturing job base.

Given the constraints of campaigning for mayor in L.A., I imagine that few residents can honestly say they know what the candidates would do about all these problems. Same as in 1993 -- unfortunately.