Some Mayoral Name-Dropping : Ferraro Draws Roos’ Support but Trails Badly in TV Poll

In spite of a poll that indicates he has little chance of defeating Mayor Tom Bradley, Councilman John Ferraro Friday received the endorsement of Assembly Majority Leader Mike Roos (D-Los Angeles).

Roos’ endorsement came the day after a successful Ferraro fund-raising dinner brought in $425,000 and after a KCBS television poll brought Ferraro the bad news that he was trailing with 15% support compared to 70% for Bradley.

The poll notwithstanding, Roos expressed confidence in Ferraro, becoming the first prominent Democrat to endorse a candidate who has attracted more big-name support from Republicans than Democrats. Both Bradley and Ferraro are Democrats, but as the Democrats’ 1982 gubernatorial nominee, Bradley has the natural advantage in attracting party support.

Roos cited the support Ferraro gave him when he first ran for office eight years ago. “I shall never forget that,” said Roos, who is a personal friend of Ferraro’s and shares a district office with him. “I deeply believe loyalty is an important characteristic to have in this business and I in a real way am repaying that loyalty.” Roos added that his endorsement of Ferraro went “beyond loyalty--he is a man who is deeply compassionate . . . his time is now.”

Other similarly warm words were directed at Ferraro Thursday night at his major fund-raising dinner at the Century Plaza Hotel. Approximately 1,300 guests attended a $250 per plate dinner in honor of Ferraro. With additional money donated, Ferraro now has about $1.1 million in his campaign coffers, compared to Bradley’s $370,000. The mayor has a San Fernando Valley dinner scheduled next week and another big event planned for March 26.

The Ferraro dinner was crowded with longtime acquaintances of the councilman and his wife, Margaret, and some guests wondered aloud how much of the attendance was due to Ferraro’s personal popularity and how much was attributed to support for his run for mayor. One local elected official commented that “a lot of people are just here because they think John’s a nice guy.”

And while Ferraro’s political speech, in which he called Bradley “a legend in his own mind,” was received politely, the biggest applause of the night came when Ferraro and his wife were introduced by former state Atty. Gen. Evelle J. Younger.

Prominent Republicans

Younger was one of several prominent Republicans who attended the event. Although a Democrat, Ferraro in his mayoral race against Bradley has sought to appeal to more conservative voters.

The master of ceremonies was Roger Barkley, of the comedy team Lohman and Barkley. Barkley identified himself as one of the early supporters of Gov. George Deukmejian, who defeated Bradley in the race for governor in 1982. (Ferraro was prominently seated at the head table during a dinner earlier this week for county Supervisor Deane Dana, a Deukmejian ally.)

Other notable Republicans at the Ferraro dinner were Assembly Republican Leader Pat Nolan (R-Glendale) and state Republican Chairman and county Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. Also attending were Margaret Brock, an influential GOP fund-raiser; Rep. Bobbi Fiedler (R-Chatsworth), who along with Ferraro is a strong critic of Bradley’s pet Metro Rail subway project, and San Fernando Valley Councilman Hal Bernson, so far the only council member to endorse Ferraro.

Council members Joel Wachs, Robert Farrell and David Cunningham also attended, but they are committed to Bradley.