Bradley Loses Backing Over Oil Decision : Palisades Democrats Break Tradition, Refuse to Endorse Mayor

In a clear sign of erosion of his traditional power base, Mayor Tom Bradley failed Sunday to win the endorsement of a Pacific Palisades organization still seething over his approval of a controversial oil drilling project.

Instead, the 450-member Pacific Palisades Democratic Club--which has strongly backed Bradley for more than a decade--chose instead to remain publicly neutral in next month’s mayoral contest in which Bradley is seeking a fourth term.

Bradley predicted last month that there would be political fallout when he approved a controversial plan by Occidental Petroleum Corp. to drill in the Palisades. Sunday’s vote bore out that prediction.

Straw Poll Result

The organization’s straw poll showed that Bradley may have alienated many of his longtime supporters on the liberal Westside to such an extent that they may choose to stay home on election day.

“The significant thing, I think, is that this group did not endorse Tom Bradley, because we have endorsed him every time before,” said Alice Clement, a member of the club. “We have been among his strongest supporters. He’s raised a lot of money here. He’s not likely to continue to get that kind of support.”

The mayor has contended that his approval of the project was based on the merits of the drilling plan, rather than on politics. But many members of the Palisades group apparently do not believe him.

“Bradley clearly sold out to (Occidental chairman) Armand Hammer and Occidental,” said attorney Joseph Shalant, who has filed a class action suit against the project. “I have contributed money to his (past) campaigns, but no more.”

Voice of Opposition

The organization required a candidate to receive at least 60% backing for an official endorsement. While Bradley outpolled his principal opponent, John Ferraro, by a 37% to 28% margin, the remainder of the group chose to voice their opposition to the drilling project by voting to endorse neither candidate.

Ferraro, who voted for the project, renewed his attack on Bradley Sunday for approving the drilling plan after vetoing a similar proposal in 1978.

Bradley did not attend the candidates’ forum, but his representative, Fire Commissioner Aileen Adams, tried to persuade the more than 60 members present that Bradley’s Occidental decision should not cause them to oppose his reelection.

Adams said that she also opposes the drilling project, but still supports the mayor because of what he has done for the city in other areas. Her argument apparently influenced some of the members.

‘A Certain Affection’

David Clement, president of the group, said the fact that Bradley won a plurality over Ferraro indicated “there is a certain affection for the man. To utterly disregard what he’s done as mayor of this city over a single issue was too much for the group to do.”

The Palisades group also took no official position in the city attorney’s race, but attorney Lisa Specht may have won a small victory by edging attorney Murray Kane in the straw poll by a 47% to 43% margin.

Kane has been attacking Specht for more than a month because of her association with the law firm Manatt, Phelps, Rothenberg and Tunney. The firm was hired by Occidental to lobby for the drilling proposal, although Specht was not directly involved in the effort and has voiced opposition to the project.

Kane told the group Sunday that Specht and Controller James Hahn, the front-runner in the five-candidate race, had paid only “lip service” in opposing the drilling project, while he vowed to stop it if elected.

Specht countered that Kane’s promises reflected “the height of cynicism” because Kane knows that he would lack the authority to halt the project even if elected. Hahn, who received only 5% of the vote, was not present at the forum. A representative said he was at the opening of a campaign headquarters in South-Central Los Angeles.