Bradley-Ferraro Contest Assessed : The Mayoral Debate: Lively Talk but No New Ground

Most political reviewers panned the quality of Thursday night’s debate between Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley and Councilman John Ferraro, calling it a lively confrontation that probably did little to help Ferraro in his uphill campaign.

Bradley won in a draw, said one professional observer, pollster Stephen Teichner, in sizing up the confrontation between Bradley and Ferraro, his chief opponent in the mayor’s race. “Ferraro has been trying to goad Bradley into a fray, into taking him seriously as a candidate. He succeeded,” said Teichner. “But Bradley was up to the challenge. He came on strong and showed more life and charisma than a lot of people thought he was capable of, especially compared to his debates with Deukmejian.”

Teichner was referring to debates during the 1982 California governor’s race that Bradley lost to George Deukmejian.

No New Trails

But Teichner, a Philadelphia-based pollster whose firm is conducting a series of polls on the mayor’s race, agreed with other observers that the debate broke no ground that the campaign had not already covered.

“No new trails were blazed,” said Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky. “The mayor made the points he has been making all along, and Ferraro did the same.”

Councilman Ernani Bernardi, who flirted with the idea of running against Bradley, said the debate reflected the disappointing tone of the campaign so far.

“I’m disturbed by the issues that are not being discussed,” Bernardi said. “We have a budget that is approaching the $2-billion mark and services that are continuing to deteriorate.”

Councilman Marvin Braude called the contest “a low-quality debate” that ignored “the real issues”.

A downtown businessman who has worked with Bradley on several civic projects echoed Bernardi’s disappointment

“They argued about the Metro Rail, but neither of them said what they will do about transportation if it can’t be built,” said the businessman in reference to the proposed Metro Rail subway system. The businessman asked not to be named.

“They talked about downtown redevelopment, but there was no real effort to say how a balance is going to be achieved between getting rid of blighted buildings and providing proper housing,” he added.

Indeed, both candidates sidestepped a question during the debate about how their future policies would address a changing city, one in which the ethnic population is shifting dramatically.

The debate, instead, focused on a variety of current issues, including rent control, transportation, police protection, redevelopment of several neighborhoods and alleged cronyism on the part of the mayor.

The debate rekindled--but failed to shed new light--on a campaign-long quarrel over how best to pay for more police officers. Bradley again insisted that a property tax increase is necessary to pay for 1,000 new officers and Ferraro argued that current revenue combined with a few budget cuts could pay for 1,300 new police.

Sharp Exchange

One of the sharper exchanges between the candidates occurred over the issue of redevelopment.

Bradley claimed that during the 12 years he has been in office “we have rebuilt Watts and San Pedro and the San Fernando Valley from North Hollywood to Warner Center.”

Ferraro, in a concluding swipe, accused the mayor of using the redevelopment process to enrich his supporters.

Two community leaders, one from the black community and one from North Hollywood, said Friday that Bradley’s administration has made a beginning in rebuilding Watts and North Hollywood, but that more work needs to be done.

“I believe under Mayor Bradley’s leadership the rebuilding of Watts is under way,” said John Mack, president of the Los Angeles Urban League. “But I’m sure the mayor would agree there are some additional challenges he and all of us face before we really achieve economic equality for the residents.”

“He has made a start,” said Tom Patterson, president of the North Hollywood Homeowners Assn., “but no one could say there isn’t more to be done.”

Supporters’ Views

The debate did little to change the minds of people already in the Bradley or Ferraro camps.

“I think Tom acquitted himself superbly. He was cool and completely in control,” said Councilwoman Joy Picus, a Bradley supporter.

Councilman Hal Bernson said he thought Ferraro was the clear winner.

“I think it’s going to close the gap. I predict the race will now tighten up,” he said of a contest that, up until Thursday night at least, had the makings of a Bradley romp.

If the verdict was itself subject to debate, most people agreed that the encounter proved to be more of a brawl than was expected of two men who have worked with each other in city government for nearly 20 years.

There was Ferraro saying that a friend of the mayor’s had grown rich off municipal land transactions. There was Bradley replying that Ferraro, himself, had made $100,000 a year from a real estate transaction with the Post Office. And there was Bradley suggesting that Ferraro might not be able to read.

“It was one of the most acrimonious debates between two longtime officeholders that I’ve ever heard,” Teichner said.