Kane Met With Rival Hahn’s Father on Eve of Endorsement

Shortly before informing City Controller James Hahn that he was dropping out of the race, Murray Kane met privately with Hahn’s father, Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, to discuss whether to endorse the younger Hahn for Los Angeles city attorney .

Out of that Thursday afternoon meeting, also attended by two key labor leaders, came Kane’s dramatic announcement Friday that despite his strong criticism of James Hahn during the campaign, he is now supporting him.

That was the account given The Times Friday by a number of sources associated with the Hahn and Kane campaigns, who said they were familiar with events preceding Kane’s announcement.

Kane denied the version provided by the sources. But he acknowledged telephoning Supervisor Hahn to tell him that he was withdrawing and endorsing James Hahn over Lisa Specht, the Westside attorney who is running second to the younger Hahn in public opinion polls.

He also said he called William Robertson, executive secretary of the County Federation of Labor, and Jim Wood, head of the federation’s political arm, the Committee on Political Education (COPE) to tell them of his decision. The sources told The Times that both Wood and Robertson attended the meeting between Kane and Supervisor Hahn.

Both Robertson and COPE have endorsed Hahn for city attorney. Wood is also the chairman of the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency board of directors. Kane is the CRA’s general counsel.

Robertson said only that “I will neither confirm nor deny” that such a meeting was held. Supervisor Hahn and Wood could not be reached for comment.

Kane said he talked to Supervisor Hahn because “I thought he would be interested in my decision.”

Kane offered a similar response when pressed as to why he also telephoned Robertson and Wood.

But Specht said, “This is about Daddy Hahn and the bosses of big labor pulling out all the stops to save their boy Jimmy’s campaign. They gave (Kane) his marching orders. They told him to endorse (James) Hahn and he did.”

Based on interviews with campaign aides and advisers, many of whom asked not to identified, the chain of events leading up to Friday morning’s announcement went as follows:

Kane decided on Tuesday to “pull the plug” on spending any more money after his own polls, and two others by local television stations, showed him trailing far behind Hahn and Specht. Ron Smith, Kane’s campaign consultant, said that Kane had just secured a $150,000 loan on his house for a citywide mailer, but that Smith advised him it would be a waste of money.

On Wednesday, two other candidates, Deputy City Attys. Betsy Mogul and Charles Zinger, withdrew and endorsed Hahn. Shortly afterward, Kane--after consultation with Smith--decided privately that he too would probably drop out.

On Thursday morning, Kane called Supervisor Hahn, told him he was withdrawing, but added that he was unsure whether to endorse anyone. Kane then agreed to meet with Hahn at the County Federation of Labor headquarters.

He Was ‘Wavering’

“(Kane) was wavering,” said one source familiar with the early afternoon session. “But it was pointed out to him that it made no sense to withdraw and not endorse someone. It was in (Kane’s) interest to do what he did.”

There was “no heavy arm-twisting” for an endorsement, one source said. The source added, however, that Kane had alienated a number of James Hahn’s supporters with his campaign attacks, so the session was “a good time for a little fence-mending” with Democratic Party leaders, which could serve Kane well if he chooses to run for office again.

Among other things, Kane had assailed James Hahn as part of a “political dynasty.”

Campaign aides for both Hahn and Specht, Hahn’s only remaining opponent, were hard-pressed to assess the dramatic development’s impact on Tuesday’s election in which Specht is trying to force Hahn into a June 4 runoff.

Fielding inevitable questions about his credibility, Kane told reporters that his endorsement of Hahn did not negate any of his anti-Hahn statements during the campaign. Among other things, Kane had called Hahn a “fraud . . . with a shameful prosecution record.”

“I stand by everything I said,” Kane insisted. He added, however, that he now supports Hahn because Hahn’s prosecution experience is superior to Specht’s. Specht has never prosecuted a criminal case.