Texas Mayor Scores Points in Southland Appearances

Visiting politicians, from U.S. senators on down, blow in and out of Los Angeles like the fog, and hardly anyone notices.

So it was unusual when political Southern California for three days accorded an intently curious eye to a $50-a-day southern Texas mayor.

Henry Cisneros, Democratic mayor of San Antonio, satisfied the curiosity with a virtuoso string of campaign-like appearances that left audience after audience understanding why he is foremost among Latino political leaders in the country and one of the younger generation’s most down-to-earth new-wave, new-idea Democrats.

Reportedly Walter Mondale’s runner-up choice for a vice presidential running mate in 1984, Cisneros, 37, arrived in Southern California to receive an honorary degree Saturday from Claremont Graduate School. On Sunday, he was the guest at three receptions and a dinner. And he wound up his trip on Monday with three speeches and a press conference.

Described by one writer as a “rising man who represents the rising class,” Cisneros preached a soothing gospel of social salvation through economic growth, education and tolerance. Some samples:

- “America cannot be whole unless its people in the poorest areas have access to opportunity.”

- Whether there is “confrontational gridlock” or the “harnessing of raw human energy” will determine the future of the nation’s cities--determining “whether they are just urban reservations where the old and poor are kept or are the essential engines of society.”

- Californians would be “a little less prone to panic about immigration” if they looked ahead and realized that, given low indigenous birthrates and a decline in migration from other states, “the California work force in the 1990s will require more immigration.”

As much as for what he said, Cisneros got approving nods among Democrats for his resonant, self-confident and easy delivery.

Future of the Party

“It’s really been quite incredible,” said Los Angeles Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky of Cisneros’ performance at a breakfast speech that the councilman hosted.

“He’s the most articulate young Democratic leader I’ve heard in the last five years,” declared Hope Warschaw, a member of the Democratic National Committee from Los Angeles. “He should be the future of the Democratic Party.”

Cisneros is unusual in more ways than his low $50-a-day salary as mayor and the fact that he almost was a vice presidential candidate. Who could believe, for instance, that in America’s 10th largest city, this mayor’s home phone number is listed, and he answers it himself? In Southern California, after all, there is even a restaurant with an unlisted number.

Perhaps fitting what political aide Robert Marbut said is Cisneros’ determination to “remain human” despite his growing popularity, the city of Los Angeles provided a light blue 1977 Plymouth to transport the mayor about town, along with a police driver who repeatedly had to deny that it ever belonged to former Democratic Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. The ex-governor once elevated a similar car to a national symbol of political asceticism.

Political Movement

In other ways, however, Cisneros showed the conventional side of his politics. At a press conference alongside Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, Cisneros, like mayors everywhere, pleaded mercy at the hands of federal budget cutters. “The cities,” he said, “are not just another industry.”

In an interview, Cisneros said his visit should not be viewed as overtly political. He is quite happy, he insisted, as a Texas mayor with a devout constituency and a national following to boot.

But signs of political movement were all around him. One stop in Los Angeles was with some researchers who are helping him with a book on American cities, his first step toward the forthcoming announcement of a Henry Cisneros foundation on national urban problems. This coincides with his upcoming elevation to president of the National League of Cities.

And yes, Cisneros said, “this trip was a chance to keep relationships alive” with friends here and to “make some new friends.”

Most often, Cisneros is identified in Texas as a possible statewide candidate for governor, either next year or in 1990, or as a U.S. Senate contender in 1988. But in California, particularly among his Latino followers, there was a frequently voiced belief that he would be the first Hispanic to crack the national presidential ticket.

“I don’t think those people know how long, expensive and arduous of a climb that is,” he replied, as if he had given it some thought himself.