Hahn Ends Any Doubts--He Will Run for 10th Term

Veteran Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, whose lingering disabilities from a stroke last year have prompted concerns about his capacity to serve, ended any doubts about his intentions Monday by reaffirming that he will seek a 10th four-year term.

Flanked by a politically powerful array of black ministers, labor and business leaders and elected officials, the 67-year-old Hahn opened a packed press conference at a Hawthorne hotel by saying, “I am going to run. . . . “

Hahn’s words were immediately drowned out by his supporters’ chants, “We want Kenny.”

After announcing last summer that he would seek another term, the 2nd District supervisor recently has voiced frustration with the pace of his recovery and indicated he was reviewing his plans. But on Monday he said his mind is made up.

“A lot of people thought that, since I had my stroke, I should drop out and go into some convalescent home and just fade away,” he said. “ . . . The Lord willing, I will continue out the full term if the people of my district elect me.”

Pitching his medical problems as a political plus, Hahn said there are 95,000 disabled people in the county for whom he can serve as a model. “I’m going to fight. . . . It’s no fun to have a stroke. You get discouraged. You get depressed. You think: Can you make it or not? You’ve got to fight every day.”

Hahn missed several months of work after his stroke in January, 1987, and has been absent from about half of the Board of Supervisors meetings since returning in August. He has recently increased his work schedule, but it is not yet back to full time. He has cut back his appearances in the community.

It was an affectionate, sometimes emotional scene as Hahn, paralyzed on his left side, was wheeled up a ramp to a table in front of television cameras and a roomful of longtime supporters, including officials from small cities in Hahn’s district, former staff members, workers from past campaigns and leaders of neighborhood groups.

Pushing to the front of the room, Sweet Alice Harris, a member of a group called the Parents of Watts, shouted to Hahn: “God put you in that seat! You cannot give it up!”

A seasoned master of service-oriented, pothole politics, and consistent provider of health and welfare programs for his low-income constituents, Hahn has a huge, loyal base of support in his heavily minority district stretching from Culver City to Lynwood. Most observers of county politics say that unless his health deteriorates significantly Hahn is a cinch to win the June election.

Comes as No Surprise

Hahn’s announcement was not a surprise. It was leaked to the press last week. But the display of unity at the announcement scene did not reflect the behind-the-scenes tension that was fermenting for weeks.

Hahn’s district is seen as fertile ground for a new generation of black official to emerge and assume a top leadership role--one that will be crucially important when Mayor Tom Bradley, the area’s top black political leader, retires.

Despite a major influx of Latinos and Asians in recent years, an analysis of 2nd District voting patterns for The Times by Caltech political science professor Bruce Cain shows that poor, middle-class and wealthy blacks and liberal whites still form a dominant and loyal core of Democratic votes, full of potential for a black candidate.

What some black leaders fear is that Hahn’s candidacy--however strongly it is supported by the black community--may be inviting a setback for long-term black political interests. They note that should Hahn be unable to complete another term, Gov. George Deukmejian, a conservative Republican who has little support in Hahn’s district, would be able to name a successor.

Mark Ridley Thomas, head of the Los Angeles chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, is one of those who has been most outspoken in his doubts about the wisdom of Hahn’s candidacy. “My concern all along has been, are not the stakes too high in this particular instance to gamble the representation of the black community?” Thomas said in a telephone interview after Hahn’s announcement.

Self-Determination

The issue is not Hahn, but rather “this whole (matter) of self-determination (for blacks). How is that ultimately achieved,” Thomas said.

Prominently featured at Hahn’s side Monday were two of his longtime black allies--Bishop H.H. Brookins of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Rev. Cecil Murray of the First AME Church--both of whom recently urged the supervisor to re-evaluate whether he should run again, citing interest in new leadership and concern whether Hahn could complete another term.

But faced with an outpouring of support for Hahn in recent days, coupled with the supervisor’s own resolve to run, the ministers endorsed Hahn and stressed that they were never criticizing his leadership or him personally. “We had prayerful concern about . . . his well-being and his welfare,” Brookins told reporters. “It was based strictly on his health. . . . Because he and his physicians have come to the conclusion that he is able to make the race and is able to do the job . . . we’re standing by him 100%.”

Said Murray: “We who over the years are indebted to Kenny Hahn . . . whether he is sick or well, strong or weak, have an obligation to hold up his arms, to assist him in every way.”

Among those also pledging support were William Robertson, head of the county Federation of Labor. “I commit our total support because you have been a champion of the people,” Robertson said.

Dixon, Waters

There were two serious contenders for the seat if Hahn had decided not to run, Rep. Julian Dixon, (D-Los Angeles) and Assemblywoman Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), both well-respected black politicians with strong political organizations behind them and access to large campaign contributions.

But neither wanted to challenge Hahn. They felt he was too well liked. Furthermore, both would have had to give up their seats for the politically risky race.

It now appears unlikely that a serious, big-name challenger to Hahn will emerge, several knowledgeable observers said Monday.

But Hahn said he will campaign hard, including using the strategy that helped elect him 36 years ago--going door to door.

HAHN COUNTRY

A large population of loyal black Democrats, combined with a substantial number of liberal-voting whites, has assured victory in the 2nd Supervisorial District for white New Dealer Kenneth Hahn the past 36 years, despite Latino and Asian increases.

CARSON: Home-owning city with a mixture of Anglos, blacks and Latinos, with strong Democratic loyalty and a source of Hahn strength. Liberal power has increased because blacks living there have moved up the educational and economic scale, which usually increases voting.

LYNWOOD: With a large population of poor in the declining old heavy-industry section of Los Angeles, Lynwood is an example of why a surge in Latino population is not reflected in political power and the Hahn power equation remains unchanged. Latino population has been growing since 1980, when it was 43% of population, but the percentage of Lynwood registered voters in the district remains the same.

SOUTH-CENTRAL LOS ANGELES: Hispanic population is also rising in this low-income area that remains predominantly black. But the tide of new residents is not reflected in registration figures and power remains firmly in the hands of black voters, who have always shown strong loyalty to Hahn and other Democrats.

HAWTHORNE: This community, with a big population of white technical and white-collar workers, is where Hahn or a similar liberal might have trouble, since its predominantly Democratic voters supported President Reagan four years ago. But there are few such centers of party disloyalty in the district.

WESTCHESTER: Pleasant suburban homes, high income, strong Republican registration and a strong anti-growth mood make this airport area prime for a campaign against Hahn, who is part of a pro-growth Board of Supervisors. But Westchester voters are a small minority in his district.

MAR VISTA: Like Westchester, Mar Vista in West Los Angeles is an affluent, predominantly white area. But its mixture of wealthy professional families, young adults on the way up, affluent empty nesters and a large number of upwardly mobile immigrants has always been more liberal than Westchesterites, making this a loyally Democratic area and a Hahn stronghold.

WINDSOR HILLS: This affluent black community, in the hills east of Los Angeles International Airport, illustrates how important middle and upper-class blacks have been to Hahn and other liberals. Registration exceeds 70% and is overwhelmingly Democratic, with extremely high loyalty to Democratic candidates

Research was done by Prof. Bruce Cain of Caltech and the Times Marketing Research Department.