Councilman’s Role in Hot Issue of Police Deployment Shows Him to Be Strong Ally of Mayor : Alatorre: Bradley’s Key to City Hall

In the weeks before Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley announced that he wants to hire 250 new police officers, Councilman Richard Alatorre met privately with a key Bradley aide to urge that something “dramatic” be done to turn the explosive police deployment issue to the mayor’s political advantage.

On Tuesday, Bradley responded. At a Police Commission hearing, Bradley defused what had been expected to be an angry confrontation and told cheering South-Central residents that he will push for more police to patrol their crime-ridden neighborhoods.

Details of the behind-the-scenes talks involving Alatorre that led to Bradley’s announcement surfaced Wednesday in discussions with numerous City Hall sources. The general view was that Bradley scored a political coup with his proposal by overshadowing chief rival Zev Yaroslavsky, who had previously announced plans of his own to increase police strength.

While not taking full credit for Bradley’s idea, Alatorre said that “several months ago, I had expressed my concern (to Bradley) about the mayor’s position as it related to the Police Department. What I felt was the sentiment of the council was to increase the force by greater numbers.

“I felt that because (Bradley) was the mayor, he ought to get out front a little bit more (on the issue).”

Most Important Ally

Alatorre’s role in advising Bradley on the hotly debated police deployment issue is the latest clear example of his emergence as the mayor’s most important ally on the 15-member City Council since Council President Pat Russell’s defeat last spring.

The reasons for this alliance are politically, personally and pragmatically based. Though he may want to be mayor himself some day, Alatorre is not running next year and it would serve no apparent purpose for him to help Yaroslavsky defeat Bradley in the 1989 race. At the same time, a source close to Alatorre said, the councilman owes part of his political success to Bradley’s endorsements of his past bids for office.

“(Alatorre) is a loyal person,” the source said. “He has always supported the mayor. He likes and believes very strongly in coalitions. That understanding (between Bradley and Alatorre) has grown since they’ve been in closer quarters.”

Alatorre’s ties with Bradley’s office extend beyond the mayor. A former Democratic assemblyman, Alatorre has forged a close relationship with Deputy Mayor Mike Gage, who served four years in the Legislature himself as a Democratic assemblyman representing the Napa County area. It was Gage who met several times with Alatorre on the police deployment matter in the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s announcement. Alatorre also was one of only a few individuals who received advance word of Bradley’s proposal.

In characteristically diplomatic fashion, Gage acknowledged that Alatorre is a key ally whom he is “very fond” of, but added:

“Without denigrating Richard’s closeness (to the mayor), there certainly are other people we can rely on as well.”

Rely on perhaps, but Alatorre is one of only two current council members who has met with any frequency with Bradley in the last year, according to the mayor’s office. Councilman Robert Farrell is the other.

Alatorre’s main asset is his acknowledged political savvy and ability to deliver votes on key issues. More importantly for the mayor, Alatorre could help neutralize any of Yaroslavsky’s attempts on the council floor or in committees to embarrass Bradley in the upcoming campaign.

Late last month, Alatorre performed that role by casting the key vote that is likely to save Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s drilling project in the Pacific Palisades. The vote, in a council committee, probably spared Bradley from having to veto a move by drilling opponents--including Yaroslavsky--to kill Occidental’s plans.

A source close to Alatorre said the councilman’s friendship with the mayor was a factor in Alatorre’s decision to support the drilling project.

Alatorre also sits on two key committees that will play significant roles in the consideration of the proposals to boost the size of the police force. Alatorre chairs the powerful Police, Fire and Public Safety Committee, and he sits as vice chairman on the Finance and Revenue Committee headed by Yaroslavsky.

On the finance panel, Alatorre is viewed by the mayor’s supporters as someone who will work to counter any Yaroslavsky attempts to politicize the police deployment issue.

In an interview, Alatorre said he plans to support Bradley’s bid for re-election, but he downplayed, albeit slightly, any role he may play in undermining Yaroslavsky’s attempt to unseat the mayor.

Turning Out Voters

“I’m not going to spend all my waking moments worrying about what Zev is going to do, but if I disagree with him--and I do disagree with him--I’m not going to certainly sit by and allow the council to be a political tool for someone’s political aspirations,” Alatorre said.

Alatorre is also expected to help Bradley by turning out voters on the city’s Eastside, where the mayor in past elections has been hampered by low voter turnout and low margins of victory in precincts he has carried.

Yaroslavsky curtly refused to discuss publicly Alatorre’s relationship with Bradley, but he downplayed any differences that may exist between the two council members.

“Richard Alatorre and I have a very good relationship,” Yaroslavsky said. “(We’re) in sync with one another on a number of issues. I have no doubt that that relationship will continue.”