Bradley Comes Under Pressure to Name Latinos to Top City Jobs

As he gears up for a reelection campaign that will need strong support from Latino voters, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley is being pressured to appoint more Latinos in coming weeks as he fills an unusually high number of top City Hall vacancies.

Two of the job opportunities come as a result of the tumultuous departures last year of General Services chief Sylvia Cunliffe amid charges of nepotism and mismanagement, and of Cultural Affairs chief Fred Croton who allegedly falsified his resume.

These vacancies, coupled with other retirements or resignations, have given Bradley the unprecedented opportunity to name five top city executives at once. Among them will be three who will head large high-profile departments--Transportation, General Services and Community Development.

Latinos, in particular, see the openings as a chance to gain ground in the upper echelons of City Hall, where both Latinos and blacks are substantially underrepresented compared to their numbers in the city’s population.

For Bradley, as he prepares for an expected challenge next year by Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, the five appointments could have significant political benefits and risks. He could affirm his generally acknowledged commitment to promoting minorities, thereby strengthening his base of support among that part of the electorate where Westsider Yaroslavsky is weaker.

At the same time, in the wake of scandals involving department heads in recent years, and with the Cunliffe and Croton episodes still fresh in the public’s mind, the mayor must place a premium on experience, competence and integrity. In the middle of a campaign, he can ill afford another embarrassing series of reports about the performance or qualifications of his top appointees.

Lists of six finalists for each of the five positions have been developed by the city Personnel Department in accordance with Civil Service rules. But the mayor has wide latitude in appointing from those lists. The appointments, which could be made in the next several weeks, are subject to the approval of the City Council.

In a letter to Bradley and area Latino leaders this week, the head of the 600-member city Latino employees association says Latino underrepresentation is increasing in top management ranks and calls for at least two of the five department-head positions to be filled with Latinos. The association president, Ernest Valdez, says only 7% of top city managers are Latino, while recent census data says the growing Latino population has topped 30%.

“We’re saying the situation is getting worse,” said Rich Diaz, a spokesman for the group. While not blaming Bradley for the disparity, Valdez writes: “. . . neither can we, in good conscience, praise you, nor can we sit quietly, patiently by, waiting for you to take advantage of this obvious opportunity.”

The group has worked for several months to help ensure that Latino candidates were among the final candidates for four of the five positions.

One spokesman for the Latino employees group, Bill Molina, said if Latinos do not get what the group considers a fair share of Bradley’s pending appointments, it might go public with its dissatisfaction. “We’ll let the community know (he is) not supporting any kind of Chicanos in the (top of) the Civil Service system . . ., “ Molina said.

Bradley’s chief Latino ally on the City Council, Eastside representative Richard Alatorre, also has privately encouraged the mayor to keep Latino underrepresentation in mind as he fills the five top positions, one of the councilman’s aides said. The advice was general rather than a move to push individual candidates, said Alatorre aide Al Avila. The councilman said that “the current effort for hiring minorities should not be just for secretaries . . . but translate to the highest” ranks, Avila said.

Diaz and others note only two permanent department heads are Latino--City Clerk Elias Martinez and Housing Director Leila Gonzalez-Correa.

Aspirations of Blacks

Bradley also must weigh the complaints of blacks, who while overrepresented in city jobs generally, are frustrated at not breaking into more top executive positions. The only permanent black department head is Ezunial Burts, executive director of the Harbor Department, although two blacks, Department of Aging chief Faye Washington and Community Development head Harreld Adams are among several competing for permanent appointments.

About 10% of the city’s professional and administrative jobs are held by blacks, while about 17% of the city’s population is black.

“Generally, there has been a concern. . . . There are certain avenues where it appears we have not made great gains,” said Cheryl Ward Smith, past president of the city’s black employees group.

Deputy Mayor Michael Gage said political considerations will not affect Bradley’s appointments.

Gage said Bradley had insisted there be “very strong outreach to ethnic minorities” in recruiting managers. But Gage added “the mayor will try to choose the best possible person that came up through the Civil Service process.”