The City Elections : Yaroslavsky’s Decision : Bitter Irony Mixed With Victory Toasts

As television sets in the crowded ballroom of the Beverly Grand Hotel flashed voting results that showed Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley barely avoiding a runoff Tuesday night, a collective groan shuddered through the party for Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky.

Had Yaroslavsky, the ambitious and well financed politician who backed out of the mayor’s race at the last minute because he thought Bradley was invincible, blown the biggest political call of his life? Yes, several Yaroslavsky supporters were saying.

“We were all going, ‘Yikes, he could have pulled this off!’ ” said Bob Hattoy, regional director of the Southern California Sierra Club and a longtime Yaroslavsky ally. “Maybe it was Zev’s time to run.”

Supporters’ Attention

Supporters such as Hattoy who spent much of the evening watching television sets at the hotel in West Los Angeles were more engrossed by Bradley’s surprising struggle to avoid a runoff than the tallies that showed Yaroslavsky winning reelection to his 5th District council seat.

Herb Solomon, who goes back to Yaroslavsky’s first campaign in 1975, stood inside the ballroom saying: “I knew it. I knew he could have done it!”

Stanley Treitel, a Jewish community activist from Yaroslavsky’s district, sat quietly at a small table, surrounded by Yaroslavsky campaign signs. As the results rolled in, Treitel was filled with disappointment about what might have been, if Yaroslavsky had run for mayor.

“You can’t help but think about it,” Treitel said. “Zev’s a hard campaigner, and he had the money. So he might have made a race of it.”

Bradley ended up with just 52% of the vote. His surprisingly strong competition came from the late-starting and under-financed Councilman Nate Holden, who jumped into the race after Yaroslavsky pulled out in January. Unlike Holden, Yaroslavsky would have had to give up his council seat to run, and his private polls told him he would have had a tough time winning the mayoral contest.

While political analysts agree that Bradley would have campaigned far more aggressively against Yaroslavsky, many of the councilman’s backers never fully accepted his retreat, especially after he had raised more than $1.5 million. Tuesday’s election made them all the more frustrated.

For some supporters, the 5th District victory party brought a taste of bitter irony. “A lot of people are angry,” one supporter said. “Zev’s gotta go home tonight feeling he screwed up.”

But a smiling Yaroslavsky received a crescendo of applause when he emerged from his suite to claim victory. He said he had never second-guessed his decision to drop out of the mayor’s race. But he looked stunned when an aide showed him the mayoral results.

A Strange Result

“This is a strange election,” the 40-year-old councilman muttered.

Later, when the crowd faded and he retired to his room for a cold beer, Yaroslavsky appeared relaxed. He called his sister in Israel to announce his victory.

Then he sat down and thought about the mayor’s race. Bradley would have taken him a lot more seriously than Holden, would have spent more money, Yaroslavsky argued to a visitor.

But he conceded one point: the mayor, who had looked so unbeatable, was no longer so intimidating to the councilman.

“He’s not invincible,” Yaroslavsky said softly. “He’s definitely not invincible anymore.”