A Latino Bid for Mayor Must Not Be Missed in ’93

Despite its name, the city of Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles hasn’t had a Latino mayor in almost 120 years. That could have changed this month--but Latino political leaders were unwilling to challenge Mayor Tom Bradley.

Contrary to what most political analysts had expected, Bradley had trouble getting himself reelected to a fifth term. Although all he faced was a lackluster field of poorly financed rivals, Bradley barely averted a runoff election, winning an unimpressive 52% of the vote.

Among those second-guessing themselves afterwards was Westside Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, who had been raising money and making other preparations to run against Bradley for several years, then decided in January not to challenge the mayor. Yaroslavsky was scared off by public-opinion polls indicating that Bradley was so popular with city voters as to be unbeatable. Clearly, he read the polls wrong.

But so did the city’s Latino political leaders, who did not make even a token effort to challenge the mayor. Given the strong showing of last-minute candidates like Councilman Nate Holden and former county Supervisor Baxter Ward, it does not take a lot of imagination to speculate on how a serious Latino candidate could have done. He or she might not have won, but at the very least a major Latino challenger would have taken enough votes to force a runoff. And even if the Latino candidate did not make the runoff, he would have been in a position to bargain politically with Bradley and whoever the other finalist was.

The lesson does not appear to have been lost on some local Latino leaders. Several are already talking about running for mayor in 1993, state Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles) being the best-connected politically.

Torres appears to be in an ideal position to run for mayor four years hence. If he can be reelected to the state Senate in 1990, which seems likely, he would not have to give up his seat in the Legislature to run. He is a proven fund-raiser with allies and friends far beyond the Eastside. Loyal service to the Democratic Party has given him connections with liberal activists in the black and Jewish communities. His district includes Chinatown and the downtown business district, giving him ties with Asian-Americans and corporate leaders.

Perhaps most important of all, Torres has the friendship ties that would help him deal with his two most important potential rivals in the city’s Latino political Establishment. He is a longtime ally and close friend of Councilman Richard Alatorre. And the most powerful Latina in city government, Councilwoman Gloria Molina, was once Torres’ field deputy.

So, from the outside, it looks as if Torres’ emergence as the Latino candidate for mayor is a forgone conclusion. But Latino politics in Los Angeles is never that simple.

First, the young senator has had personal problems in Sacramento, including a divorce and two drunk-driving incidents. Voters will be reminded of that by the Los Angeles news media, which are always tougher on politicians when they operate locally than when they are in faraway Sacramento or Washington.

Torres is also likely to face challenges from other Latinos if he runs for mayor. Among them could be Danny Villanueva, the former general manager of Spanish-language KMEX-TV, Channel 34, and one-time kicker for the Los Angeles Rams, who is weighing a political career as his next challenge. He could spoil Torres’ plans. So could a well-connected attorney like Dan Garcia, former chairman of the City Planning Commission, who has talked about a possible mayoral campaign on several occasions.

Then there’s the possibility--nay, the likelihood--that a Chicano activist will run for mayor. There is constant tension between the Latino political Establishment epitomized by Torres and Alatorre and the ardent community activists who got their political experience in the street protests of the 1960s. These activists ask hard questions during campaigns and remind the rest of the city that Latinos are not unanimous in their political views.

Many outsiders fault Latinos for this lack of unity, and many Latinos are frustrated by it. But it is part of the process of Latinos growing to political maturity and influence in this city. Please note I did not use the word power in the last sentence. Because, in the end, it is not really important that Los Angeles elect a Latino mayor. Instead, Latinos must make certain that--in the process of electing a mayor--the issues important to their community are discussed and incorporated into the city’s agenda. What most disappoints me about the recent campaign it is that this hardly happened in 1989.

Bradley is a skilled practitioner of the politics of inclusion, has highly-visible Latinos in his Administration and got good Latino voter support as a result. But Bradley was so confident of reelection this year that he said very little during his campaign about the role the city’s biggest ethnic group will play in its future. Worse, Latino leaders (with the notable exception of the United Neighborhoods Organization of East Los Angeles and its sister groups) did not press him to publicly discuss it.

That can’t be allowed to happen again in 1993--no matter who gets elected mayor.