The Times Poll : Bradley’s Job Approval Rate Plummets

The tide of opinion has turned against Tom Bradley since the Los Angeles mayor was hit by conflict of interest accusations, with his approval rating plummeting and the public, by almost 2 to 1, saying he is guilty of having misused his office for financial gain, according to The Times Poll.

But only 2 of 5 city residents surveyed say Bradley should resign if he is not completely cleared of all the allegations being investigated by the city attorney’s office and other government agencies. And slightly less than that number believe there should be an election to recall the mayor, who is to be sworn in for a record fifth term July 1.

Good Will Reservoir

The survey shows that Bradley continues to draw on a reservoir of good will built up in his 16 years as mayor, particularly among the groups that have been at the heart of his political constituency--blacks, Jews and Latinos, and liberals from every segment of the community.

Asked “from everything you have heard or read, would you say” Bradley is honest, 17% said very honest and 57% fairly honest.

The poll, however, shows a dangerous course ahead for the mayor as he mounts a defense effort.

Fighting back, Bradley has refused to discuss the substance of the accusations against him, leaving many questions unanswered. Instead, he sought last Tuesday to rally the public behind him with a dramatic admission to the City Council that he had erred in accepting outside employment from two financial institutions.

That highly publicized response may have boomeranged.

The survey showed that as people learn about the accusations, support for Bradley drops. Sixty-four percent of those who are familiar with the furor say he misused his office for personal gain, and 71% say he has not acted in an ethical manner. By contrast, those who do not know about the controversy are just about evenly divided on the question of Bradley’s guilt.

Awareness Increases

And, public awareness is increasing. In a Times survey taken just after Bradley’s April 11 reelection, 61% were unaware. In the current survey, that figure dropped to 49%. Still, the Bradley affair has not taken center stage in a city beset with many problems. Pollution, traffic and the possibility of a strike by teachers far outranked Bradley’s troubles, which were listed as the top concern by only 2%.

Those were among the findings of a telephone survey of 1,239 city residents by The Times Poll on Friday and Saturday. The survey, directed by I.A. Lewis, has a margin of error of four percentage points in either direction.

The poll measured the impact on public opinion of disclosures that Bradley had been paid by two financial institutions that had business pending before the city. He received up to $24,000 a year for serving on the board of directors of Valley Federal Savings & Loan Assn. and $18,000 as a member of the board of advisers of Far East National Bank.

The newspaper disclosures led to a continuing investigation by Los Angeles City Atty. James K. Hahn, along with related inquiries by other city agencies. In addition, the Securities and Exchange Commission has begun an inquiry into the mayor’s stock market trades.

A striking feature of the survey is the decline in approval rating, regarded by public opinion experts as a key measurement of public support for a leader.

Approval Drops

In February, more than 6 of 10 people surveyed said they approved of the way Bradley did his job and almost 7 of 10 said they had a good impression of him. In the current poll, slightly more than 5 of 10 approved of his job efforts and were favorably impressed by him. That represents a drop of 14 percentage points in the mayor’s overall approval rating since February. Disclosures about Bradley’s financial affairs came in late March and early April.

Bradley’s strength in his greatest crisis is rooted in his traditional supporters. In every election, the mayor--the city’s first black chief executive--has always drawn strong support from other blacks and from Jews and Latinos, all of whom tend to vote liberal.

The latest survey shows that support for Bradley among these groups still is above average. For example, his job rating among blacks, Jews and Latinos was substantially higher than among the poll sample as a whole. Latinos were 12% higher, Jews 9% and blacks 7%.

Another indication comes in a breakdown of Bradley’s geographical strength. It is stronger on the Westside, which has a substantial Jewish population and a liberal voting history; and in inner-city areas such as predominantly black and Latino South Los Angeles and heavily Latino East Los Angeles.

One more indication of strength came when those surveyed were asked who they would like to see as Los Angeles’ next mayor. Twenty-one percent picked Bradley compared to 14% for the next-highest choice, Los Angeles City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky.

Weak in Valley

Bradley’s weakness, as it has been throughout his political career, is the San Fernando Valley, home of many white voters who tend to vote in a conservative manner. Backing that up is a survey finding that Bradley’s job approval rating among non-minority whites--a substantial population group in the northern San Fernando Valley--is lower than in the city as a whole.

Bradley’s support also tends to be higher among those employed as managers, those earning more than $60,000 a year, those with the most education and among younger voters. Baby boomers, for instance, gave him a 60% favorable rating.

The survey showed that the public has confidence in Hahn’s investigation of Bradley, 58% to 24%. Slightly more than a third said they favored appointment of a special prosecutor.

Only 43% of those surveyed said the news media had treated Bradley fairly. A total of 12% said the media made him look “better” and 31% said the media made him appear “worse.”

The public also appeared divided over an issue that helped touch off the controversy: whether the city should deposit some of its funds in minority-owned banks even if they pay less interest than other banks.

Far East National Bank, for whom Bradley served as a paid adviser, received city deposits under that policy, and a phone call from the bank president to the mayor inquiring about deposit policy was one reason why Hahn launched his investigation.

While 29% disapproved of the policy and 21% supported it, the largest number of those surveyed--46%--said they had not heard enough about the policy to have an opinion.

HOW L.A. CITY RESIDENTS RATE BRADLEY The Los Angeles Times Poll surveyed a scientific sampling of 1,239 Los Angeles city residents.

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Tom Bradley is handling his job as mayor of Los Angeles?

Now Feb., 1989 June, 1987 March, 1986 Haven’t heard enough 5% 6% 7% 3% Approve 53% 67% 65% 76% Disapprove 30% 20% 19% 16% Undecided 12% 7% 9% 5%

Who would you like to see as the next mayor of Los Angeles? Tom Bradley: 21% Zev Yaroslavsky: 14% Gloria Molina: 12% James Hahn: 11% Richard Alatorre: 10% Michael Woo: 10% Tom Hayden: 8% Maxine Waters: 7% Art Torres: 4%