CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS / 48TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT : Bradley Endorses Farrell

Los Angeles City Councilman Robert Farrell’s bid for the Assembly seat now held by Maxine Waters got a formal nod of approval Tuesday from Mayor Tom Bradley, an endorsement some observers said gives Farrell a significant--and needed--boost.

Plagued by past political problems, including two failed efforts to recall him from the council, Farrell has had trouble igniting his campaign for the 48th Assembly District seat. But Bradley’s backing could help him overcome those problems, as well as neutralize potentially powerful endorsements given to Marguerite Archie-Hudson, one of his three foes in the Democratic primary.

Those supporting Archie-Hudson include Waters and Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco). She also won the official endorsement of the state Democratic Party.

One political observer questioned the value of Bradley’s endorsement, saying it has become more difficult in recent years to gauge his political clout.

“I just can’t judge how the mayor’s standing is these days, except that his margin of victory was down” in last year’s mayoral election, said Larry Berg, director of the Unruh Institute of Politics at USC.

Indeed, Bradley’s support did not help the 1987 City Council campaigns of allies Pat Russell and Homer Broome Jr. Both were defeated--Broome in Bradley’s home district. And during the last year, the mayor’s squeaky-clean image has been tarnished by revelations about his personal financial dealings and their possible impact on public policy decisions.

But others familiar with the 48th District race viewed Bradley’s endorsement as crucial to Farrell’s campaign.

“Tom Bradley’s endorsement is critical and one you want to have,” said Kerman Maddox, a former Bradley aide who helped mount an unsuccessful recall against Farrell two years ago. “I’m not going to say it offsets all the things against (Farrell), but it does neutralize some of those other endorsements.”

Veteran political consultant Joe Cerrell said Bradley’s is the single most important endorsement a candidate could receive in the 48th District, which spreads across South Los Angeles and whose population is 50% black.

“Assembly races are not high-visibility races,” which makes endorsements by high-profile politicians all the more important, Cerrell said. That is especially the case in the 48th District, whose residents “know who Tom Bradley is,” he said.

Waters, a Democrat who first won the Assembly seat in 1976, is giving it up to run for Congress.

Bradley, in his endorsement of Farrell, said he thinks the councilman is the best person to succeed Waters “based upon my long association with him and my familiarity with his commitment to public service.”

The mayor said his support should be considered a “positive endorsement,” and not a “negative” assessment of the other three candidates.

“I’m not casting aspersions against any other person running,” Bradley said.

Archie-Hudson, a former aide to Assembly Speaker Brown and former Los Angeles Community College trustee, said she sought Bradley’s endorsement, but has known for two months that it would go to Farrell.

“It doesn’t surprise me,” she said of the mayor’s action. “The councilman is a sitting city official.”

Archie-Hudson and Farrell are considered the front-runners in the Democratic primary, which also includes Rod Wright, a public affairs specialist who has managed numerous political campaigns, and Lynwood City Councilwoman Evelyn Wells.

Farrell’s current four-year term on the City Council will be up in April, 1991. Thus, he is not risking that post by running for the Assembly.