LOCAL ELECTIONS L.A. COUNTY ASSESSOR : Bradley Withdraws His Endorsement of Lynch, Backs Hahn Instead

The Los Angeles County assessor’s race took a new turn Thursday as Mayor Tom Bradley withdrew his backing of incumbent John Lynch and threw his support behind Kenneth P. Hahn--even as a mailer was being sent to homes featuring the mayor’s earlier endorsement of Lynch.

The race has been confusing enough because of the candidacy of Hahn, who is no relation to Supervisor Kenneth F. Hahn. The supervisor has endorsed Lynch in Tuesday’s election.

Meanwhile, Lynch, who has lamented the low visibility of his job, received a boost from a pro-Proposition 136 campaign mailer that features the incumbent’s support of the anti-tax measure.

At a City Hall press conference, Bradley said he decided to pull his endorsement of Lynch because of allegations of “poor performance and personnel difficulties” in the assessor’s office. Bradley said the charges, including a well-publicized 1986 incident in which Lynch threw county auditors out of his office, recently came to his attention.

“For the first time in my political career, I find myself in a position where I am forced in good conscience to withdraw my endorsement which I made many months ago, long before I got certain information,” Bradley said.

In response, Lynch said Thursday: “I would have appreciated a call from him to answer his concerns. But that’s politics.”

Hahn, 51, a deputy assessor, surprised himself in the June primary when, with virtually nothing to his campaign but a well-known name, he forced Lynch into a runoff. Lynch, 53, collected about 30% of the vote, followed by Hahn’s 28%. The remainder was split among five other candidates, all of whom have since endorsed Hahn.

Bradley was urged to withdraw his support for Lynch about a month ago by former Assessor Alexander Pope, also a former Bradley commissioner and co-chair of the Hahn campaign. City Councilman Mike Woo said he also spoke to Bradley’s chief of staff, pointing out the next assessor could become “the decisive vote on county reapportionment” next year.

Should the Board of Supervisors fall short of the four votes required for approval of a new plan, the issue will be decided by a committee of the assessor, district attorney and sheriff. The election of Hahn, a Democrat, would tip the committee’s balance of power from Republican to Democratic.

Bradley said he endorsed Lynch before he became aware of allegations that have since “shaken my confidence in Mr. Lynch’s ability to perform as county assessor in a competent manner.”

The mayor cited the incident in which Lynch booted county auditors out of his office, charges that Lynch assaulted an employee during a heated argument and a recent audit of the assessor’s office that found millions of dollars in billing backlogs.

Lynch denies the assault allegation and contends the audit was faulty because it reviewed procedures established by his predecessor. He blames backlogs on a computer system also inherited from his predecessor, and says he has corrected most of the problems. Meanwhile, the mailer sent out by the campaigns for Propositions 136 and 137 features a letter from Lynch warning of huge property tax increases unless the measures are approved. It went to 300,000 homes in Los Angeles County and 1 million throughout California.

Steve Hopcraft, media director for the anti-136 Californians Against Initiative Fraud, said the mailer represents a major contribution to Lynch from the alcohol industry, which is heavily financing the Proposition 136 campaign.

Lynch said he did not know who was paying for the mailer. “I don’t even drink,” he said.