Race to Replace Hahn Starts : Politics: Yvonne Brathwaite Burke may run, setting up showdown with state Sen. Watson for veteran supervisor’s post.

A possible showdown over who will become Los Angeles County’s first elected black supervisor was shaping up Thursday between ex-Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke and state Sen. Diane Watson, a day after veteran Supervisor Kenneth Hahn announced he will retire.

As Reps. Maxine Waters and Julian Dixon bowed out as possible candidates, Burke said that she may oppose Watson in the June election in the 2nd Supervisorial District.

“I’m leaning toward running,” said Burke, the only black ever to serve on the county board. Burke was appointed supervisor in 1979 but lost to Supervisor Deane Dana in a 1980 election.

Watson (D-Los Angeles) has scheduled a news conference for today to formally announce her candidacy.

Jockeying for the seat began one day after Hahn, whose nearly four decades on the job have made him the longest-serving county supervisor in state history, announced that he will retire when his term expires in December, 1992.

Los Angeles City Councilman Nate Holden said that he is mainly interested in running for mayor in 1993 but has not ruled out the supervisor’s race. Mas Fukai, chief deputy to Hahn and one of the highest-ranking Asian-Americans in county government, said that he is weighing a bid for supervisor. Compton City Treasurer Wesley Sanders Jr. also is interested, according to his aide.

Others are expected to file as well. But because of the huge size of the supervisorial district of 1.8 million people--a larger population than 15 states--a big name is key to winning the seat. Filing for the race does not officially begin until February.

The race is expected to further shake up the five-member county board, a previously all-male, all-white enclave that was joined earlier this year--and only after a voting rights lawsuit--by its first Latino member this century, Gloria Molina.

Hahn’s 2nd District, encompassing South Los Angeles, is 40% Latino and 35% black. But Latinos “do not have sufficient voter registration base to be able to elect a candidate of their own choosing,” said Alan Clayton, an aide to state Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles). Many Latinos in the district are not citizens or are not old enough to vote.

In an interview, Burke said she will decide within 10 days whether to run. Her Westside home is outside the 2nd District, but she said that she has time to fulfill the residency requirements if she decides to run. When she was on the board, she represented the 4th Supervisorial District, but portions of her old district are now part of the 2nd District.

Waters (D-Los Angeles) said by telephone from Washington: “I understand the importance of a seat on the county Board of Supervisors, but I believe the greatest contribution I can make to the public I serve is to continue my work at the federal level.”

Dixon (D-Los Angeles) expressed similar sentiments.

A day after his announced retirement, Hahn, 71, reflected on his four decades as a county supervisor.

As he entered a packed Hall of Administration news conference, the wheelchair-bound Hahn spotted a reporter wearing a pin with the county seal on his lapel. “You know who designed that county seal, don’t you?” Hahn asked rhetorically, citing one of his proud accomplishments.

He ticked off other achievements: establishing the county’s paramedic program, placing call boxes on freeways, fighting for construction of Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, helping to bring the Dodgers to Los Angeles and, one of his favorite activities, tending religiously to filling potholes.

“I have assured that all the streets in my district are paved,” he said. “You still cannot find a pothole anywhere.”

Board Chairman Mike Antonovich, a conservative adversary of the liberal Hahn and 13 years old when Hahn was first elected to the board, said: “Kenny’s announcement heralds the end of a career in politics and public service which may never be equaled. He has become, indeed, an institution.”

Liberal ally Supervisor Ed Edelman, a UCLA student when Hahn was elected supervisor, said, “Kenny was a towering figure in county government.”

Molina, who was 4 when Hahn became a supervisor, said the announcement was a “sad day” for all residents.

Hahn did not notify his colleagues of his decision in advance.

Commenting on his political longevity, Hahn said: “I started the same time--1946--to run for public office as Richard Nixon did. By the way, he wrote me a letter saying he can’t vote in California, but if he could vote, I’d be the only Democrat he’d vote for.

“I send that letter to my Republican friends at election time.”

Hahn’s staff stood and applauded--some wept--as he returned from the press conference to his office, which is decorated with photographs of Hahn shaking hands with every President since Harry S. Truman.

During his final year in office, Hahn said, he will continue to pursue pet projects, including construction of an Alaska-to-California water pipeline, adding two supervisors to the five-member board and establishing a statewide ban on wood roofs.

“I’m not retiring,” Hahn said. “I’m just not going to run again.”

A Vacant Seat Longtime Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn announced Wednesday that he plans to retire next year. The following political figures were prominently mentioned as possible successors. As of Thursday, here’s how they stood on the question of their candidacies: State Sen. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles)

Definitely running

U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles)

Not running

U.S. Rep. Julian Dixon (D-Los Angeles)

Not running

City Councilman Nate Holden

Has not ruled out running

Kenneth Hahn’s Chief Deputy Mas Fukai

Considering running

Former Supervisor Yvonne B. Burke

Leaning toward running