Hahn Endorses Burke in Bid to Succeed Him on County Board

Retiring County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn on Friday endorsed Yvonne Brathwaite Burke to succeed him in the South Los Angeles district he has represented since 1952.

The race is expected to produce the county’s first elected black supervisor. Burke was appointed to the board in 1979 but lost a 1980 election to Supervisor Deane Dana.

Endorsements from Hahn and other popular local politicians such as Mayor Tom Bradley may prove important as the June 2 primary nears. The chief rivals, Burke and state Sen. Diane Watson, share views on many issues.

Hahn was undecided about how much he would give Burke from the $250,000 left in his campaign treasury, saying his bank account is secondary to his political muscle.

“My endorsement is worth a million dollars,” he said.

Hahn, joined in his endorsement by his son, Los Angeles City Atty. James K. Hahn, and Councilman Nate Holden, said he believes that his former board colleague will carry on his tradition of building parks, filling potholes and keeping streets clean.

Watson, who also had sought Hahn’s endorsement, sought to suggest that it carried the taint of imperial politics. “I think that there is a concern about anyone who leaves office trying to name their successor. . . . It is now time for the people to decide who they want in office.”

Burke and Watson, pioneering black women in Democratic politics, have both pledged to seek more jobs, obtain more funding for health care for the poor and provide greater scrutiny of the Sheriff’s Department. Community activists and political analysts said that the race could come down to other factors, such as differences in the candidates’ political styles and their endorsements.

Burke and Watson have courted Supervisor Gloria Molina. Only about 8% of voters who turn out for local elections are Latino, but the backing of a popular Latino politician such as Molina could be critical in a tight race, said Watson’s campaign manager, Kerman Maddox. Molina has not decided on an endorsement. Nor has Bradley, also considered a key endorsement.

Some political analysts said that Hahn’s endorsement could work against Burke. In her successful campaign last year, Molina used the many endorsements received by her opponent, state Sen. Art Torres, to portray him as a political insider who would be less likely to reform county government. A similar theme is emerging in the 2nd District race.

“Yvonne is schooled in the politics of accommodation, while Diane plays better the politics of confrontation,” said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, senior associate at the Center for Politics and Policy at Claremont Graduate School.

“Hahn, for better or for worse, is a member of the board, and that’s baggage,” Jeffe said. “For Yvonne, this anoints her as an insider. It may have been better to stay away,” given the anti-incumbency mood in the community these days. Jeffe said the endorsement could aid Burke’s fund raising.

Hahn’s endorsement of Burke came as no surprise. Jeffe pointed out that Watson had said that she would run for the seat, even before Hahn announced his plans to retire.

Ken Thomas, publisher of the black community newspaper Los Angeles Sentinel, said: “There is not any doubt that Kenny Hahn’s support was sought by everyone but it has another side. It could be viewed as a passing of the baton. . . . The community appreciates what Hahn has done but wants a free hand in choosing his successor.”

Other analysts said Hahn’s endorsement is a major boost to Burke in a community that Hahn has represented since the dawn of the Eisenhower Administration--and where he overwhelmingly won reelection four years ago even after suffering a stroke.

“One can never discount the esteem in which Kenny Hahn is held in the larger community in general and the black community in particular,” said the Rev. Cecil (Chip) Murray, senior minister of First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles. But whether the endorsement is sufficient to overcome the opposition of Watson, “who too has a giant following, remains to be seen.”