Block Weighs Chances in Race for Mayor

Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block, who said earlier that he would announce a decision this summer on whether to run for a fourth term as sheriff in 1994 or retire, has added a third option: He may run for mayor of Los Angeles next year.

Block said Friday that he was approached more than two months ago by people who told him of a poll indicating “the No. 1 concern in the community was crime and violence and that I had one of the very lowest unfavorable ratings among all public officials.”

“They thought I should explore the idea of being a candidate for mayor,” he said, adding that he resolved to consider the suggestion.

“My decision will be based on two factors primarily,” he said in an interview. “One is what would be the impact on me personally and (on) my family and personal life. The second thing would be, am I convinced that I can make a real contribution by getting involved in the process to become mayor?”

He did not disclose who had asked him to run or which poll had been cited.

Block, 67, said, “I am not young.” But he said that he has made a complete recovery from surgery last year for prostate cancer and that “health is not even a minor factor” in whether he will run.

Although he is a registered Republican and Los Angeles is predominantly Democratic, Block noted that the office of mayor, like that of sheriff, is nonpartisan. “I think today in politics a party label is less significant than the individual and what (he stands) for.

“If I were to seek (to become mayor), certainly I would be expected to offer what I think needs to be done in this city to move it forward. But at the same time, I think I have a record to stand on, and I’m prepared to stand on that record,” he said.

Five years ago, Block considered running for mayor but decided against it, explaining at the time that he was reluctant to leave the “professional environment” of the Sheriff’s Department for the “purely political” post of mayor.

Asked Friday what has changed, Block said: “Nothing has changed, other than it’s now four or five years later, and I just feel somewhat flattered that people are making that suggestion again.”

The sheriff did not say so, but the political situation has changed. Mayor Tom Bradley has been weakened politically and is not considered nearly as likely to run. And if he does decide to seek reelection, he probably would be more vulnerable.

Others mentioned as possible contenders in the 1993 race for mayor include Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina, Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar), Los Angeles City Councilmen Nate Holden, Michael Woo, Zev Yaroslavsky and Richard Alatorre and businessman Richard Riordan.

Block said he will consult with “not necessarily people who are recognized as being active in the political world, but people who I believe do have an objective view of the situation. People who know me.”