Mahony Says Bradley Fails to Grasp Gang Crisis : Protest: Rally prompts meeting between the two men but no money is committed.

One day after Mayor Tom Bradley chastised leaders of the Hope in Youth anti-gang program as being unrealistic, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony launched a counterattack on the steps of City Hall, accusing the mayor Wednesday of failing to grasp the severity of Los Angeles’ gang crisis.

“We pray, Lord, that you will open more widely the heart, the mind and the soul of our mayor,” said Mahony, as he and about 300 religious and grass-roots activists stood around a tiny wooden casket meant to symbolize the grim toll of street warfare.

“Oh, good and gracious God . . . ,” added Davida Foy Crabtree, leader of the United Church of Christ, “send your spirit to City Hall to inspire the mayor of this once-great city, so that he might lead once again.”

Bradley, alerted that he was being publicly roasted, immediately sent word to Mahony that he would meet with a small group of Hope in Youth organizers. Amid cheers, the cardinal and several other religious leaders strode up to the mayor’s third-floor office, emerging about 20 minutes later with smiles and a pledge to work together.

Although Bradley still refused to commit the $2.5 million that the program is requesting from the city, he described the meeting as “very cordial” and agreed to meet with Mahony and other Hope in Youth leaders again next week.

“I consider myself a friend of all involved here,” the mayor said.

“Just the power of prayer,” quipped Mahony, when asked of the reconciliation.

In reality, it was the latest round of power politics between Bradley and Hope in Youth organizers, whose relationship has been strained since the mayor told them in March that the city could not afford to offer any money. The anti-gang campaign is trying to raise nearly $20 million annually, most of it from government sources, to hire outreach workers who would counsel about 4,000 families each year with children who are at risk.

The mayor’s support is critical because state and federal officials are looking to the city to determine whether they should fund the program. A commitment from Bradley also would help provide money promised by the County Board of Supervisors, which has agreed to contribute 15% of whatever Hope in Youth can raise, with the payment not to exceed $2.9 million.

During the last five months, Bradley did not meet with Hope in Youth leaders, instead directing his staff members to study the proposal. Hope in Youth was urged to launch a pilot program to gauge its effectiveness and submit a request for funding just as all other anti-gang projects are required to do.

After Hope in Youth leaders continued to demand a meeting with the mayor, Bradley fired off a sharply worded letter to Mahony on Tuesday, criticizing Hope in Youth for seeking “favored treatment” when other deserving anti-gang programs are feeling the pinch of the city’s fiscal woes. The mayor said Hope in Youth was being unrealistic and refused to make an “empty pledge” for the sake of political expediency.

Hope in Youth leaders contended that the letter was the work of Bradley staffers with whom they had clashed. Mahony said that he was embarrassed for the mayor and that he was sure Bradley had not written the letter.

Bradley said Wednesday that his staff had contributed to the letter but that he had signed off on everything it contained. “That’s my letter,” the mayor said.

He also continued to insist that the city’s financial picture prohibited him from promising any funds. “I have no intention of raising false expectations,” Bradley said.

Still, Mahony considered the exchange a victory if only because he was able to bypass the city bureaucracy and make a direct appeal to the mayor.

“We saw an opening of heart,” the cardinal said. “If we keep the mayor personally involved . . . we will be able to get the results.”