Apparel Mogul to Head Wachs’ Finance Effort : Studio City: Stanley Hirsh’s defection from the mayor raises questions about the incumbent’s candidacy.

Stanley Hirsh, a Garment District mogul and longtime Studio City resident, has emerged as the finance chief for Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs’ potential campaign for mayor, launched Wednesday.

Hirsh’s decision to back Wachs’ mayoral venture also has a political flip side--it appears to deprive Mayor Tom Bradley of a financially important backer he has counted on in past political wars.

By backing someone else, Hirsh raises questions about whether the mayor will run next year. Bradley has said he will announce his plans next month.

“Stanley Hirsh has been a big supporter of the mayor in the past,” said Joe Cerrell, a veteran political consultant. “It makes you wonder if Tom Bradley is going to run when a Hirsh deserts him or is given the green light by the mayor to work for another candidate.”

Another possible element: Hirsh has clashed recently with Bradley over the mayor’s backing for a garment center plan that could hurt Hirsh’s business there.

Wachs, who has represented San Fernando Valley-based council districts for 22 years, thrust Hirsh into the political limelight at a news conference Wednesday at City Hall when he announced his intention to raise funds for a possible mayor’s candidacy next spring, an effort that could cost millions of dollars in a crowded race.

Leading his all-important fund-raising drive will be Hirsh, 66, a prominent businessman, philanthropist and 30-year resident of Studio City. He has been president of the Jewish Federation Council and a top fund-raiser for the United Jewish Fund, the federation’s financial arm.

“Joel and Stanley go back a million years,” said Wachs’ chief deputy, Greg Nelson. “They’ve known each other since 1971, when Joel first ran for council.” In fact, Hirsh was one of the dozen candidates--including Wachs--who ran to unseat the incumbent, James Potter, in that race.

Hirsh has recently been embroiled in numerous battles involving the city’s Garment District, home to an apparel industry that is one of Los Angeles’ business giants.

In November, Wachs backed Hirsh in opposing efforts to transform the historic May Co. building on Broadway downtown into the city’s largest garment plant--creating a competitor to properties owned by Hirsh, one of the Garment District’s biggest landlords. Hirsh lost on the council floor but later won when Bradley vetoed the May Co. plan.

But last week, Hirsh sharply criticized a Bradley plan to double the area where garment-industry uses would be permitted. Hirsh complained that the plan would clog the city’s streets with truck and pedestrian traffic in areas currently zoned for commercial, restaurant and residential uses. He also said it would foster unfair competition for garment businesses in the existing district.

Hirsh denied that his support of Wachs and opposition to Bradley had anything to do with the politicians’ stands on issues critical to his pocketbook. “Absolutely not,” he said. “Joel ought to be mayor because of his optimism and his attentiveness to his constituents,” Hirsh said in an interview.

In 1991, The Times identified Hirsh as one of 60 people who were not being prosecuted by federal authorities even though they gave more money to candidates than the law allowed. The report showed that Hirsh gave $38,000 to various candidates when the limit was $25,000 a year.