Bradley Deputy May Join Crowded Field : Mayor’s race: Linda Griego eyes support from women’s groups. But raising money could be difficult.

Linda Griego, the city’s deputy mayor for economic development, may enter the race for mayor early next month and become the only politically prominent woman among more than a score of candidates.

Griego would have a lot of catching up to do in a race where some candidates have been campaigning for months. But she could benefit from strong support from national women’s organizations, such as the Fund for a Feminist Majority, from elements of Mayor Tom Bradley’s traditional base and from a number of business executives who have been impressed with Griego’s efforts to revive the local economy.

“I am confident I can raise some money,” Griego said this week. But she added that she needs at least $1 million to be competitive, and she said she did not know whether she could meet that goal.

In a crowded field, a candidate might not need much more than 15% of the vote to make it past the April 20 primary and become one of the two finalists in a June runoff. The mathematics of the race give hope to candidates such as Griego, who are not household names but who command enthusiastic support from key segments of the population, including Latino voters, people who vote regularly in municipal elections and those who give money to local candidates.

Although she has never held elective office, Griego has been active in politics since her high school days and can be a polished, persuasive speaker.

Still, Griego will have to prove she can hold her own against such candidates as City Councilman Michael Woo, Assemblyman Richard Katz and multimillionaire businessman Richard Riordan, whose campaign war chests and well-oiled organizations give them a significant advantage in a short race.

But Griego would stand out by virtue of her ethnicity, gender and potential appeal to various constituencies. Julian Nava, a college professor and former ambassador to Mexico, is the only other Latino in the race; Vicki Hufnagel, a gynecologist and political novice, is the only woman to declare her candidacy so far.

Griego, 45, is a former businesswoman who is a part owner of a downtown restaurant, Engine Co. 28, which she started. Raised in New Mexico, she served for several years on the Washington staff of Sen. Alan Cranston. She has campaigned and raised money for a number of California women politicians, including Sen.-elect Barbara Boxer. And she has worked to expand opportunities for women in government, championing their appointments to commissions and trying to direct more government contracts to businesses owned by women.

During her year as deputy mayor, Griego has developed post-riot economic opportunities for inner-city businesses. Her efforts have won her high marks.

“It is very clear she understands that there is a second economy growing out of smaller, entrepreneurial efforts, often on the part of Latinos, Asians and others who have come here,” said lawyer David Friedman, a force behind New Vision, a business council made up largely of entrepreneurs who run small- to medium-sized firms.

Friedman and others praise Griego for understanding what is needed in tax incentives and research and training assistance to make the new economy flourish.

Griego also could fill a political vacuum for several women’s organizations that have been trying to recruit a prominent woman for the mayor’s race.

“We had always viewed her as a real potential feminist leader in Los Angeles,” said Katherine Spillar, national coordinator for the Fund for the Feminist Majority.

“There is a nationwide network of feminists willing to give money for a campaign and I think that will materialize,” Spillar said. “I think it will be easier to tell (Griego) apart from the crowd, with 19 or 20 men running. She would not have to spend as much to set herself apart.”

While the Feminist Majority does not make endorsements or donations, the group has been influential in encouraging other women’s groups to support candidates.

Members of two other Los Angeles organizations--the Los Angeles Women’s Campaign Fund and the Women’s Political Committee--have also been trying to encourage women to run for mayor.

While neither organization has endorsed Griego, both would be strongly interested in her candidacy, said Jody Evans, a member of both groups.

“All the women’s organizations in the city are looking at an almost all men’s race and saying, ‘There has got to be some representation.’ We can’t believe there is not one (politically prominent) woman in the race,” said Evans, who also managed the presidential campaign of former Gov. Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr.