Poll Shows That Persistence Pays Off for City Hall Gadfly

Other candidates have big titles, high-priced campaign consultants and accountants to keep track of all the money they are collecting to run for mayor.

But Leonard Shapiro, City Hall gadfly and cable television commando, has a little something money can’t always buy--name recognition.

More than one-third of those questioned in the Times Poll said they had heard of Shapiro, one of 41 “others” facing 11 current and former government officials in the race for mayor of Los Angeles.

Shapiro’s 36% name-recognition level in the poll placed him ahead of several candidates who have been viewed as viable mayoral contenders--former Deputy Mayor Tom Houston, transportation official Nick Patsaouras and lawyer Stan Sanders.

The survey of 1,149 voters, conducted between Jan. 28 and Feb. 2, doesn’t exactly catapult Shapiro into contention for the city’s top job. He received no support when voters were questioned about their preference for the mayor’s job.

But for a man who sometimes wondered whether anybody was listening to his critiques of city government--delivered at high volume before the Los Angeles City Council--the arrival of any recognition was thrilling.

“I feel tremendous!” Shapiro responded to news of the poll. “How a little outsider like me should have more name recognition than some of those big guys . . . I think that is just great!”

Shapiro, 73, was quick to credit cable television coverage of City Council meetings for his political windfall. About 500,000 households, 40% of those in the city, receive L.A. Cityview cable transmissions, said Susan Herman, general manager of the city’s Telecommunications Department.

The retired Granada Hills resident also publishes a newsletter, the L.A. Observer, and gives frequent tours of City Hall.

Shapiro’s bullhorn voice and frenetic oratory have been staples of City Council and Board of Supervisors meetings since he retired 14 years ago from his job as a beauty supply wholesaler.

Seemingly unperturbed by the occasional condescension of elected officials, he steps to the lectern routinely to speak about government waste, the corrupting influence of money in politics and the need for more public participation.

After years of pounding away, Shapiro made headlines last year when he single-handedly blocked a $250-million bond issuance that was to pay off a court judgment against the city.

Michele Grumet, a South Los Angeles woman who responded to the Times Poll, said she views Shapiro as “a gadfly who has fought the city and tried to make changes to make it more open.”

Others had a less clear-cut view of Shapiro and his mission. A Mt. Washington resident said: “He could be an actor, or an attorney or a musician. I don’t know why I knew his name.”

Such a “noise factor” is present in any poll presenting respondents with a long list of names, experts said.

But for Shapiro, who said he has often felt like “a voice in the wilderness,” the results opened brave new horizons. “Maybe I’ll even raise some money from a few friends of mine and get something going,” Shapiro said. “What right do they all have to say I’m a minor contender when I have more name recognition?”