Black Weekly Endorses Hahn for Council Seat

Los Angeles City Council candidate Janice Hahn has picked up a surprisingly early--and potentially pivotal--endorsement in her bid to unseat longtime 15th District Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores in the April 20 city elections.

In last week’s Los Angeles Sentinel, the black-owned weekly newspaper that has a circulation of about 25,000, Hahn won a glowing editorial endorsement headlined: “Why We Won’t Wait.”

While saying the “jury is understandably still out” on many of the council seats at stake in the city election, the newspaper said it needed no more time to announce its choice in the six-person race in the 15th District, which stretches from Watts to San Pedro.

“Our choice is an easy one. It is Janice K. Hahn . . . “ the editorial said, noting she is the daughter of the area’s longtime former County Supervisor, Kenneth Hahn, and sister of Los Angeles City Atty. James Kenneth Hahn.

The elder Hahn’s name long has carried particular weight in the city’s African-American neighborhoods. An Anglo, he defied conventional political wisdom over the years by time and again winning reelection in predominantly black districts, first on the Los Angeles City Council and then the County Board of Supervisors. He retired last year after serving a record 40 years on the board.

Although the Sentinel editorial had harsh words for Flores--describing her as neglectful of Watts--it was clear that Janice Hahn’s trump card was her family name.

“The Hahn name. . . . is known to us,” it said. “Whether it be father Kenneth, or brother James . . . the name stands for a legacy of public service.”