LOCAL ELECTIONS / L.A. MAYOR : Campaigns Spending Little Time in Latino Enclaves : Politics: Analysts say that is partly because of strategies, but also because communities have not sought to lure the candidates.

The campaign for mayor of Los Angeles has largely bypassed Spanish-speaking neighborhoods, but behind the scenes candidates are aggressively courting Latino leaders they hope can deliver the votes of the city’s largest ethnic group.

Although the field of 24 candidates features two “name” Latinos, neither Linda Griego nor Julian Nava has the political star quality of, say, Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina. So they are scrambling with the others for a piece of the Latino vote.

As part of his outreach effort, Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Panorama City), whose district is predominantly Latino, donned a tuxedo for the Latin Business Assn. awards banquet Friday night; he met several rivals there as well.

Councilman Michael Woo’s political director, Julio Ramirez, meanwhile, has formed Latinos Unidos por Woo and numerous campaigns have been aggressively seeking the backing of Molina and Councilman Richard Alatorre, and the two rival political factions they represent.

Molina, whose endorsement is prized as a sure vote-getter, remains uncommitted. But Alatorre jumped onto Nick Patsaouras’ bandwagon Monday, announcing that the transportation planner is an outsider with the clearest vision for the city’s future.

“He has proven his sensitivity to Latinos,” said Alatorre, who has known Patsaouras for more than 20 years.

In their campaign appearances, the 11 major contenders have for the most part steered clear of the city’s Eastside, the Pico-Union district and other Latino enclaves. Analysts said that is partly because of the candidates’ political strategies, but also because the communities have not sought to lure campaigners to their turf.

Dozens of candidate forums have been held from Sherman Oaks to South-Central in recent weeks but the pack of front-runners has yet to appear as a group before a largely Latino audience. In the sole mayoral forum east of the Los Angeles River, sponsored by the Hispanic Women’s Council, only one candidate--Griego--showed up.

“They’re going to go to events in areas where they can pick up money,” said organizer Lourdes Saab, who heads the Eastside women’s group. “That’s a reality.”

At the same time, the candidates have not completely cast aside a population that makes up 40% of the city’s residents but just 11% of voters. Because the race is so tight and time is so short, aggressive efforts are under way to line up the support of influential Latino business owners, community leaders and politicians before the April 20 primary; all the front-runners are scheduled to meet in the coming weeks with the editorial board of La Opinion, the city’s largest Spanish-language daily.

“I think the candidates are looking at the data and seeing that there are 140,000 Latinos registered citywide,” said Richard Martinez, executive director of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project. “It’s a small population base but in a race like this it cannot be ignored.”

So candidates are doing what they can to gain an edge. The three who speak fluent Spanish--Griego, Nava and Patsaouras--have conducted bilingual campaign events, while the rest of the pack is relying on support from those who speak Spanish.

Businessman Richard J. Riordan has tapped many of the Latino leaders connected with his Eastside philanthropic efforts.

The race for endorsements began with Woo, who won the early backing of Assemblyman Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles). Woo also was the top choice of Latinos surveyed in a Times poll last month; 22% said they would vote for him, although twice as many were unsure.

Along the way there have been struggles over the same powerbrokers, attacks on fellow candidates and some embarrassing miscues.

Patsaouras, a Greek immigrant married to a woman from Mexico, said he considers a strong showing in the Latino community critical to his success. But he jumped the gun earlier in the campaign when he announced that Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles) had lent his support. Torres said he has not signed on with any camp.

The support of Alatorre, announced at the East Los Angeles Skills Center, will lend credibility to his effort, Patsaouras said. “It gives me an extra boost in the Latino population,” Patsaouras said. “There may not be many voters but they make up almost half this city’s population.”

Businesswoman Griego, a former deputy mayor who is the only politically prominent woman in the race, made an endorsement blunder as well last week. At a news conference announcing support by women’s groups, her campaign literature included Lupe Perez, who heads Comision Feminil de Los Angeles, an Eastside nonprofit group that aims to empower Latinas and their children.

“That must be a mistake because I have not endorsed Linda Griego,” Perez said in an interview.

Perez knows Griego, who is a member of her group, and she was contacted about the news conference. But Perez said she has yet to decide whom she supports for mayor.

Those Latinos in political office are relishing their roles. Councilman Mike Hernandez said he has a “short list” of contenders that he is mulling over. One requirement he has imposed: Anybody who wants his vote must climb into his Chevy Blazer for a tour of his district.

Molina, who splintered the Latino vote when she took her name out of mayoral consideration Nov. 17, has been meeting behind closed doors with several candidates. Her spokesman, Robert Alaniz, said she would like to play a role in electing the next mayor. But as if to keep the field in check, he said she would bypass an endorsement completely if none of the candidates are just right.

Of all the candidates, Nava, a former school board member and ambassador to Mexico, is hustling the Latino vote most aggressively. He has been walking Eastside neighborhoods, meeting with gang leaders and senior citizens, and addressing parenting classes in Spanish.

Nava’s drive has been hampered by his absence from the local political scene for the last 12 years. He has drawn some heat among Anglo voters for his call for voting rights for immigrants who hold green cards but are not yet citizens. Other candidates have opposed the idea and Councilman Joel Wachs offers up an alternative: his proposed neighborhood councils, which would allow everyone to participate, citizen or not.

The rush for Latino voters by the other candidates has prompted Nava to go on the offensive.

“Totally indifferent or even hostile political candidates are all of a sudden discovering the Latino vote,” he said. “I come from the barrio and just about everybody in the barrio knows that. I don’t have the burden of proving that.”

Because Nava sees solid Latino support as essential to his campaign, he lashed out last week at Griego. His camp questioned her record promoting economic development as deputy mayor, claiming that she was just in charge of ceremonial functions. He also attacked her for avoiding many campaign forums.

“I don’t think she really has anything important to say,” Nava said in an interview. Griego, who has been endorsed by U.S. Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard and Los Angeles Fire Commissioner James Blancarte, said she refuses to engage in “bickering” with Nava. A restaurateur who is credited with helping businesses navigate the City Hall bureaucracy, Griego said her reach into the Latino community will be through small business owners and community groups. But her campaign is not directed at any one population, she said.

“The very wrong message to send to Los Angeles at this time is that someone should be elected because it’s our turn,” Griego said. “It ought to be a mayor for the whole city. Julian Nava says it’s his turn. That’s dividing an already divided city.”

Although many have been seeking the support of Latino leaders, one candidate, Tom Houston, has been fending off their attacks. Houston has focused on illegal immigration, calling for more federal funds to handle the influx of immigrants and for the deportation of illegal immigrants who join gangs.

Houston, another former deputy mayor, said illegal immigration is a serious concern among residents citywide--Latinos included. But Alatorre, Hernandez and Nava appeared at a joint news conference recently to denounce him.

“Having Latino leaders criticize you, that has to hurt in the Latino community,” Houston said, “even though I think the rank and file agree with me.”