LOCAL ELECTIONS / L.A. MAYOR : Candidates Scramble for Key Endorsements

Daryl F. Gates has this vengeful little scheme to get back at City Councilman Michael Woo, who is running for mayor on the strength of his successful efforts to rid Los Angeles of its obstinate and controversial police chief.

Says the ex-chief of Woo: “I think I’m going to come out and endorse him for mayor. That’ll probably kill him.”

Gates’ joke brings a devious twist to the name game underlying this year’s mayoral election.

In the list of coveted endorsements, Gates is most assuredly at the bottom. County Supervisor Gloria Molina sits near the top. And the name dropping has already begun in earnest in the Los Angeles mayor’s race.

Candidate Stan Sanders, who is backed by sports legends Jim Brown and Muhammad Ali and entertainer Bill Cosby, has been in a struggle with rival Nate Holden for Magic Johnson’s endorsement. Holden claimed to have Johnson’s backing, but a spokesman for the basketball star said he was uncommitted.

In addition to Hollywood celebrities and star athletes, candidates have lined up backers ranging from a U.S. senator from Maryland to influential leaders of ethnic communities.

Nowhere is the endorsement battle fiercer than in the realm of law enforcement.

Popular new Police Chief Willie L. Williams is staying out of the race. But that didn’t deter Woo from using a picture of himself with the chief in a TV ad, which drew furious complaints from rivals and led Williams to ask candidates to refrain from using him in commercials.

While Williams is not offering his endorsement and candidates are not fighting over Gates’, two candidates turned to former Los Angeles police chiefs. Richard Katz has the backing of Ed Davis, while Richard Riordan is supported by Tom Reddin.

The powerful Los Angeles Police Protective League is staying out of the race--at least through the April 20 primary. So clever candidates have turned to other police organizations in order to bolster their law-and-order credentials. Woo, for example, claims the support of the African American Police Officer Assn. Katz boasts of support from the Assn. of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs--even though deputies are employed by the county, not the city.

“In this race, with so many candidates about whom people know so little, endorsements provide voting cues,” said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, who teaches at the Claremont Graduate School’s Center for Politics and Policy.

So prized was the endorsement from labor that Woo and Katz waged a bitter fight. It ended in a draw: The political arm of the County Federation of Labor deemed both candidates worthy of support.

Woo has used his endorsements from Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, who is African-American, and the Mexican American Political Assn. to portray himself as a consensus builder who can pull the ethnically fractured city together.

For Linda Griego, winning the backing of EMILY’s List--a national group that funds women candidates--meant money in the bank. The women’s group recently sent out 10,000 letters soliciting contributions for Griego, the only politically prominent woman among the 24 candidates.

Nick Patsaouras also has used his endorsement from U.S. Sen. Paul Sarbanes, a fellow Greek-American from Maryland, to send a fund-raising appeal to Greek-Americans across the nation.

Holden has trotted out endorsements from prominent women in an effort to lessen the political damage from allegations of sexual harassment made against him. He has lined up endorsements from Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke and ex-Congresswoman Bobbi Fiedler, among others.

Molina’s endorsement has been sought by virtually all of the major candidates because of her broad, populist appeal--to Latinos, women and tax critics--but she has yet to signal her choice.

Mayor Tom Bradley is expected to stay out of the primary, said Deputy Mayor Mark Fabiani. But political analysts question whether Bradley’s endorsement would be a blessing or a curse, considering that so many candidates are running on platforms to remake City Hall.