A Look at the Ads

Los Angeles mayoral hopefuls Richard Katz, Stan Sanders and Linda Griego released new commercials in their efforts to catch front-runners Michael Woo and Richard Riordan.

THE SANDERS AD: The 30-second spot features footage of U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy urging peace in 1968 and scenes from last year’s riots. It ends with “Keep the Peace” flashed on the screen.

THE ANALYSIS: Sanders, an attorney who was seventh among 11 major candidates in a recent Los Angeles Times Poll with just 4% support from voters, needed to do something to grab voters’ attention.

THE KATZ AD: Assemblyman Katz says, “The City Hall crowd’s been turning their backs on the problems of this city for years. . . . The riots weren’t a surprise. The riots were inevitable.” He says in the ad that he sponsored legislation to fund transportation projects and help create 17,000 jobs “and that’s how you stop a riot.”

THE ANALYSIS: Katz continues to attack the “City Hall crowd” without mentioning that, as a San Fernando Valley assemblyman for 12 years, he is part of the Sacramento political Establishment. By talking about the riots while a nervous city awaits the verdicts in the King case, Katz risks turning off voters.

THE GRIEGO AD: Once again standing amid cardboard cutouts of her male rivals, Griego says, “Most of the men running for mayor give tough speeches on crime. But like most politicians, they’re pretty short on specifics.” Griego, the only politically prominent woman among the 24 candidates, pledges to “ban handguns and semiautomatic weapons . . . and send violators to jail.”

THE ANALYSIS: City lawyers have said that the city lacks authority to ban handguns without state legislation. And the mayor has no power over sentencing of lawbreakers.