Riordan to Face Woo in June : Measure to Add 1,000 Police in L.A. Defeated : Election: Mayoral runoff will pit a liberal city councilman against a Republican lawyer and investor. Competing visions of the city will be showcased.

Overcrowded with candidates and overshadowed by a volatile trial, the Los Angeles mayoral race finally crystallized Tuesday into a sharply defined, two-man contest of political opposites--Republican lawyer-investor Richard Riordan and liberal City Councilman Michael Woo, who will meet in a June runoff.

As the last votes were tallied, Riordan was running ahead of Woo’s, but falling short of the 50%-plus majority need to win outright. Riordan was benefiting in part from a low turnout that usually works to the advantage of Republican candidates, whose supporters tend to vote more regularly. Riordan also was the overwhelming choice of absentee voters.

The potentially divisive contest between Woo, who campaigned heavily in minority communities, and Riordan, who cultivated his base in white conservative neighborhoods, will showcase two competing visions of the city.

Riordan is a 62-year-old venture capitalist and philanthropist whose campaign rhetoric harks back to a city with good schools, a sound financial foundation and neighborhoods free of gangs and graffiti.

Woo, 41, is a product of the 1960s, an anti-war activist who applied for conscientious objector status during the Vietnam War and is at home in the hubbub of a city with an increasingly foreign flavor. Woo has spent most of his adult life in government and would harness its resources to serve poor people and minorities.

Woo’s victory speech signaled the contentious nature of the campaign to come. “I will be a mayor who will reform and change L.A., not for the few or the privileged but for the working men and women of this community,” Woo told several hundred cheering supporters at the Palace in Hollywood. “Dick Riordan gets his marching orders from Ronald Reagan, and his economic ideas from Michael Milken. . . . Dick Riordan is a rerun none of us can afford to see again. I offer a new beginning.”

Riordan congratulated Woo before launching into criticism of his opponent.

“It’s time to govern L.A. in a different way. It’s time to throw out the stereotypes of the ‘70s and the ‘80s represented by Woo and other politicians,” Riordan said.

Then, reaching out to the voters he will need in June, he added: “It’s time for a new citywide coalition that reflects the diversities of our citizens in the ‘90s. It’s time to elect a mayor who will bring new solutions to old problems, who is inclusive in sharing power with citizens of this city. These problems, which transcend racial and class divisions, must be addressed in every part of L.A.”

The election follows one of the most tumultuous years in the city’s history, beginning last spring with the worst urban riot in the United States this century and culminating Saturday with two guilty verdicts in the civil rights trial of four Los Angeles police officers accused of beating Rodney G. King.

Those events have helped frame the essential question that many people believe is posed by the election--and especially by the candidacies of Riordan and Woo. Is Los Angeles better served by someone who describes himself, as Riordan does, “as tough enough to turn L.A. around,” or by someone such as Woo who argues that what the city needs is someone who can bring people together?

A Los Angeles Times exit poll Tuesday of voters across the city found that more than half of Woo’s supporters backed the Hollywood councilman because of his opposition to former Police Chief Daryl F. Gates and his efforts to reach out to minorities. Woo’s supporters also said they saw him as someone who can bring the city together and who understands the multiethnic Los Angeles.

The majority of Riordan’s supporters chose him because of his business acumen, according to the survey conducted by Times Poll Director John Brennan. But Riordan’s campaign slogan also appears to have taken hold. His supporters also said that they were impressed by Riordan’s emphasis on toughness and that they liked Riordan because he is an outsider, even though he has been one of the biggest political donors to City Hall politicians.

Fifty-two percent of the voters surveyed listed the economy as their greatest concern. Crime was uppermost on the minds of 34% of the voters, followed by education, cited by 28% of the voters. Other issues, such as race relations, transportation, immigration and the proposed breakup of the school district, ranked much lower in importance to voters.

Although the King case dominated airwaves and headlines during the week of jury deliberations, “the dramatic events surrounding the Rodney King civil rights trial seem to have had little impact on the mayor’s race,” Brennan said. “Voters ranked the LAPD, race relations and the criminal justice system relatively low as issues.”

The mayoral race is the first one in 64 years without an incumbent on the ballot. But its significance was blurred by the unusual events of the past weeks. Preoccupied by the weeklong jury deliberations in the King case, most voters probably did not pay attention to politics until there were just two days left before the primary--a situation that made it even more difficult for other candidates in the mayoral race to overtake Woo and Riordan, the two most well-organized, well-funded candidates.

Riordan ran as the anti-politician, sponsoring one of two ballot initiatives that would limit elected city officials to two terms. He said he would work for $1 a year if elected and financed much of his campaign with $3 million of his own money. Opponents, however, scoffed at his claims of being an outsider, noting that he had contributed millions of dollars to local politicians while he and his law firm held lucrative government contracts.

The race developed into a referendum on leadership skills.

Targeting minorities and white liberals, Woo pounded home the message that he was the first member of the City Council to seek Gates’ resignation after the King beating. In TV ads and direct mail, Riordan harped on the message that his record of resuscitating ailing companies made him uniquely qualified to turn the city around.

The candidates outdid one another in their efforts to portray Los Angeles as an urban wasteland. With repeated references to gangs, carjackings and drive-by shootings, Riordan referred to Los Angeles as a war zone. Woo warned that the city was on the same downward slide as New York. Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) frequently opened his remarks at campaign forums by asking audiences: “How many of you have thought about leaving L.A. recently?” The show of hands was always impressive.

There were a lot of forums, but not much debate over issues. The candidates called for more police and for less bureaucracy--or at least one that is friendlier to business.

Woo championed Proposition 1, the ballot measure that would add 1,000 police officers and pay for it with an increase in property taxes.

Riordan said the city could increase the size of the Police Department without raising taxes. Riordan said he would add 3,000 officers over four years and pay for it by leasing Los Angeles International Airport, cutting the budgets of the mayor and City Council by 20% and contracting out garbage collection.

The mayoral race attracted 24 candidates--the largest field in city history. But at first it looked as though hardly anyone was going to jump in.

The multiethnic coalition that had kept Bradley in office for 20 years was coming unglued after the riots, and few of the obvious choices to succeed him were interested in picking up the pieces.

Rep. Howard Berman (D-Panorama City), one of the abler politicians in Congress, wondered aloud if he had the appetite for grandstanding and kibitzing he believed the job would require. State Treasurer Kathleen Brown, being mentioned as the Democrats’ best hope for governor in 1994, had bigger fish to fry. Gloria Molina, who many people thought could win hands-down, decided to stay in the county supervisor’s job that she was molding into a bully pulpit.

Riordan bided his time, telling people he would not join the race if Berman or some equally strong figure chose to run. Riordan, too, worried that he would be uncomfortable with the public side of the mayor’s job. “If only you could have a substitute mayor for all the ceremonial stuff,” he once told a reporter.

With millions of dollars of his own money at the ready, Riordan could afford to wait.

But one candidate knew what he wanted and started going after it before anybody else. Woo started working toward his goal more than a year before he announced his candidacy. He began assembling a staff, headed by Vicky Rideout, a veteran of two presidential races who had written speeches for Geraldine Ferraro and worked for Michael S. Dukakis. Speaking to Asian-American audiences around the country, Woo laid the groundwork for his fund-raising base and started speaking to African-American audiences in Los Angeles, reminding them over and over that he was the first city councilman to push for Gates to resign.

Katz was supposed to give Riordan and Woo a run for their money. His 12-year Assembly record was long on environmental legislation, job creation, transportation expertise and anti-crime measures. Balancing the interests of conservatives and liberals in his north San Fernando Valley, he looked like the sort of candidate who could pull voters away from Woo and Riordan. To run his campaign, he hired James Carville, the consultant whose campaign wizardry had a lot to do with getting Bill Clinton elected President.

But Katz hung back. First he wanted to secure reelection to his Assembly district last November. Then he was slow raising money or making himself known outside the Valley. His reputation as a moderate, which had served him so well in legislative politics, proved to be a handicap in a huge mayoral field where getting recognized required a clear image and a simple message.

The entry in the race of two well-known Valley politicians, City Councilmen Joel Wachs and Ernani Bernardi, complicated the race further and meant that Katz could not take anything for granted, even on his home turf. On Tuesday night, Wachs was competing with Katz for third place.

The first polls, conducted in late January and early February, showed Woo with enough backing to get him into the runoff if he could hold onto African-American support in the face of challenges by two black candidates. The threat came from Councilman Nate Holden, who ran well against Bradley in the 1989 mayoral primary, and lawyer Stan Sanders, an untested politician with a dream resume that reflected his journey from Watts to Oxford.

The first campaign forums were enlivened by a running debate over crime and illegal immigrants between candidates Tom Houston, a former deputy mayor under Bradley, and Julian Nava, a former ambassador to Mexico and one of two Latinos among the better-known candidates.

But Houston lacked Riordan’s ability to talk tough on crime without pointing a finger at any single ethnic group. And as a Latino defending other Latinos, Nava risked isolating himself as an ethnic candidate who represented just one group.

Avoiding that trap, former Deputy Mayor Linda Griego, the only other prominent Latino candidate, built a broader base by stressing the fact that she was the only woman among the leading contenders and by promoting her background in business.

Another candidate with extensive business experience, Nick Patsaouras, captured the imagination of authors and intellectuals with a plan to use transportation funds to rebuild the city along European lines. But he failed to generate much popular support.

Early polling showed everyone but Woo mired in single figures. Barely 50% of the voters had heard of Katz. Riordan also suffered from political anonymity. Then again, his multimillion-dollar investment in his campaign had not yet begun to generate the torrent of TV ads and elegant, full-color brochures that portrayed him as a Ross Perot-like entrepreneur unsullied by politics.

At the same time, Riordan embarked on an ambitious precinct-walking campaign, vowing to walk neighborhoods and knock on doors from Sylmar in the north Valley to San Pedro along the city’s southern coastline.

By early March, the broad outlines of the race were apparent. It was going to be a race between Woo, the candidate of multicultural Los Angeles, a defender of street vendors and political refugees, and Riordan, the darling of white Republicans, committed to public safety and free market values.

Weeks before the election, the two candidates began waling away at each other, as if the primary were over and they were the only two candidates who counted.

Woo fired first with a television ad that took aim at Riordan’s boasts about saving Mattel. The commercial noted that Riordan’s restructuring of the toy company involved moving the firm’s last 250 Los Angeles-based production jobs to a new plant in Mexico. The ad concluded with a mocking play on Riordan’s “tough enough” slogan, stating that he “isn’t even tough enough to tell the truth.”

Riordan struck back with TV ads and mailers questioning Woo’s leadership ability and liberal credentials. One television commercial explored “Michael Woo’s Hollywood,” depicting the councilman’s district as a hellhole of crime, poverty and hopelessness. And perhaps the most controversial piece of campaign mail pictured a leering derelict next to the words “Welcome to Mike Woo’s Los Angeles,” and blamed Woo for the city’s police shortage, its budget deficit and economic decline.

The Times’ exit poll suggested that Woo’s council record, despite Riordan’s attacks, attracted a significant number of voters.

The poll also found limited voter enthusiasm for Woo’s efforts to portray Riordan as a tycoon out to buy the election. To the contrary, Riordan’s business experience clearly helped him: 68% of his voters cited it as motivation for selecting him.

From now until June, the candidates in the runoff face a new challenge, one that will require selling themselves to the great mass of voters they did not court or need to win a plurality in the primary. Woo and Riordan will have to expand their bases to win a majority of votes in June.

For Woo, the challenge will involve shoring up his image as a leader in order to overcome the doubts of those liberal to moderate voters who cast their lot with Griego, Katz, Wachs and Sanders. For Riordan, it will mean grafting moderate voters to a conservative base that by itself cannot secure a citywide victory.

More Election News

CITY COUNCIL--Councilwomen Joy Picus and Joan Milke Flores are forced into runoffs. A18

SCHOOL BOARD--Two Los Angeles school board incumbents are reelected. A19

SUBURBAN RACES--Planning Commissioner Eddie Cortez is elected mayor in Pomona. In Compton, two council members will meet in mayoral runoff.

Voter Turnout

Following is the percentage of registered voters who turned out for primaries over the past three decades. YEAR / CANDIDATES: % OF REGISTERED VOTERS 1961 / Poulson over Yorty: 42% 1965 / Yorty over Roosevelt: 59% 1969 / Yorty over Bradley: 66% 1973 / Bradley over Yorty: 57% 1977 / Bradley over Robbins: 42% 1981 / Bradley over Yorty: 37% 1985 / Bradley over Ferraro: 35% 1989 / Bradley over Holden: 24% 1993 / Municipal primary: estimated 25%* * with 98% of the city’s precincts reporting

NOTE: The candidates were Norris Poulson, Sam Yorty, James Roosevelt, Tom Bradley, Alan Robbins, John Ferraro, Nate Holden.

Source: City clerk’s office

Compiled by Times researcher CECILIA RASMUSSEN

THE TIMES POLL: What the Voters Said

A Times exit poll of 2,808 L.A. city voters found most liked the candidate they backed Tuesday; few were voting for the best of a bad lot. The economy, crime and education were the top issues on voters’ minds. Michael Woo attracted voters because of his early opposition to Daryl F. Gates and his reaching out to minorities; voters also thought of him as caring and a coalition-builder. Richard Riordan’s perceived toughness, business experience and position as an outsider pulled voters toward him. WHY DID YOU MAINLY SUPPORT YOUR MAYORAL CANDIDATE?

All Woo Riordan Voters Voters Voters Like him/her policies 67% 69% 71% He/she is the best of a bad lot 27% 28% 24% To send a protest message 6% 3% 5%

WHICH THINGS INFLUENCED YOUR VOTE?

All Woo Riordan Voters Voters Voters Riordan’s record in business 25% 3% 68% Woo’s opposition to Police Chief Daryl Gates 22% 54% 16% Woo’s record as Hollywood councilman 20% 28% 23% Woo’s reaching out to various minority groups 19% 59% 5% Charges that Riordan is buying the election 14% 17% 2% Charges that Woo panders to different groups 14% 4% 22% Sexual harassment charges against Holden 6% 4% 4% Wach’s proposal for community councils 6% 1% 1% Charges that Riordan represents the past 5% 5% 2% Important to have a woman as mayor 5% 2% -- Katz’s support of the death penalty 5% 1% 1% None of the above 24% 9% 16%

WHAT DID YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOUR CANDIDATE?

All Woo Riordan Voters Voters Voters Cares about people like me 20% 28% 9% Thinks like me on the issues 18% 13% 21% Tough enough to lead L.A. 16% 8% 33% Has experience to be mayor 15% 14% 12% Has clear vision for the future 15% 13% 15% Can bring people together 14% 29% 4% Understands the new, multicultural L.A. 14% 30% 2% Has the best economic proposals 12% 4% 22% Outsider to city government 10% 1% 22% Cares about my part of the city 6% 6% 2% Best qualified to handle a crisis 5% 3% 9% None of the above 8% 6% 6%

WHICH ISSUES WERE MOST IMPORTANT IN DECIDING HOW YOU VOTED?

All Woo Riordan Voters Voters Voters Jobs/Economy 52% 52% 57% Crime/Gangs 34% 27% 45% Education 28% 31% 20% Improving the LAPD 14% 12% 15% Illegal immigration 8% 2% 14% Race relations 8% 18% 1% Homelessness/Poverty 6% 9% 3% Environment 5% 5% 3% Fairness of criminal justice system 5% 7% 2% Proposed breakup of school district 3% 1% 4% Transportation 1% 1% -- None of the above 6% 4% 6%

WHY DID YOU MAINLY SUPPORT YOUR MAYORAL CANDIDATE?

Griego Wachs Voters Voters Like him/her policies 58% 78% He/she is the best of a bad lot 33% 21% To send a protest message 9% 1%

WHICH THINGS INFLUENCED YOUR VOTE?

Griego Wachs Voters Voters Riordan’s record in business 11% 6% Woo’s opposition to Police Chief Daryl Gates 2% 4% Woo’s record as Hollywood councilman 16% 19% Woo’s reaching out to various minority groups 3% 1% Charges that Riordan is buying the election 23% 25% Charges that Woo panders to different groups 18% 13% Sexual harassment charges against Holden 11% 7% Wach’s proposal for community councils 1% 54% Charges that Riordan represents the past 9% 8% Important to have a woman as mayor 47% 2% Katz’s support of the death penalty 5% 2% None of the above 27% 25%

WHAT DID YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOUR CANDIDATE?

Griego Wachs Voters Voters Cares about people like me 17% 31% Thinks like me on the issues 26% 17% Tough enough to lead L.A. 6% 12% Has experience to be mayor 24% 29% Has clear vision for the future 12% 16% Can bring people together 11% 10% Understands the new, multicultural L.A. 18% 11% Has the best economic proposals 5% 8% Outsider to city government 5% 2% Cares about my part of the city 2% 15% Best qualified to handle a crisis 4% 6% None of the above 16% 7%

WHICH ISSUES WERE MOST IMPORTANT IN DECIDING HOW YOU VOTED?

Griego Wachs Voters Voters Jobs/Economy 41% 53% Crime/Gangs 35% 34% Education 38% 26% Improving the LAPD 15% 20% Illegal immigration 5% 10% Race relations 11% 4% Homelessness/Poverty 9% 6% Environment 6% 6% Fairness of criminal justice system 4% 3% Proposed breakup of school district 3% 6% Transportation 1% 1% None of the above 6% 7%

WHY DID YOU MAINLY SUPPORT YOUR MAYORAL CANDIDATE?

Katz Holden Voters Voters Like him/her policies 57% 67% He/she is the best of a bad lot 39% 22% To send a protest message 4% 11%

WHICH THINGS INFLUENCED YOUR VOTE?

Katz Holden Voters Voters Riordan’s record in business 11% 5% Woo’s opposition to Police Chief Daryl Gates 5% 12% Woo’s record as Hollywood councilman 19% 5% Woo’s reaching out to various minority groups 4% 3% Charges that Riordan is buying the election 24% 6% Charges that Woo panders to different groups 17% 8% Sexual harassment charges against Holden 8% 14% Wach’s proposal for community councils 1% -- Charges that Riordan represents the past 12% 5% Important to have a woman as mayor 1% 3% Katz’s support of the death penalty 38% -- None of the above 29% 59%

WHAT DID YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOUR CANDIDATE?

Katz Holden Voters Voters Cares about people like me 20% 23% Thinks like me on the issues 25% 6% Tough enough to lead L.A. 12% 8% Has experience to be mayor 11% 27% Has clear vision for the future 19% 9% Can bring people together 8% 11% Understands the new, multicultural L.A. 7% 7% Has the best economic proposals 13% 6% Outsider to city government 14% 2% Cares about my part of the city 9% 12% Best qualified to handle a crisis 3% 4% None of the above 11% 11%

WHICH ISSUES WERE MOST IMPORTANT IN DECIDING HOW YOU VOTED?

Katz Holden Voters Voters Jobs/Economy 54% 38% Crime/Gangs 40% 18% Education 30% 29% Improving the LAPD 15% 5% Illegal immigration 5% 7% Race relations 2% 6% Homelessness/Poverty 4% 12% Environment 5% 5% Fairness of criminal justice system 6% 7% Proposed breakup of school district 3% 3% Transportation 4% 1% None of the above 6% 12%

NOTE: The Times Poll interviewed 2,808 voters as they exited 50 polling places across the city of Los Angeles during voting hours. Precincts were chosen based on the pattern of turnout in past municipal elections. The survey was self-administered and confidential. The margin of sampling error for percentages based on the entire sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points. For some subgroups the error margin may be somewhat higher. Because the survey does not include absentee voters nor those who declined to participate when approached, actual voter returns and demographic estimates by the interviewers are used to adjust the sample slightly.