LOCAL ELECTIONS / L.A. MAYOR : County Federation of Labor Backs Woo

Mayoral candidate Michael Woo won the endorsement of the powerful Los Angeles County Federation of Labor on Thursday, giving him an important source of funds and campaign workers in his runoff battle with entrepreneur Richard Riordan.

The endorsement also blends with Woo’s campaign theme that he better represents working people. Riordan, however, countermoved Thursday by showcasing his role in a successful effort to keep a San Fernando Valley insurance company in Los Angeles.

The county labor federation endorsement was not unexpected because the organization had split its support during the primary between Woo and Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar).

Officials of the federation’s political action committee said they will be communicating on Woo’s behalf with the 100,000 union members registered to vote in the city. Officials said the members would be operating phone banks, sending out mail and spearheading a get-out-the-vote campaign. In addition, many of the 100 unions that belong to the federation can be expected to make substantial contributions to Woo’s campaign.

On hand to receive the endorsement, Woo reminded an audience of about 50 local labor leaders that he had walked picket lines with striking hotel workers and said that as mayor he would work closely with President Clinton to bring jobs to Los Angeles.

Referring to his opponent’s strong showing in the primary, he said the city was threatened with “Riordanomics,” a replay of the Ronald Reagan-George Bush era which, he said, would benefit the rich while eliminating the jobs of working people.

Woo’s wife, Susan Fong, a former shop steward for a steelworkers local, also spoke. “There were a lot of union members who voted for Dick Riordan,” she said. “You have to go out there and change their minds.”

Although Woo is more sympathetic to organized labor, his recommendations for attracting businesses and jobs to Los Angeles are similar in important respects to Riordan’s prescription. Both maintain that the city has become hostile to private enterprise and that to attract businesses and create more jobs, City Hall must become more responsive to business needs.

In anticipation of the labor endorsement of Woo, Riordan called the media to the offices of 20th Century Industries in Woodland Hills on Thursday.

Company executives joined him in announcing that they had signed an agreement to build a new headquarters in the controversial Warner Ridge development, also in Woodland Hills. The company had threatened to move its office--and 1,700 jobs--out of the city if the Warner Ridge project was not approved by the City Council.

Riordan, attorney for Warner Ridge’s banker, Morgan Guaranty Trust Co., said he helped broker a settlement with City Council members to end the lengthy legal and political dispute over the development. Louis W. Foster, 20th Century chairman and chief executive, agreed that Riordan played a key role.

“I had many meetings with (City Council President) John Ferraro, (Councilman) Hal Bernson and other council members and negotiated a settlement,” Riordan said.

Asked to be more specific, Riordan said: “It gets very, very complicated. We’ll give you a memo.”

In lieu of a memo, Michael F. Keeley, a partner in the Riordan & McKinzie law firm, said later: “Dick was able to reach key council members early and persuade them that the city’s exposure was sufficient to warrant the unusual step of overriding a councilperson in her own district.”

Councilwoman Joy Picus, whose district includes the project, had opposed the development.

Council members Picus and Ferraro agreed that Riordan played a role in the settlement, but both said they could not remember details of his involvement.

Riordan said the new headquarters project will create 1,500 to 2,000 construction jobs--”high-paying union jobs.”

Riordan also said Woo’s record in creating jobs is “very suspect at best.” He charged that Woo shipped jobs to Japan by voting in 1987 to give the Blue Line rail car contract to Japanese-based Sumitomo Corp. Woo’s campaign declined to respond.

The votes of most union members are considered up for grabs in the June 8 runoff. A Times poll of voters in Tuesday’s primary found that many union members voted for other candidates.

The exit poll also found that the economy and jobs were uppermost on voters’ minds.

City Voter Turnout Is 32% in Primary

An examination of semiofficial election returns indicates 452,551 of the city of Los Angeles’ 1,403,364 registered voters cast ballots in Tuesday’s primary election, translating into a voter turnout of 32.25% in the city. Total turnout in the larger area that includes all of the cities and towns in the Los Angeles Unified School and Community College districts was 24.9%.

Although the 32% turnout in the city represents a rise of 8 points over the 24% who voted in the mayoral primary election four years ago, it is still the second-lowest turnout in this type of election in 20 years. These figures, however, do not include about 30,000 absentee ballots still to be counted.