Molina Endorsement Gives Woo an Ally With Key Bloc : Mayor’s race: Supervisor could sway Latinos, women. But observers say she won’t dent Riordan’s backing.

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Michael Woo on Tuesday won the endorsement of popular County Supervisor Gloria Molina, an important ally as he strives to attract voters in what promises to be a down-to-the-wire race with Richard Riordan.

The question, however, is whether Molina can transfer some of her own considerable charisma to City Councilman Woo, many of whose supporters seem at this point to be less than passionate about their candidate.

Molina, a liberal populist who was a favorite to win the mayor’s race had she chosen to run, was aggressively courted by both candidates because she appeals to swing voters, especially Latinos, women and reform-minded Westsiders.

Molina’s appeal extends beyond her obvious base in the Latino and Eastside communities, said political consultant Richard Lichtenstein, who is not working for either side.

“It was a great victory for Mike in showing that he can move ahead with coalition politics in Los Angeles,” Lichtenstein said. “She has great appeal with women in our city. She is very key in making sure that women do not stray.”

But the endorsement does little to erode Riordan’s base of more conservative, suburban voters, Lichtenstein and others said. Woo’s challenge remains to inspire minority and low-income voters, who traditionally are less likely to vote than typical Riordan supporters.

“Mike has got to make it in places that aren’t likely to turn out,” Lichtenstein said. “Mike Woo can’t just rely on high propensity voters. That is much tougher to do.”

The endorsement came as Woo and Riordan squared off in the first debate of the runoff campaign. Before an audience of 1,200 at a Westside temple, Woo repeatedly tried to depict Riordan as an obscure figure who cannot be trusted. Riordan countered that Woo is part of the political status quo that let the city slip into decay.

Both maintained that public safety is the top issue in the campaign. Riordan repeated his plan for leasing Los Angeles International Airport to pay for 3,000 more police officers. Woo described the plan as unworkable and instead proposed “bitter medicine,” including across-the-board cuts in other city services to provide money for more police protection.

To solidify his base in the black community, Woo has won the endorsements of other prominent officeholders, including City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, state Sen. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles) and state Assembly Democrats Marguerite Archie-Hudson, Gwen Moore and Curtis Tucker Jr.

But another influential figure, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), has not yet made her intentions clear.

An endorsement by Waters could be crucial to Woo in the black community, said Rick Taylor, a veteran political consultant.

“She is the difference in motivating additional African-American turnout,” Taylor said. “To me she is the consciousness of the African-American community and really is the African-American leader in this city and even in this country.”

Woo campaign spokesman Garry South said that many more endorsements will be announced soon and that pundits who focus on those who have not yet backed Woo miss the point.

“By the time June 8 rolls around it is going to be very clear that Mike Woo has the vast majority of the endorsements in this race,” South said, “the endorsements of people who can really move blocs of votes.”

The Riordan camp disputed that statement. In a brief statement on the Molina endorsement, Riordan said:

“Gloria Molina would have been a formidable candidate for mayor. I respect her decision to endorse my opponent, but I ran first in 10 of the 15 council districts in the primary and was very competitive among Latino voters. My message of safety, jobs and education continues to resonate with voters citywide.”

Woo won Molina’s endorsement despite his controversial call for deporting illegal immigrants who are charged with serious crimes. Molina said Tuesday that she disagreed with her former City Council colleague on that issue, but said, “I understand Mike Woo’s interest in wanting to take a tough position on the issue of public safety.” Still, she said she will try to persuade him to change his position, which has alienated many Latinos.

Harry Pachon of the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials said studies have shown that many Latinos are swayed by the views of their elected officials. “People might not know Mr. Woo’s record, but they know Gloria’s record,” Pachon said. “I think this sends a very clear message to the community.”

But Molina’s endorsement is not a guaranteed lock on the Latino vote, which was estimated at 8% during last month’s primary. City Councilman Richard Alatorre, for instance, has not yet made an endorsement and is said to be considering both candidates. Alatorre and Molina endorsed opposing candidates in seven Assembly and congressional races last year--with Alatorre’s choices winning five of the seven seats.

Molina promised to mobilize her powerful grass-roots organization to get out the vote for Woo. She has also offered to appear in his mailers--most likely targeted to Latinos and women--and in TV ads.

“Mine is not just an endorsement,” she said. “Mine is a commitment to getting Mike Woo elected. . . . I will be trying to recruit as many of our grass-roots folks to make sure we get out a strong vote on Election Day.”

“Her folks get in the field and do work,” said Peter Taylor, a Democratic Party activist who recently ran Assemblyman Richard Katz’s unsuccessful campaign for mayor. “There are very few politicians who have an organization that will get out there and work hard. . . . I have no doubt that it’s going to translate into hard votes on Election Day.”

Molina’s ability to draw a crowd was evident at Tuesday’s news conference, attended by dozens of reporters and 13 TV news crews.

In contrast, Riordan made a smaller media splash at a news conference to trumpet his endorsement Tuesday by County Transportation Commissioner Nick Patsaouras, a losing candidate in the mayoral primary with about 1% of the vote.

Political experts say that although Los Angeles is a heavily minority, Democratic city, Republican Riordan finished ahead of Democrat Woo in the primary race because he did a better job of turning out conservative, Anglo San Fernando Valley voters, who are his core supporters.

Woo is seeking to change that in the June 8 runoff. He hopes that endorsements by Molina, organized labor and the Democratic Party will help motivate his voters to go to the polls. And he is trying to get President Clinton to campaign on his behalf, even though the race is officially nonpartisan.

Political analysts view Molina’s support of Woo as a potent response to Riordan’s endorsement by Stan Sanders, the most successful black candidate in last month’s primary.

Both endorsements are expected to have broad appeal. Among moderate Anglo Democrats, Sanders can help Riordan counter Woo’s argument that Riordan is the choice of conservative whites and a throwback to Reaganomics.

But Molina is a far better-known and more popular politician than Sanders. Her brand of populism has built her a constituency that extends well beyond her Latino base. Her attacks on government perks, her support for political reform and her efforts to steer more government contracts to women and minorities have earned her fans among liberals and conservatives alike.

In endorsing Woo, Molina was joined by City Controller Rick Tuttle, a mainstream Democrat who has made his mark as a watchdog on city finances. The focus of the news conference, however, was on Molina, who said she decided to back Woo because of his support for ethics reform and open government at City Hall.

She said that Woo, as a city councilman for eight years, has been tested in the public arena. Riordan, on the other hand, is largely a “public enigma accountable to no one.”

Commenting on businessman Riordan, she said, “We’ve been told his business experience is a plus. . . . We’ve been told that wheeling and dealing in the back room is strength in corporate America. But in the public arena, it’s this skill that so often undermines good policy decisions.

“We are looking for someone who is going to reform government . . . who is going to be open in government, not doing back-room deals.”

She also complained that Riordan, by giving $6 million of his own money to his campaign, has made a mockery out of the city’s campaign reform law.

Molina also said that she was troubled by Riordan’s comments in a 1988 interview. “I’m taking lessons in learning how to wave to poor people,” he was quoted as saying. Riordan said recently that he regrets the remark.

Times staff writer Faye Fiore contributed to this story.