Woo on the Attack

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Michael Woo on Friday began airing a new TV ad seeking to link opponent Richard Riordan to the religious right, exclusive clubs and the anti-abortion movement.

* THE AD: The spot opens with a picture of evangelist Pat Robertson. “Pat Robertson and his right-wing fundamentalist Christian Coalition: banning textbooks, against a woman’s right to choose. They took over the Republican convention. Now . . . they’re working for Dick Riordan. . . . Riordan has fought to take away a woman’s right to choose,” the ad says, showing footage of Operation Rescue members trying to blockade a clinic. The commercial then says: “For years, Riordan belonged to clubs that excluded blacks, Jews and women. Robertson and his right-wing fundamentalists can trust Dick Riordan. Can we? Think about it before you vote.”

* THE ANALYSIS: Woo is aiming the hard-hitting ad at Jewish voters, minorities and women--groups he badly needs to win the June 8 runoff. The Christian Coalition, a Virginia-based group that has been pushing a “pro-family” agenda in elections across the county, has not endorsed either candidate in the mayor’s race. Sara DiVito Hardman, California director of the Christian Coalition, said she personally supports Riordan and has worked in the campaign office--but only as a volunteer. Riordan has acknowledged that he made a $10,000 contribution in 1991 to an anti-abortion group, but he insists that he favors a woman’s right to choose. While Riordan was a member of the exclusive California Club, he said he worked during the 1970s to open the club to Jewish and minority members. He said he resigned from the Los Angeles Country Club last year “because I thought it was a symbol of discrimination to too many people.”