Riordan, Woo in a Dead Heat : Mayoral race: Times poll finds erosion in Riordan support during period of publicity about his arrests. A shift in the undecideds helps Woo among likely voters.

The Los Angeles mayoral race is a dead heat going into the final week, according to a Times poll that found Richard Riordan losing ground after revealing he was arrested three times.

The poll, conducted during a period of intense publicity about the alcohol-related arrests, shows noteworthy erosion of the businessman’s support as Jewish voters and moderates, who have become the prime targets of both campaigns, shift toward City Councilman Michael Woo.

At the same time, voters have not lost their confidence in the leadership qualities Riordan has stressed during the campaign. More voters still say he would do a better job than Woo of reducing crime, reviving the economy and keeping taxes low.

Overall, however, 44% of those surveyed now regard Riordan unfavorably, up from 36% in the last Times poll, while Woo’s unfavorable rating remained constant at 42%.

On the issue of honesty--which voters regard as a mayor’s most important attribute--Riordan lost ground slightly, with 39% of those surveyed considering him honest enough to be mayor, down from 44% in early May. Just over half the voters surveyed continue to rate Woo as honest enough to serve as mayor. Voters also see Woo as more likely to be fair to all groups in the city.

Among voters considered likely to vote next Tuesday, Riordan and Woo are tied at 46% as undecided voters appear to have swung to Woo and helped wipe out a small Riordan advantage reflected in the last Times poll three weeks ago, when Riordan led 44% to 37%.

Among the larger group of all registered voters, Woo leads 48% to 38%, up from his 45%-39% advantage earlier.

Conducted Thursday through Sunday by Times Poll Director John Brennan, the poll interviewed 1,091 registered voters, including 500 likely voters. It has a sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points among registered voters and plus or minus 5 points among likely voters.

The poll found that Woo’s recent endorsement by President Clinton has had little net effect on the officially nonpartisan race. Seventy-nine percent of registered voters said Clinton’s endorsement made no difference, while 11% said it makes them more likely to vote for Democrat Woo against his Republican opponent, and 10% said it makes them less likely to back Woo.

The poll found that almost three-quarters of voters said they were aware of Riordan’s arrests in the period from 1964 to 1975, and 14% said they are less likely to vote for him because of them.

Riordan disclosed two of the arrests last Wednesday during a radio debate. Two days later, after questions by reporters, he said he had failed to mention a third arrest that he said he had inadvertently “melded” with one of the earlier incidents.

Woo seized upon the belated disclosure in his continuing efforts to depict Riordan as a man who cannot be trusted. The issue appears to have caught on with some voters. Among those who do not like Riordan, the biggest group--18%--say it is because they believe he is untrustworthy. In the May poll, 9% of anti-Riordan voters cited that as a reason.

Despite the publicity over the three arrests--two for drunk driving and one for interfering with a police officer--most voters surveyed said they were not influenced by Riordan’s brushes with the law.

Indeed, some poll respondents said in follow-up interviews that they saw Riordan as a man who had triumphed over a problem and was more worthy of support for having done so.

Bill Summers, a Woodland Hills businessman, said he was more determined to vote for Riordan since the disclosures. Summers, 50, a recovering alcoholic, said his experiences cause him to admire others who have faced problems with alcohol. Summers, a Republican, said he was convinced that Riordan had put the past behind him.

“By the fact that he has not been arrested (since 1975), he’s done something. I don’t know what and I don’t care what. In one way or another he’s dealt with it. If not, we would have heard of him making an ass of himself,” Summers said.

But another poll respondent, John Towne, 59, a retired county budget analyst who also acknowledged a past struggle with alcoholism, said that driving drunk indicates a “me-too, me-first attitude,” which is not what Los Angeles needs in its mayor.

“That kind of driving indicates to me a total disregard for the rights of other human beings,” said Towne, a Woo supporter who said the Riordan revelations have only made him more sure of his choice. “That is a very selfish and inconsiderate way to try to handle an emotional problem. . . . If he had so little compassion for other human beings at that time, that would not change.”

The race has tightened as the number of undecided likely voters has dropped from 18% to 8% since early May, but for some still on the fence, Riordan’s arrest revelations have further complicated the decision-making process.

“Obviously, if you had two or three DUIs, you had a drinking problem. I want to know if he still has a drinking problem,” said poll respondent Kay Weaver, a documentary film producer who lives in Van Nuys. “Has it been handled, or does he just have a chauffeur now?” asked Weaver, 46.

Still, Weaver said she was disturbed less by the news of Riordan’s arrest record than she was by reports that Woo had authorized an expensive remodeling of his council office.

“I would give less credence to a 15- or 20-year-old DUI charge than I give to the charge that Woo spent $300,000 on remodeling his office. That really angered me.”

In general, voters continue to react to both candidates without a great deal of enthusiasm.

Supporters of both said they were voting for the lesser of two evils, although the share of Riordan voters saying that has risen from 48% in early May to 61% now. As for Woo, 53% of his supporters said he was the lesser of two evils compared to 57% three weeks ago.

Perhaps typical of those voters is poll respondent Booker T. Matthews, 60, a retired electrician in Baldwin Hills.

“I’m a Woo man,” Matthews said. “You got to vote for somebody. So that’s the one I think will do less damage.”

The city remains ethnically and geographically divided in its loyalties with Woo substantially ahead among blacks and voters in South-Central Los Angeles and Riordan still the solid favorite of white conservatives and San Fernando Valley residents.

Riordan’s strength among Jews has fallen from 43% to 34% and among moderates from 41% to 36%, while Woo appears to have gained with those groups and solidified his support among African-Americans and Democrats. His black support has improved from 64% to 76%; backing among Democrats has gone from 56% to 64%. Woo continues to lead, 51% to 36%, among Latinos, another key voting group, but Riordan’s level of support has remained firm at 36%.

Voters point to honesty as the most important characteristic in a mayor, and it is an issue that Woo emphasizes in slogans and speeches that describe him as the one people can trust to make Los Angeles work.

On the honesty question, Riordan has lost ground among men, whites, moderates and Jews. Woo is viewed as honest by substantially more moderates and Jews. However, both groups continue to tilt toward Riordan as the candidate for improving the economy and fighting crime.

Voters who like Riordan continue to cite his business acumen as the main reason for supporting him. They also describe him as a problem solver.

People who like Woo say he is a conciliator, a person who understands the city’s multicultural society and someone who cares about the average person.

Woo’s record representing Hollywood on the City Council continues to be the reason most frequently cited by those who dislike him. He is also criticized for pandering to special interest groups and for changing his mind on issues.

The reasons people dislike Riordan are different. Besides those who cite a lack of trustworthiness, 6% of anti-Riordan respondents mention his arrest record, 11% dislike him because of questionable business practices, 10% cite the controversial retooling of Mattel Inc., 9% say he is buying the election, and another 9% consider him an elitist.

Fifty-six percent said both candidates are waging excessively negative campaigns.

Susan Pinkus, assistant Times Poll director, and staff writer Amy Wallace contributed to this story.

* RACE TO THE FINISH: Riordan wins endorsements; Woo continues attacks. B1

The Times Poll

With L.A.’s mayoral runoff election one week away, Michael Woo leads Richard Riordan 48% to 38% among all registered voters. But among voters most likely to turn out next Tuesday, the two are in a dead heat with 46% preferring each candidate and 8% undecided.

All registered voters Woo: 48% Riordan: 38% Don’t know: 13% Someone Else: 1% *

Among likely voters Woo: 46% Riordan: 46% Don’t know: 8% Source: Times Poll

THE TIMES POLL: The Mayor’s Race: Negativity Abounds

Voters say they’re picking the lesser of two evils in the mayor’s race and fault both can candidates for being excessively negative. Michael Woo outscores Riordan on honesty and fairness, while Riordan leads as the candidate who can bring prosperity and hold down crime.

Are you planning to vote for your candidate mostly because you like him and his policies, or mostly because he is the lesser of two evils?

All Woo Riordan voters voters voters Like candidate 40% 44% 37% Lesser of two evils 57% 53% 61%

*

Do you think the campaigns have become excessively negative?

All Woo Riordan voters voters voters Woo’s has 15% 4% 30% Riordan’s has 6% 12% -- Both have 56% 55% 54% Neither have 15% 20% 11%

*

Do you think each candidate has the honesty and integrity to serve as mayor of Los Angeles or not?

Woo Riordan Yes 51% 39% No 27% 36% Don’t know 22% 25%

*

Which candidate will do a better job:

Neither Don’t Woo Riordan /Both know Promoting economic prosperity: 37% 46% 6% 11% Holding down crime: 34% 41% 12% 13% Being fair to all groups and parts of Los Angeles: 60% 24% 6% 10%

*

Does Clinton’s endorsement make you more or less likely to vote for Woo?

All Democrats Independents Republicans More likely 11% 15% 9% 2% Less likely 10% 3% 10% 27% No effect 79% 81% 81% 71%

*

Generally speaking, how would you rate the job the mayoral candidates are doing in addressing the issues that are important to you?

All voters Anglos Blacks Latinos Excellent 3% 2% 7% 5% Good 30% 27% 32% 37% Not so good 36% 39% 30% 28% Poor 24% 26% 21% 22%

*

Have Riordan’s disclosures about his arrests made you more likely to vote for him, less likely to vote for him or haven’t they had much effect on your vote one way or another?

All voters Anglos Blacks Latinos More likely 3% 3% 2% 3% Less likely 14% 14% 14% 14% No effect 56% 58% 54% 44% Unaware 27% 25% 28% 39%

Note: Numbers may not add up to 100% because some “don’t know” responses are not shown.

Sources: L.A. Times poll, taken May 27--30, of 1,091 registered voters in the city of L.A.

How the Poll Was Conducted

The Times Poll interviewed 1,091 registered voters in the city of Los Angeles, including 500 likely voters, by telephone, Thursday through Sunday. Telephone numbers were chosen from a list of all exchanges in the city. Random-digit dialing techniques were used to ensure that both listed and unlisted numbers had an opportunity to be contacted. The sample was weighted slightly to conform with census figures for sex, race, age, education and household size. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. The margin of sampling error for the total sample is plus or minus four percentage points. For certain subgroups the error margin is somewhat higher; for example, for likely voters it is plus or minus five points. Poll results can also be affected by other factors such as question wording and the order in which questions are presented.