Exit Poll Finds Voters Sought Lesser of 2 Evils

The Los Angeles mayoral race was a contest between the caring conciliator and the tough outsider, but in the end it came down to a disaffected electorate casting ballots Tuesday for the lesser of two evils, according to a Los Angeles Times exit poll.

The poll found that those who favored Richard Riordan were moved to support the lawyer and businessman by their belief in his financial acumen and their doubts about the record of his opponent, City Councilman Michael Woo, in dealing with problems in his Hollywood district.

Those who supported Woo said they were influenced by his reaching out to minorities and his early opposition to former Police Chief Daryl F. Gates. They also said they were turned off by charges that millionaire Riordan was trying to buy the election and to a far lesser degree by Riordan’s alcohol-related arrests.

In general, the survey of 3,402 voters at 50 polling places painted a downcast picture of the city’s political landscape. It is a portrait of an electorate deeply divided by race and by what it expects from the next mayor, but unified in its doubts about the honesty of both candidates, its distaste for the campaign’s negative tone and its deep skepticism that improvement will occur regardless of who wins the race.

Illustrating voters’ bleak view of Los Angeles, nearly nine out of 10 said things are bad and less than half believed their candidate could improve conditions.

“Not only were voters polarized racially, they divided very sharply over the kind of leader they want to run L.A.,” Times Poll Director John Brennan said. “Voters picked Dick Riordan for starkly different reasons then they opted for Mike Woo.”

The majority of Riordan supporters were white and chose him because they were impressed by his toughness and his self-portrayal as a political outsider, even though he has been one of the biggest donors to City Hall politicians. Woo--who won a majority of African-American, Latino and Asian-American voters--was seen as someone who would bring the city together and who understands Los Angeles’ multiethnic composition.

Four out of 10 voters were turned off by the negative campaigns waged by both candidates, the poll showed. But ultimately, a lot of the messages stuck.

Riordan apparently struck a chord with his mailers and TV ads portraying Woo as an ineffective politician. Nearly half of Riordan’s supporters cited Woo’s council record as their reason for supporting Riordan.

Woo’s efforts to portray Riordan as a callous businessman were less effective. Riordan’s business experience clearly helped him: 46% of his voters cited it as a reason for selecting him.

“In the battle of competence, it was Riordan’s business record against Woo’s Hollywood record,” Brennan said.

Other factors also were on voters’ minds. A substantial percentage of Woo’s supporters said Riordan was not to be trusted, too conservative or could not identify with the problems of the average person.

Woo’s opposition to former Chief Gates also was a key factor in his support as well as his efforts to inherit retiring Mayor Tom Bradley’s mantle as the Great Conciliator of the city’s ethnic factions.

Ultimately, the bitter campaign rhetoric took its toll on the images of both candidates. When asked why they supported their candidate for mayor, slightly more than half the voters said the choice was between the lesser of two evils.

Apparently sensing a rising degree of disaffection, Woo appealed during a debate Monday night for voters to “come out and vote not against one candidate or another but to vote for Mike Woo.” Instead, the poll showed that 60% of his supporters cast ballots for him because they had greater disdain for his opponent.

Riordan supporters showed only slightly more enthusiasm, with about half saying they considered him the lesser of two evils.

Underlying the difficulties facing the next mayor, the poll found sharp philosophical differences in the way voters view problems of minority groups in the inner city. Among voters supporting Riordan, a margin of more than 2 to 1 said the problems are those of personal responsibility. Conversely, Woo supporters by a similar margin said the real problems involve racism and economic injustice.

Although abortion and Riordan’s alcohol-related arrests dominated the campaign ads in closing days, they were not major concerns to an electorate that listed the economy, crime and education as the top issues.

Abortion was identified as the most important issue by only 3% of voters, the poll found. Charges that Riordan was buying the election were considered more important to voters than Riordan’s alcohol-related arrests, which occurred between 1964 and 1975.

Although the Woo campaign worked hard to get President Clinton’s endorsement, the poll found it was far less important to voters than other factors, such as Woo’s Democratic credentials. The endorsement repelled as many voters from Woo as it attracted.

One bit of good news from the poll: A majority of voters do not expect a repeat of the violence seen during last spring’s riots. That is a turnaround from Times polls conducted before the recent verdicts in the Rodney G. King federal civil rights trial, which showed two-thirds of Angelenos expecting renewed violence.

The poll has a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

* RELATED STORIES, ELECTION TABLES: A3, A16, A17

Riordan and Woo: Enthusiasm Lagged

When asked why they supported their candidate, half of Richard Riordan’s backers and a majority of Michael Woo’s supporters said their vote in the mayoral runoff was for the lesser of two evils.

Like him and his policies Lesser of two evils RIORDAN VOTERS 49% 51% WOO VOTERS 40% 60%

Source: Times Poll

THE TIMES POLL: What the Voters Said

The Times exit poll found voters generally pessimistic about the state of the city and skeptical about either mayoral candidate’s ability to do much to change things. Competence, toughness and his outsider status attracted voters to Richard Riordan, while Michael Woo appealed to those looking for a conciliator and a coalition builder. IF YOUR CANDIDATE WINS TODAY, OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS DO YOU THINK HE WILL BE ABLE TO IMPROVE THINGS IN L.A.?

% All % Riordan % Woo Voters Voters Voters *A good amount 44% 50% 39% *Some 56% 50% 61%

WHICH OF THESE THINGS, IF ANY, HAD A MAJOR INFLUENCE ON YOUR VOTE FOR MAYOR TODAY? (Up to three answers)

% All % Riordan % Woo Voters Voters Voters *Riordan’s reputation in business 32% 45% 19% *Woo’s record as Hollywood councilman 29% 49% 9% *Woo’s opposition to Daryl Gates 24% 16% 33% *Woo’s reaching out to various minorities 22% 7% 36% *Woo is a Democrat 17% 4% 30% *Charges that Riordan is buying the election 14% 3% 25% *Clinton’s endorsement of Woo 13% 14% 12% *Charges that Woo panders to different groups 12% 22% 1% *Disclosures about Riordan’s arrest record 10% 2% 19% *Riordan is a Republican 8% 11% 6% *Candidates’ advertisements and mailings 7% 9% 4%

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOUR MAYORAL CANDIDATE? (Up to two answers)

% All % Riordan % Woo Voters Voters Voters *Understands the new, multicultural city 17% 2% 32% *Tough enough to lead Los Angeles 16% 27% 6% *Cares about people like me 15% 9% 20% *Thinks like me on the issues 15% 17% 14% *Can bring people together 15% 7% 22% *Outsider to city government 14% 27% 1% *Offers good ideas 14% 16% 13% *Has experience to be mayor 10% 9% 11% *Can get things done 10% 17% 4% *Knows how to create jobs 9% 16% 2% *Has honesty and integrity 7% 3% 10%

WHAT DO YOU LIKE LEAST ABOUT THE CANDIDATE YOU DID NOT VOTE FOR? (Up to two answers)

% All % Riordan % Woo Voters Voters Voters *His negative campaigning 40% 51% 29% *Lacks honesty and integrity 20% 14% 26% *Doesn’t represent average person 18% 8% 28% *Too liberal 14% 24% 3% *Too conservative 14% 3% 25% *A career politician 12% 18% 6% *Doesn’t stand for anything 10% 11% 8% *Weak and indecisive 8% 12% 4% *Contradicts himself 6% 6% 6% *Doesn’t offer good ideas 5% 6% 5% *Insensitive 4% 2% 6%

WHICH ISSUES--IF ANY--WERE MOST IMPORTANT IN DECIDING HOW YOU WOULD VOTE? (Up to two answers)

% All % Riordan % Woo Voters Voters Voters *Jobs/the economy 52% 56% 49% *Crime/gangs 37% 46% 29% *Education 22% 19% 25% *Rebuilding Los Angeles 16% 14% 19% *Improving the LAPD 10% 12% 7% *Illegal immigration 8% 13% 4% *Race relations 8% 2% 14% *Homelessness/poverty 6% 3% 9% *The environment 4% 3% 5% *Abortion 3% 1% 3% *Taxes 3% 5% 1%

DO YOU THINK THE PROBLEMS FACING MINORITY GROUPS IN THE INNER CITY ARE MORE PROBLEMS OF:

% All % Riordan % Woo Voters Voters Voters *Personal responsibility 31% 47% 13% *Racism and economic injustice 31% 17% 47% *Neither 7% 8% 5% *Both 31% 28% 35%

WHEN DID YOU MAKE UP YOUR MIND ABOUT HOW TO VOTE?

% All % Riordan % Woo Voters Voters Voters *Within the last week 27% 25% 30% *Within the month after the primary 43% 43% 42% *Before the primary 30% 32% 28%

How the Poll Was Conducted

The Times Poll interviewed 3,402 voters as they left 50 polling places across Los Angeles during voting hours. Precincts were chosen based on the pattern of turnout in past municipal elections. The survey was by confidential questionnaire. 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 or those who declined to participate when approached, actual returns and demographic estimates by the interviewers were used to adjust the sample slightly.