Riordan Losing Republican Voters Through Neglect : Talk of change appears to have been lip service. Appointive positions have gone largely to Democrats and City Hall insiders. Conservatives are taking note.

Ignoring Republican support in the Valley which gained him his victory, Mayor Richard Riordan has further alienated his former campaign field workers and volunteers by appointing Robin Kramer, a Democrat and longtime City Hall insider, to replace Jadine Nielsen as deputy mayor.

With Nielsen, his ex-campaign manager, gone, the mayor had a golden opportunity to entice disenchanted Republicans back to the fold after they had been told by Alex Tucker, aide to Nielsen, that they need not apply because “this is a Democratic administration.”

Riordan’s latest appointment, however, has produced only the following: alienation of his conservative base, a repudiation of his campaign promise to “turn L. A. around,” further erosion of any image that he might be his own man and verification that William Wardlaw, a Democrat and Riordan’s campaign director, is, in fact, running this city.

Republicans have tried to alert Riordan that the Democratic stranglehold that started during his election campaign must be relaxed.

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During the campaign, strategy meetings at 7 a.m. every day were staffed entirely by Democrats. In addition to Nielsen, prominent Democrats were Annette Castro, now press secretary; Tom Kreusopon and Michael Monasmith, now deputy press secretaries, and Rick Reider and Bob Burke, who are not in the administration.

Campaign fieldworkers were of course Republican, to gain credibility for the candidate’s professed affiliations. But the power base was held exclusively and tightly by Democrats.

All attempts to improve bipartisanship after the election were thwarted by Nielsen and her associates, who shielded the mayor from knowledge of the gathering wave of unhappiness among the disenfranchised.

During my tenure at the campaign databank for commission and staff assignments, my phone was busy with inquiries from fellow volunteers and workers as to the status of their applications. Time and again, bitter disappointment was heard when Democrats were considered and appointed, often without resumes on file, bypassing the very people who had labored on the mayor’s behalf.

A very few Republicans were carried over into lesser assignments, primarily under the watchful eye of Tom LaBonge, field director, who himself is a stalwart Democrat and was appointed in recognition of his close ties with the L. A. City Council president. As a result, many Republicans denounce Riordan as a R.I.N.O. (Republican In Name Only), and certainly his appointment of Kramer confirms this accusation.

Although her credentials appear sound, surely a Republican could be found to perform those duties equally as well and, at the same time, create a truly bipartisan administration. However, just as the politically naive candidate relied on Wardlaw and his advisers to gain the election, so too has the mayor continued to rely on the chief adviser to staff his administration.

His continued appointment of “politically correct” City Hall regulars repudiates the mayor’s pledge to “turn L. A. around” and bespeaks his lack of fortitude to find new people with fresh ideas. Despite the election of a so-called Republican, things are pretty much the same in the corridors and back rooms of City Hall.

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Although his recent approval ratings as reported in a Times poll last week hover slightly above 50% in the Valley, a substantial number of those citizens indicate that they haven’t paid enough attention to downtown to offer a considered opinion.

All that may suddenly change when the mayor seeks the support of his Valley base after his turncoat attitude becomes increasingly evident. Will the largely Republican Valley base rally behind the mayor in his plea for implementation of his programs, which lack as much real financial substance as the President’s health plan?

Although spoken of as “Mr. Republican of 1996,” the mayor will not receive the support of Republicans in any future elections without a drastic change in his appointment policy that will enable his professed party to participate at a higher level of activity than currently enjoyed. He shall, in some future November election, be held accountable for this failure.