Yaroslavsky Receives Riordan Endorsement : Politics: Mayor’s support in councilman’s bid for county supervisor is considered a coup, even though he is front-runner.

Los Angeles City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky’s bid for a seat on the County Board of Supervisors gained further momentum Wednesday when he won the endorsement of Mayor Richard Riordan.

Yaroslavsky, who has already raised more than $700,000 in campaign contributions, is considered the front-runner for the job being vacated by retiring Supervisor Ed Edelman. The mayor’s support is nonetheless considered a coup for the councilman.

“It is a critical endorsement,” Yaroslavsky, 45, said. “No other endorsement means more.”

Riordan said he supports Yaroslavsky because he admires his “record as a fiscal watchdog” and because of the councilman’s support for the mayor’s plan to put more police on the streets.

“Zev has been one of the city’s most tenacious and effective protectors of taxpayer money,” Riordan said before signing Yaroslavsky’s nomination petition at a news conference on the steps of City Hall. “Los Angeles will benefit from his tremendous skills and talents.”

City Hall insiders and political consultants said Riordan’s endorsement improves Yaroslavsky’s stock in the San Fernando Valley, where Riordan won strong support in his mayoral victory in June. Edelman’s 3rd Supervisorial District covers much of the Valley, while Yaroslavsky has represented a largely Westside constituency since 1975.

“The mayor’s popularity is at an all-time high and the endorsement is very important,” said Allan Hoffenblum, a Los Angeles-based political consultant who has managed several City Hall campaigns.

In an interview, Yaroslavsky said that because of the mayor’s increasing popularity, he believes Riordan’s endorsement will help him with voters throughout the district, not just in the Valley.

The deadline to enter the race is March 11. The primary is June 7.

But in making the endorsement, Riordan is also expected to benefit by gaining an important ally in Yaroslavsky, regardless of whether he wins the seat or loses and remains on the City Council.

As chairman of the council’s Budget Committee, Yaroslavsky’s support is crucial for the approval of Riordan’s annual budget proposal, which he is expected to submit in April.

“Win or lose, the mayor is going to have to deal with Zev in some capacity or another,” political consultant Paul Clark said. “So, from a purely political standpoint, it makes as much sense as possible.”

The only other declared candidate in the race is Don Wallace, a retired Los Angeles County Fire Department captain and Edelman deputy, who has painted himself as a political outsider and reformer.

Although he admitted that Riordan’s support is a boost for Yaroslavsky’s candidacy, he called the endorsement “just another part of the power structure lining up behind the business-as-usual crowd.”

Wallace has raised about $10,000 in campaign contributions.