The State : Riordan’s Power Faces the Crucial Test: Can It Overcome Authority?

Richard J. Riordan will face his first big constitutional challenge as mayor this Wednesday when he carries out one of three powers granted to him by the City Charter: present a budget to the City Council. In the annals of power, it is certainly a far cry from the authority he enjoyed after the Northridge earthquake, when the Charter gave him emergency powers. But it will be his success--or failure--in this sort of day-to-day business that will determine what kind of mark he leaves on city government.

So far, Riordan has been a surprise to both his supporters and opponents. But in the absence of legal authority, being a surprise is almost as good as enumerated powers. By keeping others off guard, it gives him control of the agenda.

Who would have imagined, for example, that a Republican businessman would begin his tenure in office by taking on the airlines--his constituency? Or who would have thought that a campaigner who vowed to raise money by privatizing city services would opt for city workers to clean up the debris created by the quake?

“I am not ideological,” Riordan explained when asked about his decision not to let contracts. Although some speculate he chose not to privatize the clean-up job because he was angry at council members who sought to steer the business toward their friends, it certainly shocked his friends who bid on the contracts.

William R. McCarley, the mayor’s chief of staff, says his boss’ power flows from “a kind of disarming charm. . . . He seems to be able to get people to do things that they otherwise wouldn’t, because they are either charmed, befuddled, nonplussed or whatever.”

Many credit Riordan with being the most critical player in getting the Santa Monica Freeway on the move again. It was federal money that paid for the reconstruction. And the money did flow through state channels. But the expectation--indeed, demand--that the freeway be rebuilt quickly came from Riordan. If power, like beauty, is something that exists in the eye of the beholder, Riordan may need to make sure he gets more of the credit.

Any new mayor, to be sure, would have come into office with energy, ideas and new people. Change was inevitable after a 20-year incumbency. But how able Riordan is in putting his ideas into practice will depend on the perception that he has power. Since his authority is so circumscribed by the Charter, his power will rest on more ephemeral things--such as his unpredictability and his popularity, as well as his political skills.

“The candor--and also being willing to say, well, gee, maybe I fouled that one up, or I should have talked to you, I didn’t mean to offend you--is a practiced art,” claims McCarley. “Maybe not always practiced,” he added, “but he is very goal-directed.”

Therein lies the uncertainty about the mayor. How much of what Riordan does is inner-directed and how much comes from being a person who is perhaps too responsive to those around him? How “enraged” was he really when the Police Protective League put up billboards depicting an unsafe Los Angeles? Did he break off negotiations as a ploy, which would be a conscious use of power, or because he is hot-headed?

The budget will reflect the mayor’s priorities, and the police department is likely to be at the top of the list. It will not do a lot for the poor, nor will it allay the distrust and anger in the city. Maybe that will come later. He is seeking structural changes in important agencies like the Community Redevelopment Agency and the Department of Public Works, which is both unprecedented and bold. And he might succeed because he really does have more power to get his budget through than either the President or the governor has with theirs: If the council rewrites it, and he vetoes it, he only needs six votes to prevent an override, in which case his budget goes into effect. Score one for the institutional power of the mayor, a power Bradley rarely exercised, perhaps with cause.

Still, since the Council enjoys greater authority under the Charter, the mayor will have to learn how to work with its members; he certainly cannot afford to alienate them. If he wins this round, the next challenge is likely to come when the task force headed by Daniel P. Garcia discloses its recommendations on how to streamline planning decision-making. They will call for taking power out of the hands of the Council--and the members are likely to unite against that.

Riordan’s penchant for unpredictability, whether by design or temperament--and his current popularity--have given him more power than the rules would otherwise suggest. But as Garcia, an experienced hand in city politics, notes, the mayor has “as much power as the council will let him have.” The time may soon come when authority matters more than power.*