NEWS ANALYSIS : GOP Activists Disillusioned With Riordan

Republicans celebrated when Mayor Richard Riordan arrived in Los Angeles City Hall last summer, the first member of the GOP to fill the mayor’s suite in a generation. Close to a year into his first term, however, the same activists are beginning to grumble about Riordan’s party loyalty.

When the mayor spoke at a recent luncheon held by a Republican women’s group, a smattering of disgruntled party members wore “RINO” protest buttons--which jeered Riordan for being “Republican in Name Only.”

“Either you are a Republican or a Democrat, but you can’t be in between,” said the creator of the buttons, Celeste Grieg, who is vice president of the conservative California Republican Assembly. “I supported Riordan. I campaigned for him. I walked precincts for him. Now I don’t know what party he’s in.”

As evidence, Republicans note that the mayor’s top aides are almost exclusively Democrats. The latest addition to the staff is Doug Boxer, Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer’s son, who will handle intergovernmental affairs. There is only one Republican among Riordan’s six deputy mayors and Riordan’s closest confidant, William Wardlaw, is a Democrat who is actively involved in state Treasurer Kathleen Brown’s campaign for governor.

In addition, the mayor’s liaison to the Republican Party, Cindy Kinney, submitted her resignation in March to become a consultant to Republican Matt Fong’s campaign for state treasurer.

Kinney, a former aide to Republican Gov. Pete Wilson, said she left to pursue the challenges of a statewide campaign. But others close to her say she was frustrated with her solitary role.

“A lot of Republicans worked very hard to get Riordan elected and they are very frustrated,” said Keith McCarthy, chairman of the Los Angeles County Republican Party. “Our solitary comfort is that he’s a whole lot better than Mike Woo,” whom Riordan beat in the mayoral race.

The concern among Republicans is particularly acute as several important statewide races heat up. Republicans are wondering where Riordan’s allegiances will fall in the races for governor and Senate. Some of the Republicans appointed by Riordan to city commissions have been criticizing the mayor privately for not already endorsing Wilson.

Political analysts say Riordan has the popularity and fund-raising clout to lend considerable support to a candidate.

The mayor says he may endorse some candidates, but that it is too early to disclose his choices. Some insiders speculate that he will sit out the primaries and then go right down the middle by endorsing both incumbents in the general elections--Wilson and Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Riordan’s first endorsement as mayor went to Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, a liberal Democrat who is running for Ed Edelman’s seat on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

In a recent interview, Riordan said that he never made party affiliation his selling point and that he considers himself a pragmatist and problem-solver.

“I am not an ideologue,” was a frequent refrain during Riordan’s campaign, his first for public office.

Indeed, Riordan’s campaign staff was headed by Democrats and his political contributions over the years have gone to Democrats and Republicans.

Over the last decade, he and his law firm gave $110,000 to state and national Republican Party committees and $25,000 to state and national Democratic Party committees. As for candidates, he loaned Democrat Tom Bradley $300,000 in his 1982 campaign for governor and donated $5,000 to Republican George Bush’s presidential campaigns.

As for staffing, Riordan said he attempts to surround himself with competent professionals regardless of their party allegiance.

“I have never asked anyone (on the staff) what their party affiliation is,” Riordan said. “I have some idea but I don’t know.”

For instance, Riordan said he was uncertain whether Deputy Mayor Mike Keeley, a longtime colleague at his law firm, is a Democrat or Republican. To find out, Riordan had an aide call Keeley’s office and check. Riordan shrugged when he learned the news: Keeley is a Democrat who contributed money to Riordan and his opponent, Woo.

Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political analyst at the Claremont Graduate School, argued that Riordan is treating the nonpartisan mayor’s office exactly as he should, without regard to political parties.

“Republicans began boasting early and often after the campaign that they controlled the country’s second-largest city,” Jeffe said. “They were wrong. If Dick Riordan is anything, he is a pragmatist.”

In fact, when it comes to Riordan’s performance in office, Republicans say they have no major squabbles. They generally support his budget plan, which calls for a dramatic buildup in the Police Department, a consolidation of city departments and a cut in business taxes.

When Riordan was organizing his run for mayor, he realized he needed the support of Republicans and Democrats. Surrounded by Democratic campaign workers, he consolidated Republican support during the April primary and then used the general election in June to win over the city’s Democratic majority.

“We knew we had the Republicans,” said one Riordan campaign strategist. “They had nowhere else to go. We didn’t ignore the Republicans, but we knew we had to win over Democrats to win.”

Still, mayoral aides acknowledge that Republicans were an essential part of Riordan’s campaign base that he does not intend to lose.

Nationally, Riordan is considered one of the Republican National Committee’s “big seven,” the top seven Republican officials elected across the nation. He will attend a Washington fund-raiser in June for the Republican National Committee.

A public relations executive, Steve Sugarman, was chosen to replace Kinney as an assistant deputy mayor. A former Republican, Sugarman recently joined the Democratic Party. And mayoral aides say Republicans have a greater presence in the Administration, through volunteer city commission posts, than they did in the Tom Bradley years.

But some Republicans still complain that commissioners’ ability to shape policy is limited compared to the top Riordan advisers who have easy access to the mayor.

Although they are frustrated, Republican activists say they continue to support the city’s 39th mayor--the first Republican elected since Norris Poulson, who served from 1953 to 1961.

“It does concern me that Democrats have such influence over him,” said Tirso del Junco, chairman of the California Republican Party. “But I have great hopes that he won’t forget his base.”