L.A. Intensifies Effort as Hope Fades for $100 Million in Aid

Los Angeles leaders, once confident that the region would be tapped for a $100-million federal empowerment zone program, are worried that they will be shut out of the grant derby, and are now scrambling to persuade Washington that the area’s poorer neighborhoods desperately need the money.

Local officials have become so pessimistic about the chances of being selected this week as a federal empowerment zone--an idea that originated in the wake of the Los Angeles riots--that Mayor Richard Riordan sent President Clinton a letter over the weekend telling him it would be “a mistake” to leave out Los Angeles, officials said. Riordan asked the White House to intercede on behalf of the city, an aide to the mayor said.

“At this point, we’re just fighting like hell for this designation,” Deputy Mayor Robin Kramer said Sunday. “The lines (between Los Angeles and Washington) have been hopping.”

Empowerment zones combine federal money with private-sector incentives and tax breaks within a specific area of no more than 20,000 residents.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is scheduled to announce the six finalists for the empowerment program from a nationwide list, and HUD Assistant Secretary Andrew Cuomo stressed Sunday that no final decisions have yet been made.

Until a few days ago, local leaders appeared confident that a joint proposal by Los Angeles city and county would be among the six. But those sentiments have changed in light of mixed signals from Washington.

Indeed, one Administration official said Sunday that some staff members who have reviewed the empowerment zone applications believe that Los Angeles’s entry was “not as strong” as others, in part because it had not demonstrated the necessary commitment from the private sector. But the official added that “this sentiment is not overwhelming,” and the local application could generate significant debate at a meeting today on the six finalists.

Empowerment zones were first proposed in 1992 by the Bush Administration after the Los Angeles riots, and Clinton resuscitated the idea as the cornerstone of his own economic urban revitalization program. Local leaders see the plan as one of the most promising and lucrative economic development programs for Los Angeles in the last two decades.

The local proposal would create an empowerment zone out of a 20-square-mile area of poor neighborhoods from Pacoima through South-Central to Watts. If selected, the area would receive $100 million for social service programs, along with tax breaks for local businesses, job training grants and other aid.

In Los Angeles, however, the feeling of anticipation began to fade last Wednesday, when HUD officials met with local leaders here and began discussing other economic options for the area if it is not selected as an empowerment zone.

“We heard in the wind that L.A.’s application was, quote, ‘not competitive,’ ” Kramer said.

The mixed signals set off a wave of second-guessing among local officials--and a flurry of phone calls and letters among politicians on both coasts.

Politicians at all levels of government in Los Angeles, including Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City), Supervisor Gloria Molina and Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and others, have all become involved in the effort, Kramer said.

Kramer said city officials are unclear as to why Los Angeles may have fallen out of the running. Federal officials have indicated in the past that the Southland’s proposal was not detailed enough, but Kramer said she also believes that the selection formulas are weighted in favor of eastern cities, which have higher density rates than Southern California.

“There’s much concern within the California delegation” about not getting the designation, said a Capitol Hill aide who asked not to be identified, “and much concern has been expressed to the White House. Los Angeles should be one of those chosen, but it is generally felt that the selection process may be flawed.”