Mayor Tries to Sound Hip to Students and Does--to an Extent

He failed to mention the cafeteria’s rubbery chili dogs.

And he couldn’t hold back the rain.

But otherwise, Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan hit all the right notes when he stormed Woodrow Wilson High School in Lincoln Heights on Thursday morning for a teen-friendly version of the State of the City address.

Make that almost all the right notes.

The mayor’s attempts to coddle the students--with references to a pop star and a championship soccer team--struck senior Louis Roldan as “kind of fake.” Then again, Roldan added, “I’ve never heard a politician’s speech before. Maybe that’s how they’re supposed to sound.”

Actually, Riordan was trying not to sound like a politician.

He built his speech around students’ suggestions. And he gave the teen-agers full credit for inspiring him.

“You taught me a few things,” the mayor said, referring to a chat he held earlier this week with student leaders at the school. “Your message got through loud and clear.”

Fortuitously, that message--more police, better jobs, nicer parks--coincided with Riordan’s agenda. So the speech never strayed far from boilerplate political rhetoric. Still, students declared themselves impressed when the mayor pledged to work for a safer, cleaner, more united city. After all, they had asked him for just such a promise.

“I honestly thought, ‘Oh, he’s the mayor, he’s going to ignore our voices,’ ” said varsity cheerleader Salina Chavez, 18. “But he was actually listening.”

The mayor won praise for his vow to boost public safety--a key concern in a school where the soda and juice machines are barricaded with iron grills. Students supported Riordan’s drive to bolster the police force and bring order to their rough neighborhoods.

“He knows what we want out of the community,” Nadine Perez said. And, Perez said, Riordan seemed to care about all his constituents--even non-voting students. “His speech today really convinced me,” she said.

Of course, any 64-year-old executive attempting to sound hip to a crowd of teen-agers risks stumbling.

The mayor quoted this year’s singing sensation Sheryl Crow (misspelling both her first and last names in his typed speech), while some students said they prefer oldies music. He also wore a conservative suit, which clashed with the jeans and flannel shirts that dominated the audience. Finally, students said the mayor leaned heavily on his script--making his deliberate teen-talk sound a bit canned.

“He was trying too hard to fit in,” said Guillermo Petro, 17.

“For a politician, that was pretty smart, but it doesn’t fool too many people,” said Jason Agraz, a senior.

Some students also objected to the invitation-only assembly. About a 10th of Wilson’s 2,300 students, a select group chosen by teachers, attended.

Twirling two red roses as she waited for friends near Mighty Mule Path, a road named for the school’s mascot, junior Lisa Cabral said she felt snubbed. If she had attended the speech, Cabral said, she would have urged Riordan to buy new textbooks to replace the battered ones in her locker.

As storm clouds darkened, however, Cabral put aside her disappointment. With rain threatening to spoil her lunch hour, she decided that the mayor was powerless to solve one of the most pressing problems facing Southern California.

Sighing, she said wryly: “Like he can really help out Mother Nature.”