Yaroslavsky Replaces Consultant for Runoff : Politics: Shake-up comes after surprise second-place finish in 5th District City Council primary. Rick Taylor wants voters to ‘get to know’ the candidate.

Coming off a second-place showing in Tuesday’s primary, 5th District City Council candidate Barbara Yaroslavsky replaced her Sacramento-based consultant Friday with a local campaign strategist who vowed to bring new energy to the campaign.

Facing a tough June runoff to fill the seat left vacant when her husband, Zev, resigned to become a county supervisor, Yaroslavsky hired Rick Taylor, the Los Angeles-based consultant who successfully shepherded the campaigns of incumbent Councilman John Ferraro and eight ballot measures.

Taylor replaces veteran Sacramento consultant Paul Kinney, who recently worked on the campaign of a Democratic congressional candidate who last year lost to erstwhile entertainer Sonny Bono.

Although Yaroslavsky, 47, was considered the front-runner due to her name recognition, an endorsement from Mayor Richard Riordan and a hefty fund-raising lead, she received only 26% of the vote, compared to 39% for Mike Feuer, the former director of a legal-services clinic. The two will face off on June 6.

Still, Yaroslavsky’s camp insisted that the shake-up was not a response to her second-place showing.

“We just feel as we are going into the general election we want someone who is experienced locally,” said Yaroslavsky’s campaign manager, Laurie Saffian. Feuer, 36, has employed Larry Levine, the consultant who helped Wally Knox beat better-known Westside liberals for Burt Margolin’s 42nd Assembly District seat last summer.

Yaroslavsky’s move was no surprise. After Tuesday’s primary, several political consultants suggested that Yaroslavsky needed to reassess her campaign strategies if she hoped to beat Feuer in the runoff.

At the end of the primary campaign, Yaroslavsky came under harsh attack from opponents for missing more than 10 candidate forums, fueling speculation that she was trying to win the race solely on the strength of her name.

Taylor, who has known Yaroslavsky for about 25 years, said the key change he will make is to concentrate on informing voters of who Yaroslavsky is instead of allowing her opponents or her husband’s reputation to define her.

Taylor said he will encourage her to take every opportunity to meet the voters so they can “get to know Barbara the way that I know her.”

Such a strategy seems to run counter to advice Taylor offered before joining Yaroslavsky’s team. In an interview with The Times two weeks ago, Taylor said that participating in candidate forums is not as important as many people believe because most voters who attend such events have already decided whom they will support.

Taylor scored his most recent victory Tuesday after successfully heading the campaign for eight charter amendments, some of which had been repeatedly rejected by voters in the past.

The measures, which were championed by Riordan, included proposals to make it easier to fire top bureaucrats, to streamline the city’s purchasing program and to hire an inspector general to investigate misconduct complaints against police officers.

Said one Riordan adviser: “Rick Taylor is enthusiastic, energetic and has a great track record.”