Mayor’s Popularity Shifts With the Sands : Riordan soared in polls despite L.A.’s woes, then plunged in the Chief Williams dispute

In November, 1993, one of our editorials noted the amazing status of Mayor Richard Riordan in a Times poll. Crime, the horrible national economy, and a woeful lack of optimism had sacked the reputations of many elected officials. But in Los Angeles, where the crime fears were greatest and the economy worst, the mayor had a 2-to-1 approval rating.

We were tickled about the indication that our mayor was so popular at a time when so many others were not. But in the true journalistic spirit of covering all our bases, we did point out that “polls tend to be written not in marble, but sand.”

How true. Soon, the mayor’s slogan might have to be: “Tough Enough to Turn a Polling Phone Bank Around.”

Mayor Riordan’s approval rating sank to just 46% in a Times poll conducted late last month, halfway through his first term. It’s been an equal opportunity retreat so far, with a decline in popularity among Anglos, Latinos and African Americans. Most troublesome for the mayor, perhaps, is the fact that his support has plummeted at the heart of his electoral strength: in the San Fernando Valley.

If you could explain that, you might even be able to figure how anyone was ever able to coin the term “political science” and make it stick.

Ten years ago, crime was rising and then-Mayor Tom Bradley managed to add a whopping 100 officers to the Los Angeles Police Department. He was subsequently swept back into office in a landslide. In 1995, crime is down a lot, Riordan has added 200 officers, and folks think he has done nothing about public safety.

Los Angeles had a very successful Olympics in 1984. Peter Ueberroth managed it well, and Mayor Bradley’s popularity soared. In 1994, Los Angeles had a very expensive earthquake. Mayor Riordan managed it well, and the public asks: What has he done for us lately?

The only good news for the mayor in our recent poll was the fact that he is still a lot more popular than the City Council.

Police Chief Willie Williams, by the way, had an approval rating in the polls of 72% in November, 1993. Since then, he has weathered a host of questions about his abilities and even faced a scandal of sorts over reports that he went to Las Vegas for free and then lied about it to the Police Commission--reports he has strongly denied. His approval rating in the polls has dropped exactly 11 points.

Mayor Riordan has dropped by twice that amount in the polls. And one of the strongest reasons pollsters gave for disapproval of the mayor was--you guessed it--his less-than-strong support for the still-admired chief.

This might not help you understand the polls, but at least you now know why reporters love politics.