Brown Takes Lead in Race for S.F. Mayor : Election: Storm keeps turnout low as confident ex-Assembly speaker challenges incumbent Jordan.

Hoping to breathe new life into his storied political career, veteran Assemblyman Willie Brown took a slight lead over incumbent Frank Jordan in the race for mayor Tuesday based on early election returns.

With only a small percentage of the vote counted, Brown was hopeful that he would fulfill widespread predictions and seize City Hall from Jordan, whose first-term accomplishments were overshadowed by his reputation as a bumbler.

Jordan supporters appeared nervous as they nibbled cold ravioli and sipped beer at the mayor’s post-campaign party, and aides appeared downright gloomy.

“It doesn’t look very good,” said campaign manager Clint Reilly, noting that Jordan’s dominance of the absentee votes fell considerably short of expectations.

At a festive celebration near Fisherman’s Wharf, Brown told a cheering throng of supporters, “Do I feel confident? You bet.” Hoarse but clearly upbeat, Brown added that he has grown addicted to the long campaign days that have characterized his life in recent months.

“Tonight we will have a new mayor,” San Francisco Supervisor Kevin Shelley declared at the gathering. “This [early] vote well exceeds our expectations.”

Once dubbed the “Ayatollah of the Assembly,” Brown has served San Francisco as a legislator for 31 years, reigning for nearly half that time as Assembly speaker. He sought to become the city’s first black mayor because term limits will force him to surrender his Assembly seat next year.

The San Francisco registrar of voters said Tuesday’s turnout was unexpectedly low, largely because of heavy rains and powerful winds that buffeted the city much of the day. At least 30 polling places were without power throughout the day, forcing workers and voters to rely on flashlights.

The colorful, bitterly fought race initially featured seven candidates, including a civil rights attorney who had hoped to become San Francisco’s first lesbian mayor. Brown and Jordan--both Democrats--wound up in Tuesday’s runoff after finishing at the top of the heap in the November primary.

Although prestigious, the mayor’s job in San Francisco is a tough one. Besides the standard pressures facing America’s big-city mayors, San Francisco’s leader will have to cope with a faltering transit system, deteriorating public housing, an unreliable 911 emergency network and a Police Department in disarray.

Jordan, a career cop and the city’s former police chief, was elected in 1991 as a “citizen mayor” with no political experience. Like other “outsider” candidates nationwide, he rode a tide of anti-incumbent emotion to power.

When Jordan took office, San Francisco still was suffering ill effects from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, its economy was in recession and throngs of homeless were encamped across the street from City Hall. The new mayor vowed to use a no-nonsense style to “get San Francisco back on track.”

In seeking reelection this year, Jordan said he had fulfilled that pledge. City streets are cleaner, he said, serious crime has dropped and Fortune magazine recently ranked the city the No. 1 place in America to do business. Jordan, 60, also reminded voters that he helped assemble a group of investors who kept the San Francisco Giants baseball team from leaving town.

Despite such accomplishments, Jordan was haunted by a series of management missteps throughout his tenure. Most glaring is a Police Department in turmoil. More than a dozen officers are under investigation for brutality and other charges, and Jordan went through four police chiefs during his first term--including one who is on trial for sexual harassment.

Beyond those problems, some voters said they were weary of Jordan’s bland style and eager for a more dynamic leader in the tradition of former Mayors Joe Alioto and George Moscone.

“This is a city that likes a mayor with luster,” said Scott Shafer, a political consultant who was a spokesman for former San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos. “Frank is dull. There is no other way to put it.”

Brown--a charismatic politician of national prominence--took full advantage of such sentiments. Belittling Jordan as a “nice man inappropriately situated,” Brown declared that he had the “proven leadership skills” to guide San Francisco into the next century.

Few disputed the former speaker’s record as an unrivaled power broker in the legislative arena. But even some supporters questioned whether Brown’s imperial style would work on the local level, especially in a city where dozens of interest groups demand a role in governance.

Regardless of such qualms, Brown, 61, seemed to have momentum on his side throughout the campaign. Two of his vanquished mayoral rivals--lesbian Roberta Achtenberg and Republican Ben Hom--endorsed the assemblyman after the primary, and a Who’s Who of business and gay community leaders stood behind him as well.

By Tuesday, 10 of the 11 members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors were backing Brown. Even the Police Officers Assn.--which would seem a natural ally of a mayor who was once police chief--sided with Brown.

The polls, meanwhile, showed Brown with a double-digit lead. Brown also outpaced Jordan in the money race, spending just over $2 million while the incumbent spent just under $2 million.

Such positive signs led some to joke that the assemblyman had picked out new furniture for the mayor’s office long before election day. But Brown--a highly superstitious politician--never relaxed, campaigning until the end.

He was aided by fellow Democratic lawmakers, who appeared at rallies and fanned out across the city Tuesday and in the primary to nudge voters to the polls.

Sensing doom, Jordan redoubled his efforts during the five-week runoff campaign. Unveiling a new theme--advertised by blue and white signs bearing the single word “Trust”--Jordan sought to portray Brown as a slick creature of Sacramento, beholden to special interests and unfit to be mayor.

Instead of touting his own record, Jordan mostly chose to hammer at Brown--attacking him for collecting millions of dollars in special interest donations while speaker and for defending developers and cocaine dealers as a private attorney.

But experts said Jordan’s claim as the candidate voters could trust was undermined by one of the more bizarre moments in political campaign history--his agreeing to pose naked in the shower with two disc jockeys. A photo of the three men--discreetly cropped--was printed repeatedly in local newspapers.

Jordan eventually apologized for the stunt, saying it merely showed voters he is “squeaky clean.” But analysts said it raised questions about his judgment and offended conservative white and Asian residents who are his base of support.

The wild card in Tuesday’s election was the nasty weather. Jordan had to cut back on campaigning this week to cope with a city emergency--a storm-related sinkhole in the exclusive Sea Cliff area that swallowed one luxury home and threatened others.

Still, experts speculated that the rain and gale-force winds would favor the incumbent; a lower turnout, they said, would give more weight to the estimated 65,000 absentee ballots cast in the race--ballots that were expected to be dominated by Jordan supporters.

Meanwhile, the San Francisco registrar of voters--which made embarrassing mistakes throughout the election--continued to fumble Tuesday. In one neighborhood, the registrar moved the polling place, posting a paper sign announcing the new location. Rain and wind quickly destroyed the sign, leaving would-be voters lost.

In the shadow of the mayor’s race, a sideshow was being played out by Democrats in the state Assembly, who were struggling to choose a leader to succeed Brown. Veteran Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) was the heir apparent. After two days of meetings this week in San Francisco, the Democrats were expected to make their choice Monday.

San Francisco voters also were choosing a new district attorney Tuesday. Early returns showed Bill Fazio, a veteran prosecutor, leading liberal San Francisco Supervisor Terence Hallinan, best known as a promoter of legalized prostitution.

Times staff writer Dan Morain and researcher Norma Kaufman contributed to this story.

* CAMPBELL WINS: Assemblyman captures special congressional election. A27