Brown Savors Prospect of New Career as a Mayor : Politics: Ex-speaker wins 57% of the votes. He says he hopes San Francisco adopts his upbeat attitude and style.

By JENIFER WARREN and DAN MORAIN

Dec. 14, 1995 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITERS

SAN FRANCISCO —

Willie Lewis Brown Jr., who fled a dusty Texas town to become one of the most powerful politicians in California history, savored a new career peak Wednesday as he was crowned the runaway winner in the race for mayor of this most liberal of cities.

With the ballots all counted, results showed Brown capturing City Hall with a whopping 57% of the vote, besting an incumbent--Frank Jordan--who came to be viewed as well-intentioned but ill-equipped for the job.

Although Brown has become accustomed to victory during his 31-year career in the state Assembly, this week’s triumph seemed especially sweet. It was his first hard-fought race in years, and his exhaustive campaign travels reacquainted him with neighborhoods he rarely visited during his tenure in Sacramento.

The stakes were high as well: Had Brown lost, his future was uncertain because term limits compel him to surrender his Assembly seat next year. Brown plans to resign from the seat by midnight today, clearing the way for San Franciscans to pick his successor in a special election March 26.

As news of his win spread Wednesday, congratulatory messages poured in from around the country, with President Clinton even inviting Brown, San Francisco’s first black mayor, to a White House meeting Monday. Brown was forced to decline because of duties here and in Sacramento, where Assembly Democrats will elect a leader to replace him.

“The single most advanced form of contact sports in politics is running for mayor of San Francisco,” Brown said at a post-victory news conference, noting that he never would have sought the job had he not been confident that he could run the city. “In 31 years, I’ve really learned how to do the job. I am a pro.”

Jordan was a gracious loser, conceding early Wednesday in a telephone call to Brown. With his three sons at his campaign headquarters, Jordan grew misty-eyed and called the race “a hard-fought battle.” Referring to the week’s heavy storms, he added: “Our rain dance didn’t work the way we thought it would.”

At a news conference later in the day, Jordan defended his record and said he is leaving San Francisco in better shape than it was when he took office four years ago. Analyzing his defeat, Jordan said he was outfoxed by a man of “great political acumen” who had the support of the Democratic Party and elected officials across the city and state.

Jordan’s campaign manager, Clint Reilly, offered a different spin, blaming the loss on Jordan’s bizarre decision to pose naked in the shower with two disc jockeys. A photo of the three men was printed repeatedly in Bay Area newspapers, and Brown used the episode to embarrass Jordan in campaign attacks.

The stunt also raised questions about Jordan’s judgment and, in Reilly’s view, allowed Brown to finish first in the November primary. That result, coupled with post-election polls showing Brown with a double-digit lead, dried up the mayor’s campaign funds, Reilly said.

“I think the shower incident really hurt the campaign,” Reilly said, calling it “the defining moment.”

Despite the bruising nature of the seven-month campaign, Jordan pledged a smooth transition of power. He will meet with Brown today and has asked his department chiefs to prepare memos to help the mayor-elect “assess the state of our city” as he prepares to take the helm.

“We don’t want to see any animosity,” said Jordan, who a day earlier was bashing Brown as a money-grubbing politician beholden to special interests. “I extend my hand in cooperation to Willie Brown.”

Brown will undoubtedly be grateful, because as mayor, he confronts a daunting task. A city of 724,000, San Francisco has a police department in turmoil, a faltering municipal transit system, an unreliable 911 emergency network and a serious homelessness problem. To compound matters, the city faces as much as $600 million in federal budget cuts.

During the campaign, Brown was vague about how he planned to tackle the problems, pledging only to convene an economic summit and conduct a performance audit of city government. On Wednesday, he offered few new details but vowed to focus on public safety, the 911 system and the widely maligned transportation network of buses, subways and light rail.

“I’ll make sure it works and is on time, even if I have to drive it myself,” said Brown, who is known to prefer sports cars. “I intend to make this city work.”

Brown also said he would help the Giants baseball team build a new stadium--without public funds--and vowed to ensure that city money would continue to flow to the homeless, people with AIDS and the mentally ill.

“I hope San Francisco takes on my style. I hope San Francisco takes on my attitude,” Brown said. “We’re looking to turning this city into the great city it can be.”

Moving quickly to assemble a government, Brown called on all department heads from the Jordan administration to send him their resumes. He also pledged to immediately accept the resignation of Police Chief Tony Ribera, who is fending off sexual harassment charges brought by a former San Francisco police officer.

When he is sworn in Jan. 8, Brown will become the city’s 40th mayor. He also will be without an official office and instead will occupy temporary quarters in an auditorium. City Hall was vacated earlier this year for extensive earthquake renovation, which may not be completed until 1997.

Brown’s mayorship will launch a new phase in an extraordinary political life, one that had the most modest of beginnings.

Fifty years ago, Brown was shining shoes in Mineola, Tex., collecting the coins white patrons sometimes would toss into a spittoon. His school books were dated and frayed--discards from the white kids--and he always entered the town’s restaurants through the back door.

In 1951, a 17-year-old Brown, the son of a railroad porter, fled that segregated world and came west to San Francisco. His only relative here--an uncle, Itsie Collins--helped Brown make his way through San Francisco State University and Hastings Law School.

As a successful attorney, Brown went on to win a seat representing San Francisco in the Assembly and ultimately served as speaker for nearly 15 years, a record in longevity.

On election night, he harked back several times to his past, and invited his Uncle Itsie to stand near him on stage. Brown’s three sisters and one brother, an assistant city manager in Tacoma, Wash., were beside him as well.

Recalling how he came to San Francisco with nothing and built a life of power and fame that few can match, Brown told his supporters:

“This city said, ‘You are welcome. You can reach your full potential.’ ”

Times staff writer Mark Gladstone contributed to this story.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Election Returns

Unofficial returns in the San Francisco mayor’s and district attorney’s races and the 15th Congressional District:

SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR

536 precincts reporting (100%)

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CANDIDATE VOTES % (+) Willie Brown 107,500 56.6% Frank Jordan* 82,173 43.3%

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