Riordan Sets Goals for L.A.’s Economy

Riding a growing recognition that Southern California’s economy is finally turning around, Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan on Wednesday delivered a wide-ranging economic policy speech, vowing to bring Hollywood back to glory and boost the airport’s cargo capacity.

The various economic strategies the entrepreneurial mayor proposed included new pushes to improve the deteriorated face Hollywood has long presented to the 6 million tourists a year who flock to the once-fabled movie capital of the world, to build on his campaign promise of improving the city’s business climate with a massive overhaul of taxes and permitting procedures, and to ready Los Angeles International Airport for an even bigger share of the booming Pacific Rim cargo business.

Riordan also pledged to continue his sometimes controversial efforts to improve Los Angeles schools to prepare future generations of workers. He said that he will see that the long-promised Los Angeles Community Development Bank makes its first loans in impoverished areas this spring and that he will work with the City Council to bring about a two-thirds reduction in the sewer hookup service charge.

“I ask you--all of you--to be my partner in this venture,” said an upbeat Riordan, who chose the trading floor of the Pacific Stock Exchange, still littered with paper from the day’s activity, to deliver his 26-minute speech before invited guests that included executives of small businesses his office had worked to keep in town.

The mayor’s address, several weeks in the planning, came a day after Jack Kyser of the nonprofit Economic Development Corp. of Los Angeles County detailed evidence of the burgeoning economic recovery--after five years of recession--in a report to the County Board of Supervisors.

Riordan--a multimillionaire lawyer and venture capitalist who won the city’s top elected job in 1993 with a promise to turn around the crime-ridden, recession-plagued city--also used the occasion to tout some of his accomplishments. The mayor, already running for a second term in next year’s elections and hoping to discourage potential challengers, released the first annual report of LA’s Business Team, a job-retention project run out of his office. The report credited the project with saving or creating about 30,000 jobs within city limits, spurring $300 million in capital investment and generating $1.7 million in business license taxes for city coffers.

The other achievements the mayor mentioned included: launching an overhaul of the city’s cumbersome, costly development permitting system; persuading, with millions in tax breaks and other incentives, entertainment moguls Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen to build their DreamWorks SKG media and development project within the city; leading efforts to create the Community Development Bank to bring quality jobs to impoverished neighborhoods; and establishing a Minority Business Opportunity Committee to help minority- and female-owned firms get their share of city business.

But Riordan went out of his way to share credit with various members of the City Council, whose support he needs for implementing most of his initiatives. His relations with the council have been rocky, and several members have accused him of ignoring them on key measures. On Wednesday, he made sure to credit Councilman Mike Hernandez and Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, among others, for their roles in several proposals and accomplishments.

The speech got good marks overall.

David Lizarraga, chief executive of TELACU, a community development group active in East Los Angeles, praised Riordan for highlighting “the programs that the city has to help the economy . . . especially when you’re looking at diminishing opportunities for minorities.”

“It’s important to cite what he has done and what he is going to do,” said Lizarraga, who was in the audience. “The city has to do all that it can to attract business, [especially] small business.”

And economist Joel Kotkin, a senior fellow with the Pepperdine University Institute for Public Policy, said Riordan was on the right track in his efforts to keep firms from leaving the city and in seeking to revitalize Hollywood.

“They’re beginning to deal with the problems. It’s too bad they didn’t start out this way three years ago,” said Kotkin, who has criticized Riordan’s economic policies in the past.

The mayor, given to bursts of boosterism, peppered his speech with statistics detailing the city’s real and potential economic power and announced that Inc. magazine, a leading business publication, has selected Los Angeles for this year’s conference for the 500 fastest-growing privately held companies in the nation.

Riordan also announced that Federal Express, “a national trend-setter in customer service,” will tailor a program to teach customer service to more than 1,500 city employees involved in the development and permitting process. Businesses and homeowners have long complained about the unfriendly and unhelpful attitude of those who rule the building permit process.

The speech also marked the formal debut of Gary S. Mendoza, Riordan’s new deputy mayor for economic development, who had been commissioner of the state Department of Corporations. Mendoza will be charged with implementing many of Riordan’s economic plans, including efforts to revive Hollywood.

“We’ve certainly had some interesting challenges over the past few years, but we have come back with a spirit of resilience and determination,” Riordan said.

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Mayor’s Economic Plan

Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan gave a speech Wednesday in which he added elements to his strategies for revitalizing the city’s economy. Here are some highlights:

* Spruce up a crime-plagued, deteriorated Hollywood to capitalize on its still-strong tourism draw.

* Begin a comprehensive review of the city’s tax structure.

* Position Los Angeles International Airport to take advantage of the Pacific Rim trade boom by vastly expanding the airport’s cargo handling capacity.

* Step up a federal funding push for the Alameda Corridor, a direct rail link between the harbor and Union Station.

* See that the long-promised Los Angeles Community Development Bank makes its first loans in impoverished communities this spring.

* Continue a multipronged campaign to improve public schools so future generations of workers will help improve the city’s jobs market competitiveness.

* Advocate a two-thirds reduction in the sewer fee hookup charge as an incentive to businesses.

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The Alameda Corridor will run from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to a major freight rail switching yard just south of the Santa Monica Freeway (20 miles), and NOT to Union Station downtown.

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