Bradley in Fair Condition, Resting Comfortably at Hospital

Former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, hospitalized last week after suffering a heart attack, remained in fair condition Monday, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Roberta Tinajero, a spokeswoman for Kaiser Permanente’s Hollywood hospital, said Bradley, who won an unprecedented five terms as the city’s top elected official, was continuing to rest comfortably. His physician, Dr. Fred Alexander, had not yet set a tentative release date for the 78-year-old City Hall veteran, Tinajero added.

Bradley, who made history when he became the first African American elected mayor in Los Angeles, became ill Wednesday while driving through the Norwalk area. He stopped at a McDonald’s to telephone for help.

Except for City Council President John Ferraro, who served with Bradley for years and unsuccessfully challenged him for the mayor’s post in 1985, Bradley’s visitors have been limited to family members.

Ferraro, also a heart attack survivor, said he decided to stop by the hospital Sunday to see whether his old friend was up to a visit. Ferraro said he found Bradley, now an attorney with a downtown law firm, sitting in a chair, finishing lunch. Earlier, he had been walking the halls, Ferraro said.

“He told me he suddenly began sweating profusely and feeling sick; he said he didn’t have chest pain but he knew something was wrong,” Ferraro said of Bradley’s account of what prompted him to seek help.