The Mayor Who Slipped on His Flipflops

This story moved over the Associated Press wire service on June 4, 1997:

LOS ANGELES (AP)--Howard Berman, a veteran Democratic congressman from the San Fernando Valley, was elected mayor of the nation’s second-largest city Tuesday, handily defeating incumbent Richard J. Riordan after a spirited, expensive runoff.

Promising to be “a mayor for all of Los Angeles,” Berman told a cheering crowd of supporters that his first priority was “to heal the regional, racial and ethnic rifts that sadly have been allowed to fester under the incumbent’s lack of leadership.”

The final tally showed Berman with 54% of the vote to Riordan’s 46%, coincidentally the same margin by which Riordan had defeated then-Councilman Mike Woo to become mayor in 1993, succeeding the retiring Tom Bradley. Ironically, Riordan, a successful lawyer and businessman, had then presented himself as the best candidate to heal racial scars that were ripped open by rioting the previous year.

In a victory celebration at the Biltmore Hotel, Berman was joined by old friends such as Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and Rep. Henry Waxman as well as such inner-city allies as Rep. Maxine Waters, Supervisor Gloria Molina and City Council members Mark Ridley-Thomas and Richard Alatorre.

The group reflected the broad, multiethnic coalition of liberals and moderates that began to take shape more than a year ago when Riordan reacted slowly in opposing state legislation aimed at enabling the San Fernando Valley to secede from the city of Los Angeles. The legislation, which was written by then-Assemblywoman Paula Boland (R-Granada Hills), drew fierce opposition from political leaders and civil rights organizations citywide who pointed out that the bill would deny most of Los Angeles’ voters the right to vote on an initiative to divide the city.

“The nerve of these people!” Waters, a leader of Los Angeles’ African American community, said of Valley secessionists. “They talk about democracy, but then they propose electoral apartheid! Incredible!

“Well, this is America! This is the city of Los Angeles! Doesn’t matter what part of the city you live in, we all have the right to vote. And today the people of Los Angeles elected Howard Berman.”

Some constitutional scholars suggested that the Boland measure, still bottled up in the state Senate, would not survive legal challenge. Still, the measure emerged as an important symbolic issue in a city where regional and ethnic dynamics have long played a crucial role.

Secessionist leaders pointed out that the Valley, once predominantly white, is more ethnically diverse now. Opponents countered that the Boland bill would have created an election that disproportionately disenfranchised the city’s black, Latino and Asian residents. Strong opposition also emerged among Valley residents who questioned the wisdom of secession as well as the moral virtue of the Boland bill.

Riordan’s own political strategists have long suggested that the mayor could have easily won reelection had he immediately opposed the Boland bill and lobbied for its defeat. Instead, after the bill won Assembly approval in April 1996, Riordan reacted with an embarrassing series of flip-flops, followed by a decision to adopt a neutral stance, apparently wary of upsetting Valley secessionists.

In the months that followed, opposition to Riordan’s reelection started to grow. State Sen. Tom Hayden and Councilman Ridley-Thomas entered the mayoral race. Berman later joined the contest and was instantly considered the strongest possible challenger because of his Valley base and his political ties to the Westside and support within the city’s politically active Jewish community.

By the time Riordan finally came out against the Boland bill, he had alienated many moderates who supported him in ’93. In the general election, Riordan received a disappointing 33% of the vote to Berman’s 24%. It was obvious that most of the support won by Ridley-Thomas and Hayden would go to Berman.

Realizing he was in trouble, Riordan dipped into his fortune to counter hard-hitting TV ads that dramatically showcased his flip-flops and indecision on the Boland bill and other major issues, such as proposals to address illegal immigration and state programs pertaining to racial and gender preference policies. Other ads faulted Riordan for weakening of the city’s Fire Department and his failure to fulfill a campaign promise to add 3,000 officers to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Riordan supporters had warned potential opponents that the wealthy incumbent and his supporters would outspend any competitor by at least 2 to 1. The Riordan campaign did more than that, spending $8 million to Berman’s $3.5 million, but it wasn’t enough.

Riordan, who spent nearly $5 million of his own money in his failed campaign, appeared shaken and offered a wan smile as he appeared before supporters at the Universal City Sheraton and offered congratulations to Berman.

“I learned the hard way that to be the mayor of a great city you can’t please everybody,” he said. “I know some of you here still believe in secession. But I want you all to know I really, truly believe that, as the saying goes, ‘Together, we’re the best.’ ”

Riordan’s invocation of the Los Angeles marketing slogan elicited boos from several secessionists. “It isn’t fair,” one muttered. “We got the race card thrown in our face!”

A Riordan aide overheard the remark. “Well, you played the Valley card. You wanted to deny your fellow citizens the right to vote. What did you expect?” replied Deputy Mayor Barbie, a tear rolling down her plastic cheek and into a tumbler of whiskey.

The diminutive aide wistfully recalled how she first met Riordan years ago when he was restructuring Mattel Inc. and then joined his administration with the assignment of damage control.

“I tried to warn him,” she said. “When the Boland bill first came up, I told him to drive a stake through that sucker’s heart. But noooo. He had to dillydally around.

“But look at it this way: Now the Valley’s got a homeboy for a mayor. Of course, he’s a Democrat and those Valley Republicans won’t like that. Plus, he owes those folks Over the Hill.

“I hope the secessionists are satisfied.”

* Scott Harris’ column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Readers may write to Harris at the Times Valley Edition, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. Please include a phone number.