Voter Turnout May Not Even Reach 30%

Led by Mayor Richard Riordan and state Sen. Tom Hayden--who waged a brief, but spirited campaign--Los Angeles voters trickled to the polls Tuesday to choose a mayor, to elect various city representatives and to weigh measures that would pay for school improvements and overhaul the City Charter.

The Los Angeles city clerk had predicted turnout of about 30%, but an early sampling of polling places Tuesday suggested that it might be lower. Four years ago, when the mayor’s seat was open for the first time in 20 years, turnout was 35%; at the time, that was considered low.

On Tuesday, the mayor’s race led the ballot, and the two candidates hit their polling places early; Riordan ambling through his Brentwood neighborhood accompanied by his campaign manager and driver to cast his ballot at a neighbor’s house. There, he was greeted by television cameras and reporters who had wedged themselves into the guest house that was serving as a polling place.

Riordan, who was heavily favored to win, complained that Hayden had injected a note of racial divisiveness into the campaign--the state senator accused Riordan of being insensitive to minorities, particularly blacks--but he urged voters to go to the polls regardless of whom they favored.

“Everybody who hasn’t voted, get out and vote,” Riordan said as television stations broadcast his comments live, unusual in a race that attracted scant attention from the local television media.

After casting his ballot, Riordan fielded a flurry of questions and shrugged off attempts by his campaign manager to move him along. Instead, Riordan reflected on his ability to win labor backing, a fact the former venture capitalist attributed to his commitment to economic growth and job creation. And he expressed unhappiness that a recent Times poll showed opposition to him among many black voters.

“I’m disappointed in the polls,” the mayor conceded, adding that he will continue to work to attract African American support in his second term by pursuing economic growth and community development projects throughout the city, including in predominantly black areas.

“We’ve come a long way,” he said. “But we have a long way to go.”

Less than a mile away, Hayden and his wife, Barbara Williams, cast their votes at a neighbor’s home, and, in a rare point of agreement with the mayor he spent four months trying to oust, Hayden urged voter participation.

He declined to discuss details of the campaign. He would not say what he had learned about the city, or what he planned to do after the election or even what he thought about the incumbent. He refused to speculate about turnout or predict the outcome.

“This is a day about democracy,” he said, clutching Williams’ hand. “I simply think it’s important for everyone to vote. Let’s look for a lesson tomorrow. Let’s let the voters decide today.”

Neither the polls nor the waning hours of the campaign caused Hayden to back off his tireless efforts.

As late as Tuesday morning, while Riordan was home working on his election night speech, Hayden was shaking hands and urging voters to the ballot box.

Throughout the day, he stopped at various outlets of Jerry’s Famous Deli, which Hayden has called a great “staging area” for campaigns because they are frequented by likely voters and stay open all night.

“Good morning. I’m Tom Hayden. I’m running for mayor. I hope you’ll vote today,” he said as he cruised through booths, shaking every available hand. “If you’re for me, I hope you’ll vote. If you’re not for me, I also hope you’ll vote.”

For perhaps the first time in the campaign, Hayden spent a day without challenging Riordan directly. But the hard feelings caused by his persistent criticism of the mayor were evident in Riordan’s comments to reporters.

“It’s too bad Mr. Hayden ran a racially divisive campaign,” Riordan said as he emerged from the voting booth. “That’s a legacy that he’s going to have to live with.”

Hayden had accused Riordan of racial insensitivity in his management style, in his decision to oppose a so-called “living wage” ordinance passed by the City Council, and in the move by the mayorally appointed Police Commission not to rehire Police Chief Willie L. Williams for a second term. Riordan strenuously objected to Hayden’s characterizations each time, but the charges clearly stung the mayor, who accused Hayden of trying to draw attention to his longshot effort.

After three months of campaigning, Riordan added Tuesday: “I still have not the slightest idea what Tom Hayden would do as mayor.”

Although the mayor’s race led the city elections, voters also were deciding on a city attorney, City Council members, a city controller, community college trustees and a number of ballot measures, including two that attracted wide interest--a bond measure for local schools and a proposal to rewrite the city’s 72-year-old charter.

The school bond measure was considered a close race, one that could be decided by the level of turnout, while the charter proposal was leading in the most recent Times poll, though that same survey found most voters were unaware of it less than a month before the election.

Despite the voter apathy, that proposal, Proposition 8, could have broad implications for the future of city government. The current charter provides an outline of the roles and responsibilities of elected officials and acts as a blueprint for the decision-making process in City Hall. The new charter commission, if approved by voters, will redraft that document.

Panel members would have the power to put before voters a new charter that supporters say could increase the mayor’s authority, increase the size of the council and create neighborhood councils with the power to decide local planning and safety issues.

But the effort has been mired in a nasty political feud between Riordan, who led--and largely financed--the fight to put Proposition 8 on the ballot, and the City Council, which has accused Riordan of trying to increase the mayor’s power.

The $2.4-billion school repair and construction bond known as Proposition BB was facing an uphill battle in the Los Angeles Unified School District’s second attempt at passage. School bonds require two-thirds approval, and in November the bond fell just one percentage point short.

For the average homeowner, property tax increases to cover the Los Angeles Unified School District bond costs would average about $66 a year.

Although the bond measure was supported by both mayoral candidates and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., a conservative tax watchdog group, the measure took two hits on election eve. District breakup advocates in the San Fernando Valley encouraged a no vote, saying they did not trust the giant district to distribute the funds fairly; and attorneys with the Libertarian Individual Rights Foundation went to court seeking a temporary restraining order against the district.

The foundation succeeded in forcing the district administration to tear down a display at LAUSD headquarters.