Contrasts Mark Hernandez’s Council Return

Returning to City Hall for the first time since his arrest on charges of cocaine possession nearly seven weeks ago, City Councilman Mike Hernandez was raucously welcomed by supporters Tuesday and pledged to rededicate himself to his job despite calls for his resignation from parts of his district and even some council colleagues.

Hernandez, who has admitted addictions to alcohol and cocaine, appeared pale when he finally made it to his desk in the council chamber after being swarmed by reporters and news crews. In an interview in his office later, he said he was overwhelmed by his backers’ outpouring of support.

During the anything-but-typical council meeting, Hernandez addressed his fellow council members and a standing-room-only chamber filled mostly with his supporters.

“I really care about my district,” Hernandez said in a trembling voice, pausing several times during his short speech. “I care about my job. But you need to know I care about my life now. And I care about my family. . . . Hopefully you’ll all understand I’m not perfect, but I’m a better person because I’m willing to admit I have a problem and I’ve got to deal with it.”

When his statement ended, there was a burst of loud cheers and applause from the audience, which included hundreds of 1st District constituents, among them community leaders, recovering alcoholics, senior citizens from Chinatown and vanloads of Pico-Union schoolchildren. Some chanted, “We love Mike!”

By contrast, his council colleagues kept mostly to themselves throughout the shortened meeting, sitting impassively at their desks. In the only public displays of support, Councilman Richard Alatorre embraced Hernandez and later, Hernandez hugged Councilwoman Jackie Goldberg, who has supported her colleague since his arrest.

At the suggestion of council President John Ferraro, Hernandez has attempted to meet individually with each council member. Some, however, have refused to meet with him and believe he should resign. Several who have met with him have also indicated they believe he should resign, according to council members and aides.

One council member said: “I think the decision is really financial. . . . Here, he’s making $98,000 a year with a great medical plan. He ain’t giving it up--no matter what anyone says.”

Councilman Nate Holden, looking out into the packed crowd, said he believes that the support for Hernandez will probably outweigh a grass-roots recall campaign.

“It appears to me he’s going to be around for a while,” Holden said.

Ferraro said: “I think it’s a decision Mike has to make. He has a tough road ahead of him.”

A recall campaign in the mostly Latino 1st District is moving forward, with leaders of that fledgling effort expected to file papers at City Hall today.

Supporters of that movement, who mostly stayed away from City Hall on Tuesday, discounted the large show of support as orchestrated public relations.

“A lot of those people belong to nonprofit groups dependent on Hernandez’s office for support,” said Rudy Tenorio de Cordova, one of the leaders of the recall effort. “I do not believe they are a reflection of the community at large. And the bottom line is that the voters in District 1 will be able to see through that.”

A couple of council members said they were annoyed by the overflow crowd in the chamber. One, who asked not to be identified, said: “I thought it was extremely inappropriate. They made him look like a hero.”

Hernandez said he didn’t expect the turnout either. But he said: “It’s not a victory party. It’s someone who is in rehab and trying to come back.”

To his supporters, Hernandez is seen as a reluctant hero. About 125 senior citizens walked from their homes in Chinatown to City Hall to welcome Hernandez back.

“People felt it was important to come and show their support and tell the councilman that he has done a good job for the community,” said Don Toy, executive director of Chinatown Teen Post, a youth center.

“We’re here to support Mike Hernandez,” said Lawrence Rhone, 13, one of about 75 students from St. Thomas School, a Catholic campus in the Pico-Union district, who skipped morning classes with their parents’ permission. “We know he made a mistake, but he’s trying to help himself.”

Some council colleagues agreed. Alatorre said: “I believe in redemption. . . . Nobody is condoning what he did. He’s acknowledged that he’s done wrong.”

Since his arrest Aug. 21, Hernandez has lived at a rehabilitation center, attempting to recover from nearly 30 years of alcohol abuse and more recent cocaine use. He vowed in Tuesday’s interview with The Times and in public comments to continue treatment, saying that he will attend morning and evening recovery meetings.

Before his arrest, Hernandez said in the interview, he was drinking about a quart of tequila (“my drink of choice,” as he called it) and a pitcher of beer every night.

“The cocaine let me drink more,” Hernandez said, fiddling with a cigarette lighter as he spoke. “I was just drinking and drinking and drinking. The only thing I felt comfortable doing was drinking.”

He said he had terrible financial problems because he spent half his salary on drugs and alcohol, and he admitted frequently sleeping in his car or motel rooms to avoid driving drunk. He also said he smoked marijuana as well as cocaine.

“I was going to be dead by December,” he said. “I thought my life was over.”

Now that he is recovering and moving back home, however, Hernandez said he enjoys spending time with his family--his wife of 24 years and his 21-year-old daughter and 19-year-old son. He has also gained 16 pounds but appears much less jittery than he did previously.

While Hernandez credited the law enforcement task force that arrested him with saving his life, he also said the police spent a lot more resources and time on his case than on others.

“I don’t see them doing this to a lot of users,” Hernandez said. “But not every user is a councilman. Not every user is one of a few Latino council members, and maybe they felt they had to be extra cautious.”

But Councilman Joel Wachs, who has not yet met with Hernandez, said he was dismayed that his colleague has indicated in some media accounts that he was treated differently because he is Latino.

Wachs said: “I will tell him personally: ‘This is not about race. That’s nonsense.’ ”

Hernandez was arrested after police observed 10 occasions on which the councilman was alleged to have purchased cocaine. Police also have a video of Hernandez making movements that appear to show him snorting cocaine in his city car before a community event. Authorities also said they recovered cocaine residue from the desk of Hernandez’s third-floor City Hall office.

The councilman is due back in court in three weeks, when he is expected to enter a guilty plea to the drug possession charge in an arrangement that will require him to continue his treatment program for at least 18 months and allow him to avoid a felony conviction on his record.

“I was no different from any other alcoholic who was by himself drinking, no different from the person on skid row except I had the ability to rehab myself,” Hernandez said in the interview. “Now I’ve gone 47 days [without alcohol or drugs]. I’m hoping that gives me a lot more clarity in my life because I’m not standing here after a quart of tequila the night before.”