Riordan’s Chief of Staff to Leave Post

Mayor Richard Riordan’s chief of staff, Robin Kramer, is preparing to leave her post, a move that will strip Riordan of the political and administrative glue that has often held his administration together.

The departure of one of City Hall’s most respected insiders will cap an exodus by mayoral aides in recent months. Since being sworn in for his second term, Riordan has lost five senior staff members.

But Kramer’s loss will be by far the most difficult for the mayor to weather.

Reached late in the day, Riordan acknowledged that Kramer was planning to leave and said it would be difficult to fill her shoes.

“Robin came to us in ‘93,” he said. “I’d had some growing pains in my administration. She helped pull the team together. . . . I think everybody owes her a great debt of gratitude. I’m going to miss her deeply.”

In an administration often chided for its lack of political skills, Kramer has been the one member of the mayor’s inner circle with long experience in City Hall, and particularly with the City Council. Adding to the potential impact of Kramer’s departure is the fact that her most likely successor, Deputy Mayor Kelly Martin, is openly disliked by some city commissioners and council members, and is opposed by some top Riordan aides.

It was Martin, sources said, who orchestrated a recent round of commission appointments, including the recommendation to nominate attorney Ted Stein to the Harbor Commission. Stein is unpopular with many council members and is facing a tough fight to win confirmation. Martin’s decision to champion his nomination has been viewed by some observers as evidence of her political naivete.

Riordan said he has not decided on a replacement for Kramer, but added that Martin “has done such a great job” with her current assignment that she would be a strong candidate for chief of staff.

Meanwhile, according to City Council sources, another top Riordan aide, Deputy Mayor Stephanie Bradfield, also is looking for a new job. If Bradfield and Kramer leave the administration, two of Riordan’s top five deputy slots will be vacant. Bradfield supervises political relations for the mayor and contributes expertise in a variety of areas, including the intricate topic of California water.

Bradfield was not available for comment on her plans.

The impending departures of two valued aides comes just as the administration is facing new difficulties. The mayor’s highly touted plans for expanding Los Angeles International Airport have been stymied by disarray on the Airport Commission. The Alameda Corridor project, once thought to be well in hand, is facing new controversy. And charter reform, one of Riordan’s top priorities for his second term, is complicated by a stubborn conflict over whether to create a citywide network of neighborhood councils and how much power to give them.

Sources in and around the administration said that Kramer and Bradfield have been considering the prospect of leaving for some time. The sources stressed that neither is being forced out, but both are planning to resign because of personal reasons.

In Kramer’s case, the decision was based largely on her desire to spend more time with her children.

“My oldest son went off to college in September,” she said in an interview Thursday evening. “I was surprised by my own reaction. . . . I have two other boys, young men, at home . . . and I really began thinking of taking a time out to focus on them.”

Kramer--who praised Riordan effusively Thursday, saying she has “learned a tremendous amount from him about leadership and courage”--has been the mayor’s longest-serving chief of staff. Initially, Riordan hired City Hall veteran William R. McCarley, then replaced him after a year with UCLA professor William Ouchi.

Ouchi lasted less than a year, and was replaced in 1995 by Kramer. She has held the post since.

Kramer joined the administration as a deputy mayor for communications. The appointment of Kramer, a former executive director of the Coro Foundation and chief of staff to Councilman Richard Alatorre, helped the office gain footing with the council and political credibility.

In recent years, frosty council relations have continued to dog the administration, and some observers think the relationship today is worse than ever. One recent example was Riordan’s decision to oust Airport Commission President Dan Garcia, whose ability and long work in city government and politics have made him a favorite of many council members.

Garcia was not well liked by Deputy Mayor Martin, who has oversight responsibility for the airport, and although he is a longtime friend of Kramer, she delivered the news that the mayor wanted him to leave the commission. Council members briefly rallied to Garcia’s defense, and he might have won a fight over the ouster had he pursued it, but Garcia ultimately backed down and decided to leave without a battle.

Though respected for her political acumen, Kramer has her critics, some of whom question whether she has made the most of her position. Why, some ask, if Kramer is so connected to the council, are Riordan’s relations with that group so bad?

Still, Kramer is a manager whose skills complement Riordan’s. Where he tends to flit from issue to issue, she is focused and determined. Where he has little regard for public officials or bureaucrats, she has spent her life in public service. Most of Riordan’s other top deputies lack her long experience in city government and politics.

Like Martin, Deputy Mayor Rockard Delgadillo is a lawyer who comes from the private sector. Although he has built strong loyalties among his staff and in some council offices, his political experience is limited to his time in the Riordan administration. The other deputy mayor, William Violante, is a former police officer and police union president, but he plays a less central role in the overall administration.

Since winning election to a second term, Riordan has seen a steady stream of aides depart. Deputy Mayors Steve Sugerman and Gary Mendoza, Assistant Chief of Staff Greg Dawley and press deputy Jason Greenwald left for a variety of reasons.

Kramer’s departure probably will not occur for weeks or months, as both she and Riordan emphasized that she would remain on board to ensure a smooth transition. Riordan said he would begin searching for a replacement right away, but would not say how long he thought it would take.

“She’ll be very hard to replace,” he said.