Amid Disarray, Riordan Fires Top Aide

In the most vivid example to date of the disarray gripping his administration, Mayor Richard Riordan abruptly fired his chief of staff Friday, less than four months after appointing her.

Lesa Slaughter, who was named in June to head Riordan’s staff, became the fourth person to leave that job since Riordan took office in 1993. The turnstile in the chief of staff’s office has given fuel to Riordan’s critics, who question his ability to provide stable city leadership when the turnover within his own administration is so high.

Mayoral aides heard the news of Slaughter’s dismissal at a staff meeting late Friday. Neither Riordan nor Slaughter was present--and neither would comment--but Riordan administration officials confirmed the move.

Press secretary Noelia Rodriguez stressed that the mayor’s senior staff collectively has more than 30 years of service to Riordan. “There’s no question that there’s stability and continuity here,” she said, adding that Riordan is “clearly focused” on his goals for the rest of his term.

Slaughter’s ouster, details of which were being negotiated late Friday, comes after several weeks of confusion within the Riordan camp.

First, the mayor undermined his own announcement of a plan to oust incumbent school board members by mischaracterizing the discussions that led up to that initiative. Confronted with some of his own education advisors’ public contradiction of his statements--and by the astonishment of school board candidate Genethia Hayes, who said she opened her newspaper one morning to discover that Riordan and a special task force had endorsed her--the mayor was forced to admit that the announcement had not been handled well.

Then, last week, administration officials fought hard to squelch reports that they had secured a major grant for the Los Angeles Police Department, only to have that story appear before Vice President Al Gore could make the formal announcement.

Riordan aides alleged to some city officials and journalists that early disclosure could cost the city its grant, but Gore announced it on schedule.

Internally, the administration also has been buffeted by problems, as staff members have reeled from conflicting directives and struggled to keep Riordan focused on the issues at the top of his agenda. Slaughter was not the first choice of some Riordan advisors for chief of staff. When she took over, she was quickly confronted with colleagues unhappy with her promotion and with a mayor who did little to intercede on her behalf, sources said.

From the outset, City Hall insiders were surprised at Slaughter’s appointment. Although well-liked and appreciated for her intelligence and drive, she brought very little City Hall experience to the post, especially in contrast to former chief of staff Robin Kramer, who has spent most of her adult life working in Los Angeles government and politics.

“An amateur chief of staff for an amateur mayor,” one powerful City Hall figure dubbed her.

Others joked about her young age--Slaughter is just 33--snickering behind her back that the workday started in the mayor’s office after 3 p.m., “when school gets out.”

At first, however, Riordan seemed pleased by the change in top staff. He told associates that he enjoyed more freedom with Slaughter at the helm than he had with Kramer. In addition, former Deputy Mayor Stephanie Bradfield, another forceful presence in the administration, left at the same time as Kramer. Bradfield also often worked to keep Riordan focused on the administration’s political objectives, and the mayor sometimes chafed at those constraints.

But although Riordan boasted of his new freedom, the absence of a steadying hand seemed to take a toll. For weeks, the administration has launched no significant initiatives and has been faced with mounting criticism.

City Administrative Officer Keith Comrie, for instance, has launched a broad attack on the Riordan team, accusing it of promoting bad ideas for revamping the City Charter and peppering his warnings with biting criticism of the mayor and his staff. His comments won him wide praise among City Council members.

The sense of drift in the administration comes at a particularly critical time.

Efforts to rewrite the City Charter are entering the final stages, construction is beginning on the Alameda Corridor railway, Riordan is struggling to regain control of his campaign to expand Los Angeles International Airport and he is searching for a way to make a mark on the region’s educational system.

At the moment, all those initiatives are in limbo.

No successor has been named for Slaughter. Deputy Mayor Kelly Martin, who was passed over four months ago, was named acting chief of staff, but there is no assurance that she will receive the permanent post.