Riordan Limps Through Valley Campaign Swing

Limping slightly from a broken toe, Mayor Richard Riordan hobbled around the Valley on Tuesday seeking support for a $744-million public safety bond measure and his slate of candidates for the city school board.

The mayor began his morning at a North Hollywood nail polish factory and ended it watching a group of Pacoima senior citizens do a hip-wiggling line dance known as the “Tush Push.” In between, he dropped by an Arleta Fire Station.

Riordan, 68, wore a dark blue booty over his foot, which he said he injured when he slipped on the marble floor at his home and slammed into a door jamb.

Shaking hands and posing for pictures throughout his visit, Riordan met with various groups and pushed the same priorities he has voiced for months: support for a bond to build police and fire stations, backing for a slate of four candidates for the school board, and proposed changes in the city charter.

“We have a totally bankrupt education system,” he told about 60 people at the Northeast Valley Multipurpose Senior Center. He added that poor children had little chance of learning to read and write at grade level. “Many of them, through hopelessness, will turn to anti social behavior such as drugs and crime, said Riordan, who visits neighborhoods in the Valley about twice a month.

One woman, Sigrid Larson of Pacoima, complained about people breeding pit bulls for fighting in her neighborhood. Riordan later said his 1999-2000 budget will include an increase of about $4 million for the Department of Animal Regulation, including about $1.5 million to help catch thousands of dogs roaming the streets in packs. The department’s operating budget is now about $8 million.