Final Debate an Angry One

The two men vying to be Los Angeles’ next mayor traded angry charges of smear campaigns and hypocrisy Thursday night as they clashed repeatedly in their last public face-off before the June 5 election.

Former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa was on the offensive through much of the hourlong forum at the Museum of Tolerance, which was by far the most combative encounter of the 2001 campaign.

Villaraigosa opened the debate by accusing City Atty. James K. Hahn of running “a campaign of fear and innuendo.” He also challenged Hahn over recent reports that one of Hahn’s campaign backers had solicited money from Indian tribes to fund mailers that sharply attacked the former lawmaker.

Hahn defended his record as “unmatched, unsullied,” and pressed Villaraigosa on why he wrote a letter to the White House on behalf of a convicted drug trafficker, which became the subject of a controversial television commercial. He repeatedly returned the discussion to the issue of public safety.

The debate came as polls show a tight race heading toward Tuesday’s election. A Times poll earlier this week showed Hahn holding a small lead, and political analysts have said Villaraigosa’s campaign has been hurt by Hahn’s attacks, largely on the issues of criminal justice and public safety.

Villaraigosa sought to use Thursday’s debate to return fire, focusing on the Hahn campaign’s finances. At one point, before answering a question about the state’s energy crisis, Villaraigosa turned to Hahn and demanded that he “take responsibility” for the actions of a supporter who persuaded the Soboba Band of Mission Indians to contribute $100,000 for mailers attacking Villaraigosa’s record on crime.

Leaders of the Riverside County tribe said this week that Daniel Weinstein, a longtime Hahn supporter and fund-raiser, suggested the payment during a May 21 telephone conference call to a meeting of leaders from six Indian tribes.

“Mr. Hahn, what did you know and when did you know about it?” asked Villaraigosa, turning to face the city attorney. “I think it’s time to fess up, Jimmy. I think it’s time to take responsibility for your actions.”

“I didn’t know anything about it,” insisted Hahn, his face reddening. “There is not a shred of evidence to connect my campaign to that. I reject that kind of politics.”

“If that’s true, Mr. Hahn, I call you to join me to call on the district attorney to look into this matter,” Villaraigosa said.

Hahn shot back, calling for the Democratic Party, which has put at least $500,000 into backing Villaraigosa, to reveal its contributors.

“I welcome any investigation into the campaign,” Hahn said. “I hope you will join me in making sure the district attorney investigates whether any illegal earmarking is going on or illegal coordination between your campaign and the Democratic Party. Let’s have it all out on the table.”

Calmly Making Their Points

Between the nasty salvos, Hahn tried to project a statesmanlike demeanor. “This is a campaign about who is ready to lead this city,” said Hahn, who maintained a calm tone despite the candidates’ spirited exchange.

Villaraigosa emphasized his accomplishments in the Assembly, and tried to assure the public about his credentials. “I have the experience, I have the passion and I have the work ethic to make this city work for all of you,” he said, walking to the edge of the stage and looking directly into the television cameras.

Political consultant John Shallman said both candidates came in well-prepared and scored the points they wanted to.

“Antonio had a job to do tonight,” Shallman said. “He needed to talk directly to the people of Los Angeles and directly to people who he may have some concern have doubts about him. . . . I think Jim also scored well, especially when he talked about law enforcement.”

In fact, the main topic of the debate was public safety, an issue that Hahn has hammered at throughout the runoff campaign and one that he repeatedly attempted to return to throughout the debate.

The city attorney defended his criticisms of Villaraigosa’s record on crime, calling it “a real difference” between the two candidates that should be publicly debated.

“I am tough on crime because I can’t stand it when small, little people are being oppressed by bullies,” Hahn said, citing his efforts to prosecute domestic violence offenders and use gang injunctions to crack down on crime.

Villaraigosa opposed gang injunctions when he was president of the American Civil Liberties Union, Hahn added, and voted against renewing a law that would stiffen gang penalties that the city attorney helped write.

“He gets mad about it when I bring it up, but your record is your record,” he said.

‘Disappointed,’ Not Angry

Villaraigosa countered that Hahn had gone beyond talking about differing philosophies, and had tried to insinuate that he condoned drug dealers and gang members.

“Take a good look at me, Jim,” he said. “I’m not angry. I’m disappointed.”

The audience, made up predominantly of Villaraigosa supporters, whistled and cheered.

“It’s not enough to have a press conference and talk tough on crime,” he added, saying there was a need for prevention and intervention efforts.

Later, Villaraigosa repeated his charge that Hahn has waged a “smear campaign” against him, citing a television commercial that shows a grainy picture of his face, along with images of a razor cutting cocaine and a crack pipe being held to a flame.

“We know what you’re trying to do, Jimmy,” Villaraigosa said, turning to face his opponent. “You are trying to create a climate of fear. You are trying to tell the people of Los Angeles they can’t trust me. But you know, Jim, I am a good man, just as you claim you are a good man.”

Villaraigosa repeated his accusation that Hahn was behind attack mailers that call him “dangerous.”

“That is the kind of smear tactic that reminds me of Sam Yorty 30 years ago,” he said, referring to the city’s former mayor who ran a divisive campaign against challenger Tom Bradley in 1969.

Hahn retorted that Villaraigosa was the one waging a nasty campaign.

“Watch how he does this, so skillfully,” Hahn said, sounding indignant. “He gets it right by all of us. You don’t even see it coming. He has run a campaign of vilification against me, smears and innuendoes against me.”

“There is a real difference between us, Antonio. I don’t try to fool anybody.”

The two men also argued over the city’s soaring liability costs, with Villaraigosa saying Hahn has “failed to address that issue” as city attorney. And they squabbled over the energy crisis, as Hahn accused Villaraigosa of contributing to the state’s electricity problems by voting for deregulation.

Investigation of Mailer Urged

Earlier in the day, four of Villaraigosa’s leading supporters--Sheriff Lee Baca, county Supervisor Gloria Molina, former Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner and Los Angeles school board President Genethia Hayes--called on Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley to open a criminal investigation into possible violations of city and state campaign laws in regard to the Soboba mailer.

At a morning event with Asian American supporters, Hahn denied that his campaign had any involvement in encouraging the Sobobas to participate in the anti-Villaraigosa mail campaign.

“There is no connection between my campaign and this independent expenditure whatsoever,” Hahn said. “It was not authorized by me. I didn’t know about it.” Hahn said, however, that he does know fund-raiser Weinstein “very well. He helps raise money in this campaign.”

Hahn’s campaign spokesman, Kam Kuwata, said Weinstein sponsored two fund-raising events for Hahn during the mayor’s race, netting $19,000 for the city attorney’s campaign. Tickets to the first event in April 2000 ranged from $250 to $500. The second event, held at Weinstein’s home, cost between $250 and $1,000 per person.

Showing irritation at the persistent press questions about the Indian mailers, Hahn said he had never had a conversation with Weinstein about this independent expenditure.

“I had no idea he was doing this,” Hahn insisted. “Nobody in my campaign knew anything about this.”

But at an afternoon news conference outside the Criminal Courts Building downtown, Baca said the district attorney should investigate possible illegal activity concerning the Hahn campaign’s “apparent collusion” with the Soboba Indians.

Baca said the mailer accusing Villaraigosa of being soft on crime and favoring sexual predators set “a sleazy new low” and represented the worst in “slimy, dirty campaign tactics.”

Molina said she sent Cooley a brief letter saying a criminal investigation should be started as soon as possible. “This has gone too far,” she said. “We denounce these tactics.”

Former Dist. Atty. Reiner accused the Hahn campaign of committing a crime by getting the Indian tribe to pay for “vicious hit pieces” which were coordinated and planned by a Hahn agent. He suggested that the $100,000 donation was “the political equivalent of money laundering.”

But Reiner, who served as district attorney from 1984 to 1992, acknowledged that it would be difficult to prove a crime took place.

Cooley did not rule out conducting an investigation. “Upon receiving a written complaint setting forth allegations by Antonio Villaraigosa that James Hahn may have had criminal involvement in an effort to circumvent city and state election laws, my office will review the matter to determine whether or not an investigation is warranted,” he said in a statement.

Cooley said he is neutral in the mayor’s race, in part because his office has “a unique role in enforcing election laws.” Hahn spokesman Kuwata said that if the district attorney chooses to investigate, he will find “there was no criminal activity that has taken place.”

The Hahn campaign also tried Thursday to cement the link between Villaraigosa and Horacio Vignali, father of a convicted cocaine trafficker whose prison sentence was commuted by President Bill Clinton on his last day in office. Villaraigosa wrote a letter in May 1996 to the White House urging that the case of Carlos Vignali be reviewed.

Hahn said after a 1995 traffic accident, Villaraigosa had $4,840 in repairs done to his state car at a Vignali body shop. “Why did he pick this body shop?” Hahn asked. “There is a lot more connection between Mr. Vignali and Mr. Villaraigosa.”

Villaraigosa said he used a shop that he knew to get the front-end damage repaired: “I went there and got my car fixed.”

*

RELATED STORIES

Credentials: James K. Hahn grew up in multiethnic South L.A. B1

Debate: City attorney hopefuls Feuer, Delgadillo spar on issues. B4