Hahn’s New Challenge

James K. Hahn has been elected mayor of Los Angeles after a close and hard-fought race. He was able to bring together an unusual coalition of largely white voters in San Fernando Valley and San Pedro and largely African American voters in South Central to get the numbers he needed to win. The first and foremost challenge facing Hahn is to open his arms and make sure that the rest of the city feels a stake in his mayoralty. Hahn’s record of bridging racial divides and the ethnic breadth of his endorsements suggest he can do this.

Unfortunately, he has his work cut out for him because the last week of his campaign was a low point in his 20 years of public service.

The problem was not what Hahn said, but the way he said it. His campaign and some supporters chose to go after Antonio Villaraigosa in two ways, one above the belt, one below. Legitimately, Hahn attacked the former Assembly speaker for helping to secure a pardon for a convicted drug dealer. But then Hahn supporters got dirty, playing to negative stereotypes of Latinos by suggesting that Villaraigosa himself was an advocate for drugs, rapists and child molesters. These hits left a bitter taste for many in Los Angeles.

Hahn didn’t need these sorts of attacks to win. We hope. We endorsed both Hahn and Villaraigosa in the primary and pointed out the city attorney’s strengths when we endorsed Villaraigosa in the runoff.

We have respect for Hahn’s deep understanding of Los Angeles and how it operates and never doubted he has what it takes to run this city. We’d like to believe that the last week of his campaign was an atypical lapse and that now that the campaign is over we’ll again see the Jim Hahn that so many know and admire: the Jim Hahn who would never want to exploit fears for personal gain.

Without specifically targeting his campaign to Latinos, Villaraigosa fired this community with pride and a new political enthusiasm. But the great hope for many voters of every ethnicity who backed Villaraigosa in this election was that he would use his infectious energy and optimism to unite a city that has suffered more than its share of strife and ethnic distrust.

There was a sense that Villaraigosa would help Los Angeles transcend its past and reach its potential as a model for the 21st century.

The city deserves no less inspiring a vision from Hahn. As we’ve said before, Hahn is a capable, affable and experienced public official. A low-key, almost diffident man who’s known as a good listener, he needs to put those listening skills to full use now in his new challenge to lead the ever-changing Los Angeles.