Riordan Confers With Bush Aides

Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan met with White House aides about a potential race for governor of California on Tuesday, even as the two declared GOP candidates struggled against the perception that Riordan is the candidate favored by President Bush.

Riordan’s White House meetings included President Bush’s chief political strategist, Karl Rove, and others. Riordan declined to say what they discussed--or even to acknowledge that Rove was in the room.

“It was a private meeting,” he said. Others, however, confirmed that he and Rove met.

Even as the meeting took place, former Gov. George Deukmejian, who heads the gubernatorial campaign of California Secretary of State Bill Jones, took shots at the White House and at Riordan.

“I just can’t understand how any responsible Republicans would even be thinking about supporting someone like that,” the former governor said.

But the other GOP contender, investment banker William E. Simon Jr., was less confrontational. He said Riordan would offer “a good sparring match for me before I get to Gray” Davis, the Democratic incumbent.

In Washington, Riordan met with 10 Republican members of Congress who have formed an informal committee to draft Riordan to run for governor.

“They were very vocal in wanting me to run for governor, and I’m very flattered,” Riordan said. “But I’m still mayor for five days, and I’ll look at it long and hard after I’m through being mayor.”

Riordan, whose successor, James K. Hahn, takes over Sunday, met later with campaign consultants who could potentially run a statewide campaign in California.

Riordan has said publicly that Bush has urged him to run for governor, and White House aides have made it clear that they see him as the strongest potential challenger to Davis, whose standing has been hurt by California’s energy troubles.

GOP strategist Allan Hoffenblum said Bush’s endorsement--or at least wink and nod--could help Riordan win a Republican primary by drawing conservatives who might otherwise be suspicious of a moderate former mayor who has long supported Democrats. But other California GOP strategists say the White House political team should steer clear of the primary.

“There’s a resentment at the grass-roots level that the senior people are trying to basically dictate to them what’s going on,” said one veteran GOP strategist. “From a White House perspective, it’s a mistake.”

Perhaps reflecting that sensibility, Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer said “any decision about what Mr. Riordan will do is up to Mr. Riordan and to the people of California.”

Riordan also appeared sensitive to the perception that he would be Bush’s handpicked candidate. “President Bush has not indicated to me at all that he would be supporting me,” Riordan said. “He could be encouraging others to run.”

The most vocal critic of the Bush team’s courting of Riordan was Deukmejian, the most prominent supporter of Secretary of State Jones. The former governor said he had “serious doubts” about the accuracy of Riordan’s statement that Bush had encouraged him to run.

“If [Bush] has, I think he’s doing it on the basis of some very dumb advice that he’s getting from political people on his staff,” Deukmejian said. “It’s very, very poor advice. I don’t think [Riordan] is a good choice at all.”

Deukmejian also took a shot at Riordan’s track record this year with campaign endorsements, saying he “didn’t even have enough of a following” to help either of his preferred mayoral candidates, Steve Soboroff and Antonio Villaraigosa.

Deukmejian--like Jones--also cited the mayor’s frequent donations to Democratic candidates. He said Riordan gave about $500,000 to Democrat Tom Bradley for his unsuccessful races against Deukmejian in 1982 and 1986.

“The people in the White House . . . maybe they don’t understand these things, but it is very, very disturbing and troubling,” Deukmejian said.

Riordan said he lent the money to Bradley and got most of it back. He also said he was not surprised that Deukmejian was criticizing him for backing Democrats.

“I would expect that to be a line of attack if I happen to run,” Riordan said. “The governor has a right to his judgments.”

In Sacramento, the other Republican candidate, Simon, said a Riordan candidacy would not dissuade him from running.

Simon, speaking to the Sacramento Press Club, cited his experience as an entrepreneur and federal prosecutor. He accused Davis of exhibiting “failed leadership” during the energy crisis, but offered few remedies of his own.

Garry South, chief political strategist for Davis, dismissed the criticism as “basically a lot of generalized blather.”

“There wasn’t a specific idea or solution put on the table,” South said. He added that whether it’s Riordan, Simon or Jones, “We’ll beat any of them. I don’t really care who they put up.”

Simon, a multimillionaire, said he expects it will take $50 million to mount a credible challenge to Davis. Simon said that despite his personal fortune, he does not intend to spend more than about $10 million of his own money on his campaign.

A Jones spokesman declined to say how much he has raised.

Either man would begin the race far behind Davis, who as of Jan. 1 had $26 million in his campaign account, and is raising money at a rate of about $1 million a month.

Already, however, Simon is facing questions about his political inexperience. On Tuesday, he acknowledged that he failed to vote in several primary elections even though he lives two houses away from his polling place.

“I should have voted,” he said. “There’s no excuse.”

Times staff writer Jenifer Warren contributed to this story.