Riordan to Endorse Delgadillo for City Attorney

Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan will break his puzzling neutrality in the city attorney’s race at last and on Monday will endorse his longtime top aide for economic development, Deputy Mayor Rocky Delgadillo.

Riordan was on vacation Friday and could not be reached for comment, but his top spokesman, Deputy Mayor Ben Austin, confirmed the endorsement.

“Rocky is a superstar and has been such a key player in the mayor’s important economic development programs that he is very enthusiastically endorsing him on Monday,” Austin said.

Riordan’s backing is scheduled to come at an “endorsement campaign rally” Monday morning at the Jim Henson Studios in Hollywood. The Henson firm is one that Delgadillo helped keep in the city by finding it more spacious quarters at the former site of film legend Charlie Chaplin’s headquarters.

The endorsement should help end speculation that Riordan was not enthusiastic about Delgadillo’s candidacy for the second-highest office in the city. Although the mayor has praised Delgadillo effusively and has helped raise money for him, many political observers found Riordan’s reticence to officially endorse his longtime aide curious--especially since he had much earlier backed his favorites in other races on the April 10 ballot, from mayor to school board.

Riordan’s neutrality had been a big plus for Delgadillo’s main competitor, City Councilman Mike Feuer, widely viewed as the early front-runner in the four-candidate field. If no candidate wins the majority, the two top vote-getters will meet in a June 5 runoff.

Now, however, Delgadillo can--through such means as television ads and political mailings--tout the endorsement from Riordan, who remains popular with voters as he nears the end of his eight years in office.

The Feuer campaign downplayed the significance of the endorsement, saying it comes too late to be effective.

“This one endorsement won’t have nearly the impact of those Councilman Feuer received this week alone,” said Samantha Stevens, Feuer’s campaign manager. Among them were those from U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California), county Supervisor Gloria Molina, former Eastside Democratic Rep. Edward Roybal and the Spanish language newspaper La Opinion.

Earlier, Stevens noted, Feuer won the backing of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and the Los Angeles County Democratic party. (Both Feuer and Delgadillo are Democrats; city offices are nonpartisan.)

Riordan’s backing continues the momentum that Delgadillo’s campaign has gained in recent weeks as he has edged past Feuer in fund-raising and recent polls have shown the two candidates running close.

Asked why the mayor waited until now, Deputy Mayor Austin said Riordan recognizes that Feuer, head of the council’s Budget and Finance Committee, is “a key player on the City Council.”

“He wanted to be able to work with the councilman as long as possible, but the bottom line is, the mayor believes Rocky will be a great city attorney,” Austin said.