Mayoral Rivals Vie for Black Votes

Antonio Villaraigosa’s demonstration of support from an array of African American religious and community leaders Monday prompted an immediate retort from mayoral opponent James K. Hahn, who predicted that Villaraigosa’s newfound backers won’t be nearly enough to overtake the city attorney in a community where he has long been a winner.

“Endorsements are important, but they are not the be-all and end-all,” Hahn said Monday afternoon. “At the end of the day, you are going to be judged on who you are and what your vision for the city is.”

The candidates’ contest for black votes came as both prepared for the first debate of the mayoral runoff--tonight at USC’s Davidson Conference Center. The hourlong forum will be broadcast live at 6:30 p.m. on KCRW-FM (89.9) and rebroadcast on the city’s cable television station, Channel 36, at 8 p.m.

Monday’s exchange between the two candidates began as Villaraigosa and his supporters suggested at a morning news conference that they would fight for support among African Americans, who gave more than 70% of their votes to Hahn in the first round of the mayor’s race.

Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas and about four dozen black community leaders joined Villaraigosa in declaring that they were challenging the mainstream by backing Villaraigosa over Hahn. The city attorney too has a formidable list of supporters among Los Angeles African Americans, and has drawn the backing of some well-known Latinos as well.

On Monday, several of the Villaraigosa supporters said they believed that Hahn has relied too much on the legacy of his father, the late county Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, who remains widely revered among black voters since his death 3 1/2 years ago.

“I can’t think of a single area where [James Hahn] has given the city major, singular leadership in terms of building communities or justice,” said the Rev. James Lawson, the venerable civil rights leader who had been a longtime supporter of Hahn. “In the area of racial profiling and police abuse--where he is the chief lawyer for the city--I have not seen leadership. That stuff has continued to go on.”

Several of the ministers lending their endorsements at the gathering at Holman United Methodist Church said they believe the time has come for the city to have a Latino mayor--particularly one who has proved that he will work with residents of all races.

“The Anglo community had an opportunity to sit [in the mayor’s office]. The black community has had an opportunity to sit,” said Bishop John Bryant of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. “And now we must be big enough as a community to allow the Latino community an opportunity to sit. . . . When he sits, he will share, so that the whole city might be nourished.”

Villaraigosa thanked the effusive gathering and suggested that some supporters had come to his side, among other reasons, because he has advocated an array of social programs, in contrast to Hahn’s focus on gang injunctions and getting tough on criminals.

“This coalition knows that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of punishment,” Villaraigosa said. “Parks and recreation and after-school programs must be seen as much of a deterrent as gang injunctions.”

A few hours later, Hahn stood shoulder to shoulder with county Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke and City Councilman Alex Padilla. They argued that Villaraigosa’s recent endorsements could not compensate for Hahn’s overwhelming support among African Americans and his advantage throughout the city because of his superior knowledge of the workings of City Hall.

“There is support you can’t pick up at a press conference, that you can’t pick up with a few endorsements,” Burke said. “And the thing [Hahn] has done is invested in that community and it is going to show up in votes and it’s already showing up in votes.”

Hahn reiterated his long list of endorsements from African American leaders, including Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (D-Carson), Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), Assemblyman Roderick Wright (D-Los Angeles) and many others. The city attorney also announced the endorsement Tuesday of Councilman Rudy Svorinich.

Hahn called it “insulting” to African American voters to suggest that they do not know the difference between him and his father. “Sure, they appreciated my dad’s work, but they know who Jim Hahn is,” Hahn said. “I have been working with people on cleaning up neighborhoods, enforcing tough laws to stop gangs who are preying on people, building relationships with communities.”

Earlier in the day, Hahn’s appearance in an hourlong radio interview had, in essence, answered some of the charges that would be made at Villaraigosa’s news conference. The city attorney talked about the community programs he supports to fight crime--including a $24-million to $30-million investment over four years to increase after-school programs. He also outlined his proposal for greater civilian involvement in the review of Police Department internal personnel matters.

Hahn repeatedly returned to a theme that his campaign said probably will continue into the debate tonight: that Villaraigosa is a Sacramento politician not well versed in running a city government. Villaraigosa’s endorsements from Republican legislators, meant to demonstrate the former legislator’s coalition-building skills, were interpreted quite differently by Hahn.

“It showed the difference between someone who’s a legislator in Sacramento and someone who’s been here,” Hahn said. They “scratched each other’s backs, made a deal together.”

Svorinich also picked up that theme, saying in his endorsement of the city attorney: “No other type of government service can substitute for the type of knowledge that Jim Hahn has amassed both as city controller and as city attorney.”