Villaraigosa Wins Riordan’s Support

An ebullient Mayor Richard Riordan on Wednesday endorsed Antonio Villaraigosa for mayor, calling the former Assembly speaker “a unifier” who is best-qualified to secure a strong future for Los Angeles.

Riordan’s endorsement had been eagerly sought by Villaraigosa and his opponent, City Atty. James K. Hahn, both of whose supporters lobbied the mayor until the final hours before the announcement.

The former assemblyman hopes to use Riordan’s backing to appeal to the moderate and conservative voters who have given Los Angeles’ Republican chief executive their steady support during his two terms in office.

But Riordan’s coattails have not always delivered much help to those he favors. In past elections, Riordan-backed candidates have sometimes won--in the 1999 school board races, for instance--but many have also been defeated. Indeed, Riordan’s first choice in this year’s mayor’s race was businessman Steve Soboroff, who failed to make the runoff.

In addition, Riordan wrestled with obvious ambivalence before tapping Villaraigosa. Immediately after Hahn and Villaraigosa won spots in the runoff, Riordan publicly expressed his admiration for both men as leaders but said neither was a “strong manager.” Over the past several weeks, Riordan carefully weighed the merits of backing Hahn or skipping an endorsement altogether.

Still, when he finally announced his decision Wednesday, he did so with enthusiasm.

“An extraordinarily effective leader like Antonio Villaraigosa comes along only once in a generation,” Riordan said during a midday news conference outside City Hall, beaming as he repeatedly grabbed the candidate’s hand and pumped it in the air.

Mayor Says Los Angeles Needs ‘Bridge-Builder’

Riordan, who was elected in 1993 to run a city shaken by riots and a deep recession, said Los Angeles now needs a mayor who is a “bridge-builder.”

“Antonio will unite business and labor, Democrats and Republicans, neighborhoods and downtown in a common effort to keep our city moving forward,” the mayor said, as several hundred supporters cheered enthusiastically and waved red, white and blue Villaraigosa signs.

Smiling widely, the candidate thanked Riordan for his leadership and said he was “truly humbled” by the endorsement.

“Mayor Riordan, we may come from different parts of the city of Los Angeles, we may even come from different political parties,” he said. “But deep down, in the heart of our soul, we share the same tough-minded approach to fighting crime, reforming our schools, creating jobs and delivering for all of the people of the great city of Los Angeles.”

Hahn’s week has also included one of the campaign’s much-sought endorsements, that of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, whose backing the city attorney is hoping to use to reinforce his crime-fighting credentials. Hahn and his supporters said Wednesday that they believe Riordan picked the wrong candidate and added that they do not believe the mayor’s endorsement will sway many voters.

“On every score, the mayor should have endorsed me,” said Hahn. “The fact that he didn’t, obviously, [I’m] disappointed in that, but it’s not going to slow me down.”

“Nobody’s perfect, not even the mayor,” he added.

Kam Kuwata, a Hahn consultant, insisted that Riordan’s endorsement would not help Villaraigosa because moderate and conservative voters will not believe that the former assemblyman fits the profile of a law-and-order conservative that the mayor represents.

“I won’t say that we didn’t try to get it,” Kuwata said. But, he added, “I think the people of Los Angeles, at the end of the day, are going to side with Jim Hahn, even though Mayor Riordan has chosen his candidate.”

Observers Split Over Endorsement’s Effect

Outside the campaigns, political consultants and others who follow Los Angeles government were split over the likely impact of Riordan’s decision.

Jaime Regalado, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles, called Riordan’s endorsement a “huge boost” for Villaraigosa, saying it sends a compelling message to right-of-center voters who remain up for grabs.

“I think it’s super-significant,” agreed political consultant Rick Taylor. “This has been a dream week for the Villaraigosa campaign. To come in with endorsements from [county Supervisor Zev] Yaroslavsky and Dick Riordan shows his broad base of support, and does exactly what he wants to do: show Anglo voters they can feel comfortable with him.”

Others, however, argued that Riordan’s influence over the outcome of the race might be limited.

“Since he’s been mayor, he’s endorsed a great many people . . . and he’s used up a lot of political capital,” said political strategist Arnold Steinberg, who worked for Riordan in his 1993 election. “There are people who hold him in high esteem who will look toward him for guidance, and others who hold him in high esteem who may still make up their own minds.”

Republican consultant Allan Hoffenblum said Riordan’s endorsement “could influence Republicans who can’t make up their mind between the two Democrats.”

But, he added, most private polls show the race being close, with the number of undecided voters very small. Many Republicans have already gravitated to Hahn, who is seen as the more moderate of the two candidates, he added.

Earlier Concerns Assuaged, Riordan Says

Despite Riordan’s earlier reservations about Villaraigosa’s management abilities, the mayor said Wednesday that his concerns were assuaged by Villaraigosa’s selection of advisors, who Riordan implied would add heft to Villaraigosa’s relatively short political experience. “We must have a leader who brings together all races, religions, regions and political parties as residents of the same city, bound by a common interest and inspired by a common good,” Riordan said.

After the news conference, the Republican multimillionaire and the former union organizer took a bus tour of the city, during which Riordan said he wanted to highlight the “progress and prosperity” of the last eight years, borrowing a term used by former Vice President Al Gore during his campaign for the presidency.

The two men continued their chummy rapport throughout the day, slapping each other on the back as they wheeled around the city. At one point, Riordan told a radio reporter that Villaraigosa would be “a national figure” once elected.

At one stop on their tour, a camera crew filmed the mayor and the candidate as they visited an Echo Park school. Villaraigosa consultant Parke Skelton said a television commercial featuring both men could begin airing by this weekend.

Although the tour was largely intended to give Villaraigosa exposure, it also served to highlight the mayor’s agenda. Stops included a Northridge biotech company that Riordan’s business team helped keep in Los Angeles. The two men also planted flowers in a South Los Angeles park and visited students at an after-school program in Echo Park.

Along the way, Villaraigosa vowed that he would continue Riordan’s priorities in office, promising to work hard to make the city business-friendly, continue the mayor’s effort to reform schools, emphasize community policing and fix up a local park every two weeks, a challenge Riordan issued last week to his successor.

Several times, the former American Civil Liberties Union official and teachers union organizer sounded as if he had adopted some of the Republican mayor’s philosophy, talking about the need for “accountability” in schools, cracking down on crime and luring businesses to Los Angeles.

“We have developed a friendship and a mutual respect for each other, and I think I would be well-served to have the mayor’s recommendations and to have his ear to continue to move this city forward,” said Villaraigosa, who has criticized Riordan in the past for not showing more leadership during the Rampart scandal and the bus drivers’ strike, among other issues.

At one point, the bus carrying the mayor and his candidate lost traction as they were trying to leave Rancho Cienega Park in South Los Angeles. Riordan and Villaraigosa, along with the rest of the passengers, clambered out and tried to push the vehicle, to no avail, forcing everyone to board a second bus.

But Villaraigosa wasn’t daunted by the setback.

“That’s an example of us working together,” he declared happily.

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Times staff writer Michael Finnegan contributed to this story.

Video from the endorsement ceremony can be viewed on The Times’ Web site at https://latimes.com/mayor

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