Casual Remark by Villaraigosa Sparks Criticism

After visiting with mostly mentally impaired senior citizens in Van Nuys, Los Angeles mayoral candidate Antonio Villaraigosa made a remark Friday that his opponents seized upon as insensitive.

Villaraigosa attempted several times to talk to one elderly woman who was staring straight ahead. He made small talk with her several times. When he was introduced to her, she said she thought she had voted for him in last month’s election.

As he left the room, he turned and said: “Of course, if she’s impaired, she might have voted for somebody else, it might have been [former mayoral candidate Xavier] Becerra or something.”

To James K. Hahn’s campaign consultants, who heard a tape of that remark and had not heard or seen the earlier exchange, the comment was an inappropriate joke. A snippet of Villaraigosa’s remark was broadcast on local television Friday evening, touching off a raw exchange between the two mayoral camps.

“I don’t think you make fun of people who are impaired,” said Kam Kuwata, Hahn’s campaign consultant. “I don’t think you utter things like that if you are asking to be the leader of the whole city and bring people together.”

Kuwata said the comment showed “a lack of judgment and questions whether he is ready for prime time.” Other leaders of the Hahn campaign also fiercely criticized their rival’s comment.

For his part, Villaraigosa vehemently denied making a joke about the woman, saying she seemed somewhat tentative about whether she had voted for him. Villaraigosa added that he and Becerra were often confused for each other during the first round of the mayoral election, which ended on April 10.

“Everybody confused us, that’s why I stopped wearing glasses,” Villaraigosa said. “It’s just outrageous for them to turn a positive event like that . . . [and make] everything a negative.”

He added: “I was not making fun of the woman. I wouldn’t do that.”

Villaraigosa had made small talk with several seniors, attempting to draw them out or at least make them smile. Most of the seniors at the Organization for the Needs of the Elderly are mentally or physically impaired.

Capping a week of big endorsements--the Los Angeles police union and Mayor Richard Riordan among them--Hahn and Villaraigosa announced more support Friday aimed at luring voters.

A dozen Republican assemblymen endorsed Hahn, while City Council member Laura Chick, who was elected last month as city controller, announced her support for Villaraigosa.

With the election 17 days away, both candidates hope to attract moderate and conservative San Fernando Valley voters. The endorsements Friday seek to do just that.

“We’re going to get on the phones for you,” Connie Friedman, past president of the California Republican League, told Hahn at his Tarzana headquarters.

The Republican legislators said they know Villaraigosa and they are confident that Hahn would make a better mayor. Villaraigosa served for six years in the Assembly, including two years as speaker. Hahn is the city attorney.

“The choice is clear,” said Assembly Republican Caucus Chairman Tony Strickland (R-Thousand Oaks). “What I urge everyone is: Don’t believe the rhetoric, look at the record.”

Hahn said he is pleased to have the Republican legislators’ support.

“I’m glad that throughout my political career . . . in nonpartisan races . . . I’ve always been able to rely on the support of Republicans and independents as well as Democrats,” Hahn said.

One Republican--Riordan--failed to support Hahn, choosing Villaraigosa earlier this week. Hahn, however, picked up the backing of the Police Protective League, the union of the Los Angeles Police Department’s rank-and-file officers.