Riordan Enters Race With Vow to Run the State Better

Reviving a theme that helped sweep him into City Hall, former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan launched his bid for governor Tuesday promising “tough management” and a pragmatic approach to problem-solving.

Ignoring his two Republican rivals--and looking past the March primary--Riordan aimed his remarks squarely at incumbent Gov. Gray Davis, claiming the Democrat’s shortsightedness has repeatedly turned “challenges” into full-blown crises.

“We cannot afford four more years of gross mismanagement,” Riordan said at a kickoff rally beneath the spreading fig trees at El Pueblo de Los Angeles, the city’s birthplace on Olvera Street. “We need a leader with tough management skills. We need someone who knows how to get the job done.”

After months of quiet preparation, Riordan’s formal entry into the race was heralded with a production worthy of Hollywood.

Beneath an archway of red, white and blue balloons, emcee Johnny Grant introduced “the stars of our show,” which included tap and salsa dancers, a jazz ensemble, a marching band, a youth choir and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who endorsed the candidate as a “man of action.” A campaign film crew was on hand, recording the extravaganza for possible use in Riordan’s TV ads.

The 71-year-old candidate, who spent most of his life in business, won the mayor’s office in 1993, a time when Los Angeles was reeling from riots and the worst recession to hit the state in more than 40 years. He ran as someone “tough enough to turn L.A. around” and, by his account Tuesday, he succeeded handsomely.

He boasted of cutting unemployment in half, slashing the city’s bureaucracy, hiring more police officers and balancing eight consecutive budgets without raising taxes “one single penny.”

Now, he said, California “needs a leader willing to take bold action.” “The choice in this election is clear,” he said. “It’s a choice between politics as usual or problem-solving.”

Along with the rest of the country, the state is facing significant job losses and an economic slowdown worsened by September’s terrorist attacks. But according to Riordan, the problem goes much deeper.

“From the redwoods in the north, across the Golden Gate Bridge to the deserts and mountains of the south, a dark cloud has settled over our state,” Riordan told the crowd of about 150 supporters wedged into a corner of the red-brick plaza.

He accused Davis of squandering California’s prosperity, failing its public schools and costing taxpayers millions of dollars through mismanagement of the state’s electricity crisis.

“We have a governor who cares more about building his political war chest than preparing our state to face the challenges of the future,” Riordan asserted. “Enough is enough.”

No Apologies for Ties to Democrats

As the nonpartisan mayor of an overwhelmingly Democratic city, Riordan had a reputation for ignoring party labels and reaching across party lines.

Though that approach was an asset at City Hall, Riordan has been harshly criticized by his Republican primary opponents, Secretary of State Bill Jones and businessman Bill Simon Jr., for being too cozy with Democrats.

Aside from having warm relations with Democrats such as President Bill Clinton and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Riordan also gave more than $1 million to Democratic candidates and causes over two decades.

But the former mayor offered no apologies Tuesday. To the contrary, he claimed credit for having “created the most inclusive and professional City Hall ever” and repeatedly promised to hire the best-qualified people he could to address California’s needs, regardless of political philosophies.

“This is not a game of ideology,” he said at the day’s second stop, an afternoon tour of San Diego’s High Tech high school. “This is a game of leadership.”

Riordan’s travels took him from downtown Los Angeles to San Diego and back to Beverly Hills for a swanky Tuesday night fund-raiser. He planned to continue his announcement tour with stops today in the Bay Area, Sacramento and Fresno.

For the most part, he avoided specifics Tuesday; unlike Simon and Jones, who held lengthy news conferences after their announcements, Riordan answered just four questions from reporters before aides cut him off at his San Diego stop.

In a more extended give-and-take with students, Riordan offered this contrast with Davis: “I am not a micro-manager.”

The former mayor, a renowned delegater, told them, “You have to have the courage and you have to have the wisdom to hire the best and brightest . . . and trust them to implement changes.”

He declined, however, to chime in on the criticism of Davis for his warning last week of a possible terrorist attack on California bridges. The FBI said Tuesday that the threat to suspension bridges was, after an investigation, not deemed credible.

“I think in crises it’s very wrong to undercut the power of our leaders,” Riordan said. But if elected, he added, he would appoint a state security czar to coordinate the state’s fight against terrorism.