Secession Fears Stir Up Allies of Mayor

As Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn forges an ideologically broad, multiethnic coalition to fight secession, he has assembled a group of leaders with their own agendas and interests in city business--and some frankly acknowledge they want the mayor to return their favors.

They are a diverse collection of politicians, business executives and former adversaries who are joining the mayor to persuade voters to reject cityhood proposals in Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley.

Some have donated money; more are adding their stature and influence to the campaign.

But many of them are standing beside Hahn with other concerns in mind as well.

Former basketball star and business entrepreneur Earvin “Magic” Johnson wants more African Americans hired to top administration positions and perhaps also a favorable look by the mayor at his development deals.

County labor leader Miguel Contreras expects a warm reception when public employee contracts come up for renewal.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina says she wants Hahn to be sympathetic to the county’s concerns over a redevelopment area in downtown Los Angeles.

Developer Ed Roski, the largest single contributor to the anti-secession cause, is hoping to build a football stadium in Los Angeles--possibly with public money.

Others, including former Hahn mayoral rival Antonio Villaraigosa and former Mayor Richard Riordan, are helping to lead the campaign against secession in part as a way to remain involved in civic matters, according to members of the anti-secession team.

Many of those supporting Hahn’s anti-secession efforts are blunt about their reasons. Above all, they say, they are adamantly opposed to a breakup of Los Angeles. Their reasons for joining forces with the mayor don’t end there, however.

“Many of them are not doing it because they love Jim Hahn,” said billionaire business executive Eli Broad. “They’re doing it because it’s in their self-interest.”

Broad sees no problem with that, but others do.

“It’s not coalition-building,” said Richard Katz, a former longtime state assemblyman who is leading the campaign for a Valley city. “It’s coalition by self-interest. The only criteria for being in this coalition is need or greed.”

Some Hahn allies say secession actually has had a positive effect on the mayor and his administration, forcing him out of City Hall and back onto the campaign trail, where they believe he is most effective.

Repairing Wounds

The need for friends in the anti-secession effort has pushed Hahn to repair wounds from the 2001 mayoral campaign and from his decision this year not to endorse Police Chief Bernard C. Parks for a second term.

The threat of secession has brought back to the fold some of those whom Hahn angered in the campaign and during the controversial removal of the police chief--even if they have been drawn in part by the promise of favorable consideration on other issues.

“The truth is,” said Bill Carrick, who is managing the mayor’s anti-secession campaign, “nobody’s been hard to get.”

The mayor acknowledged in a recent interview that he will be expected to return some favors, but said he does not believe he will be locked into any decisions that could harm the city or its coffers.

“Everyone wants to have a strong relationship with the mayor of Los Angeles,” Hahn said. “I think many of these individuals will command the mayor’s attention anyway....During this time there will be issues we agree on and disagree on. But I think [the threat of secession] supersedes all the other issues where we may not have agreement.”

The collection of secession opponents under Hahn’s leadership does not surprise many political analysts and consultants. They say it’s the nature of politics both for people with business interests to seek the mayor’s attention and for the mayor to seek theirs.

“It’s basic politics: You help me and I’ll help you,” said veteran city political consultant Rick Taylor. “I think it’s smart politics of the mayor to invite people back in.”

But whether he can maintain these relationships is perhaps more difficult and less certain.

“I think he really wants to use this campaign as an opportunity to build bridges,” said Fabian Nunez, a political consultant who is running for state Assembly. But, he cautioned, “Bringing people together is easier than keeping them.”

As the campaign has unfolded, some of those around Hahn credit him with improving the style and substance of his approach, partly in response to complaints from other members of his coalition who found him too passive and too negative at the outset.

Secession, the mayor said early in the effort, would be “a disaster of biblical proportions.” He then described it as “a one-way ticket to financial disaster.”

More recently, he has said: “I want to continue bragging about the city,” and “Let’s stop bashing Los Angeles and start celebrating Los Angeles.”

That shift could give Hahn’s coalition staying power, according to some outside it.

“I would be looking at the big picture of how does this help me govern the city, mobilize interest groups in the city to fulfill the agenda I have, use this opportunity to convey my vision, and then position myself for reelection,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who has not joined the mayor’s coalition against secession. “Other people can scare the public....He would serve himself and the campaign that he is leading well by being positive and articulating a broader vision.”

Still, some of Hahn’s allies have their eye on issues that go beyond the rhetoric of the campaign--or even its outcome.

“I think this gives us an opportunity to work together, to develop a relationship,” said Contreras, the executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County AFL/CIO who fought hard for Villaraigosa in last year’s mayoral race. “He’s the mayor, and we’re supporting the position of the mayor.”

Support for Contracts

Contreras also said he expects Hahn to be helpful as municipal employees’ contracts are renewed. To that end, the mayor sent a letter last month to encourage a speedy resolution to the longshoremen’s contract dispute at the Port of Los Angeles. That contract has expired and negotiations are stalled.

Molina, the county supervisor, said she is organizing a coalition of Latino elected officials to work with the mayor’s campaign against secession.

But in one meeting with Hahn, Molina described a contentious discussion about downtown redevelopment.

“He and I agree on this,” she said, referring to secession. “But on [redevelopment] we’re going to be adversaries in court.”

And Johnson, the Hall of Fame Laker turned businessman, said he supports the mayor on secession but that he remains bitter about Hahn’s position on the police chief’s second term.

He said he will fight efforts to split up the city in the hope that Hahn will listen to his concerns about diversifying his staff.

Hahn has been defensive about his staff, saying that he has gathered a group of ethnically and racially mixed advisors but that he will consider Johnson’s concerns.

Johnson Backs Mayor

The mayor was eager to win the support of Johnson, who is black, believing that his reputation makes him an asset throughout the city, particularly with African Americans.

Others are taking a lower-profile position on the coalition.

Supermarket magnate Ron Burkle, for example, supported Villaraigosa but has met with the mayor and pledged to help financially on secession.

Roski, the owner of the Los Angeles Kings hockey franchise who helped build Staples Center downtown and now wants to build a hotel and entertainment complex nearby, has appointed one of his company’s top officers to be a point person on secession, bringing him up to speed on the issue and helping him find ways to get involved in the mayor’s campaign.

Roski has donated generously. In papers filed last month, Roski’s company, Majestic Realty, gave $250,000 to Hahn’s L.A. United campaign.

“He’s very involved and, financially, we’re very committed,” said Fran Inman, the senior vice president of Majestic Realty who is handling anti-secession duties for Roski. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for us to work together.... We’re building bridges for tomorrow.”