Hahn’s Approval Rating Is Up

Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn’s public approval rating has climbed to its highest level since he took office, spurred in part by his selection of William J. Bratton as the city’s next police chief, a new Times poll has found.

More than half of city residents -- 54% -- support the way the mayor is doing his job, while 22% disapprove. Four months ago, 46% backed him in a Los Angeles Times Poll, and 26% registered disapproval.

In the June survey, some respondents cited their unhappiness with Hahn’s decision to deny former Police Chief Bernard C. Parks a second term. This time, by contrast, the mayor’s approval appears to have been helped by his choice of Bratton, a former New York police commissioner.

In the latest poll, 52% of those asked said they supported the mayor’s selection of Bratton, compared with just 17% who disapproved of the choice.

The mayor has had two controversial and divisive issues to deal with in the last year: the secession movements in Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley, as well as his decision to replace the police chief.

Bill Carrick, a political consultant who is running Hahn’s campaign against secession, said the police chief selection was a high-stakes move politically that played out against the backdrop of the breakaway movements.

“Last time we changed police chiefs, the controversy was around Chief [Willie] Williams personally to some extent.... This time was not only around Chief Parks personally, but also around what kind of police chief you want, what kind of police department you want,” Carrick said. “We all knew it would be a big issue, but I think it was even bigger than we thought.”

Many of those polled said in follow-up interviews that they believe Hahn is trying to make the city safer by hiring Bratton.

Carlos Haro, a Van Nuys father of two and a restaurant manager, said he believes the mayor is moving in the right direction to improve public safety.

“He hasn’t done anything to disappoint me,” Haro said. “I like his [Bratton’s] style. I like what I’ve heard about him.”

The survey, supervised by Times Poll Director Susan Pinkus, was conducted Oct. 5-14. It surveyed 2,248 people citywide -- 1,546 of whom were registered voters. For citywide responses based on registered voters, it has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Hahn’s rejection of a second term for Parks still looms large among many African Americans, who overwhelmingly supported him for mayor; 41% said they now support the mayor and 45% said they disapprove of his performance.

Alberta Moore of Leimert Park is one of those polled who said she disapproves of Hahn’s performance thus far. She said the mayor has seemed to reel from one crisis to the next, from security concerns after last year’s Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to secession to the task of picking a new police chief.

“There are a lot of things we need to focus on as a city,” Moore said, adding that she believes the mayor is “distracted.”

But she said she gives Hahn credit for making a tough decision on the police chief. Parks, who devoted his career to the LAPD, “proved the insider is not the solution,” she said, adding that she is “quietly optimistic” about Bratton.

Fernando Guerra, director of the study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University, said publicity surrounding the mayor’s selection of a new police chief probably helped build support.

“It was bound to go up,” Guerra said. “It was so public, Hahn’s name and picture were out there quite a bit.”

Overall, the mayor’s support appears to be building in the Valley, where 55% of those polled support him, compared with 44% in the June survey.

“I think he’s doing the best he can,” said Ethel Swanson, a retired teacher who lives in Woodland Hills. “He’s making reasonable progress.”