Waters Endorses Hahn’s Rival

In a blow to Mayor James K. Hahn’s effort to rebuild his base of black voters, Rep. Maxine Waters endorsed his opponent, Antonio Villaraigosa, on Thursday and put the muscle of her South Los Angeles political operation behind the challenger’s campaign.

The move by the city’s most influential black elected official marks a major advance for Villaraigosa in his quest for support among African American voters. The Democratic congresswoman commands hundreds of volunteers whose get-out-the-vote efforts can sway a close election. And her ballot recommendations, which she distributes to thousands of South L.A. voters, can carry significant weight.

Black voters are one of the biggest blocs up for grabs in the May 17 runoff. Hahn and Villaraigosa are appealing aggressively for their support.

Waters, a Hahn supporter in the 2001 mayoral race, announced her decision in an appearance with a beaming Villaraigosa at a mid-Wilshire hotel breakfast.

She said the mayor had failed to live up to the legacy of his late father, Kenneth Hahn, a South L.A. political icon who was a county supervisor for 40 years.

“Jimmy Hahn is not Kenny Hahn,” said Waters, a longtime ally of the mayor’s family. “We gave him a chance. He failed. And so, we’re moving on.”

Describing Villaraigosa as more energetic than the mayor, she also took a shot at Hahn’s work habits.

“The mayor likes his job, but he doesn’t work a lot on the weekends, and he goes to bed early,” she told reporters.

In 2001, black voters overwhelmingly favored Hahn over Villaraigosa. But the mayor’s popularity among blacks plunged the next year when he pushed for the ouster of Bernard C. Parks, the first African American to rise through the ranks to become L.A. police chief. That move infuriated Waters and other black community leaders.

On Thursday, she said Hahn’s action against Parks, who finished fourth in the March 8 mayoral election, was “just one small part” of her decision.

But in remarks that salted the political wound for Hahn, Waters accused the mayor of failing to “honor” Parks’ long career in the Police Department.

“If you’re not going to reappoint him, allow him to leave with dignity,” she said. “Ease him out, and don’t make this a big confrontation. The mayor did not have the wisdom or the foresight to do it properly.”

Hahn responded to Waters’ comments during a campaign stop at a North Hollywood home.

“The real endorsements that count are when people come to the polls,” he said during a living-room gathering at which he promised to name members of neighborhood councils to every city commission.

Defending his decision on Parks, he added: “Obviously, when you look back in life, you always wish you had done things better. I don’t regret the decision at all. I think that it was the right decision for the city and the right decision for the Police Department. Could I have handled it a little slicker? I guess.”

Hahn called his support for replacing Parks “a tough decision that a lot of people didn’t like.” But he said he was proud of the drop in crime under Parks’ successor, Police Chief William J. Bratton.

“Since it did have political cost -- and an obvious one to me that everybody is pointing out -- I ought to get the benefit of actually being right,” Hahn said, sparking applause from the gathering.

On March 8, African Americans made up 16% of those who cast ballots, a Times exit poll found. Hahn won 23% of the black vote, and Villaraigosa captured 15%. But 54% of blacks supported Parks, and 7% backed other candidates. Strategists see those voters as potentially pivotal in the runoff.

Both Hahn and Villaraigosa have made stops in South L.A. this month, campaigning at a carwash, a barbershop and a pool hall.

The Waters endorsement of Villaraigosa follows that of another prominent African American politician who also backed Hahn in 2001: county Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke.

In addition, Villaraigosa has secured the support of much of the city’s black church leadership, including Bishop Charles E. Blake of West Angeles Church of God in Christ and the Rev. Cecil “Chip” Murray of First African Methodist Episcopal Church -- both Hahn supporters in 2001.

But as a practical matter, the Waters endorsement stands as “the single most significant,” said Raphael Sonenshein, a political science professor at Cal State Fullerton.

At the breakfast Thursday, Waters said Villaraigosa would “bring people together.”

“He’s going to be the mayor for all the people, and he’s invited women to be a part of City Hall, which we really do miss,” Waters said. She was surrounded by a diverse group of women whose presence was meant to underscore the Villaraigosa campaign’s effort to portray him as a leader with broad appeal.

At the same time, the Waters endorsement could complicate efforts by Villaraigosa, a liberal Democrat, to broaden his appeal to Republicans, another crucial bloc in the runoff, particularly in the San Fernando Valley.

“Republicans tend to react negatively toward her, because she’s so outspokenly liberal,” said GOP strategist Allan Hoffenblum.

Still, union leader Tyrone Freeman, one of the mayor’s most prominent black supporters, said Waters’ endorsement was “nothing to take lightly at all,” recalling its “tremendous impact” in helping Hahn in 2001.

“Her endorsement will have an impact,” said Freeman, president of Local 434-B of the Service Employees International Union. “But I strongly believe that the voters of South Los Angeles and the African American community will, at the end of the day, go with who they know best in this race, which is Mayor Jim Hahn.”

Hahn strategist Kam Kuwata recalled that Waters backed a loser, Al Checchi, in the 1998 governor’s race. “We’ll see if Antonio can close the deal in South Los Angeles,” Kuwata said. “I don’t think he can.”

Responding to Waters’ charges about Hahn’s treatment of Parks, Kuwata pointed to remarks that Villaraigosa made during the 2001 campaign. In Granada Hills, Villaraigosa said Parks was not “the right person for the job” of police chief, but weeks later at Crenshaw High School, he said he was “committed to working with Chief Parks.”

“That’s not leadership,” Kuwata said. “That’s called pandering. And the voters -- all through Los Angeles -- I don’t think they want people who pander to them.”

Villaraigosa campaign manager Ace Smith said it was Hahn who “misled the entire city on Bernard Parks” by saying during the 2001 race that he would give him a fair chance to show he deserved another term as police chief.