L.A.’s fleet flounders in the Rose Parade

Not to rain on anyone’s parade, but it was hard not to notice last week that the city of Los Angeles really, really needs some help when it comes to its floats for the annual Rose Parade.

This year’s edition was a tribute to the Port of Los Angeles. That alone should tell you a lot.

The float was actually six floats, each made to look like a different ship. The largest was a replica of a cargo ship, with the float having about all the charm of . . . a cargo ship.

Naturally, the city did not win one of the 24 prizes handed out to the floats. That’s OK. The city has won only eight prizes for its floats since 1930 -- a rather remarkable rate of failure.

But all was not lost. Late on New Year’s Eve, the office of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa issued a news release: The mayor would be riding the city’s float. And so the suspense began . . .

With 2007 over and 2008 a new, wholesome day, on which ship was the mayor riding?

A) The cargo ship

B) The fishing boat

C) The tug boat

D) The Love Boat

The answer is below

How have Villaraigosa and City Council President Eric Garcetti been spending their time lately?

Stumping for presidential candidates in Iowa and doing things such as phone banking, talking to members of the media and seeing if anyone recognizes them.

Garcetti spent almost a week in the Hawkeye State before Thursday’s caucuses pushing Sen. Barack Obama, and Villaraigosa was in Iowa for most of that time on behalf of Sen. Hillary Clinton. Garcetti and Villaraigosa also found time to have dinner together at Centro, the trendy Des Moines eatery favored by the political establishment.

The mayor wasn’t the only one in City Hall taking a hit in the loss column in the Iowa caucuses, with his buddies council members Wendy Greuel and Jack Weiss also backing Clinton. Meanwhile, Controller Laura Chick is in the Obama camp.

The mayor endorsed Clinton in May, a move that was hardly surprising. He has long had ties with the Clintons through mutual friends. One example: The mayor’s campaign manager is Ace Smith, the opposition research guru who is helping run Clinton’s campaign in California.

The fun continues this week, with Villaraigosa having flown from Iowa to New Hampshire for Tuesday’s primary, while Garcetti returned to L.A. for a rally last Friday on Obama’s behalf. It still seems likely that the California primary Feb. 5 would help determine who gets the Democratic nomination, and it will be interesting to see what, if any, benefit the city and Garcetti or Villaraigosa get from pitching their respective candidates.

Based on last week’s results, we can already hear the phone ringing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development next year: “Secretary Garcetti? Mayor Villaraigosa is on the line again. Should I tell him you’re at lunch?”

A footnote: Greuel quietly logged a few days as acting mayor with Villaraigosa and Garcetti out of state. A sign of things to come one day, Ms. Acting Mayor?

What wildlife is eligible for killing by Republican candidate Mike Huckabee if he campaigns in California this month?

Huckabee recently allowed reporters to tag along on a pheasant hunt in Iowa. In our book, that’s an unusual way to enjoy the great outdoors, but Huckabee wanted to show reporters that he likes hunting and guns more than his political opponents.

Huckabee’s a lucky man, as California offers some outstanding hunting opportunities this time of year. Although bear season recently closed -- darn! -- other game that can be shot in the run-up to the Feb. 5 primary includes wild pigs, jack rabbits, ducks, geese and tree squirrels.

The political photo of the year so far?

Check out Councilwoman Janice Hahn frolicking in the ocean during the annual Polar Bear Club swim in San Pedro on New Year’s Day. Hubba-hubba!

The to Daily Breeze also ran a shot of Hahn running into the sea and asked readers to rate it on a scale of one to 10, with one being “poor” and 10 being “awesome.” As of Friday, readers had given Hahn an average rating of nine.

Hahn, who also found time to ride the city’s float that day, must have liked the photo, too. She e-mailed a link to the Breeze website to the other members of the council, writing, “Here is how I started my New Year! Here’s to a great 2008!”

A message to other pols: Don’t rush for the Speedos. The world will continue to rotate just fine without a City Hall swimsuit calendar.

What should bicycling enthusiasts keep an eye on?

Councilman Ed Reyes recently asked city staff to propose projects that would make biking safer on streets in his district, which includes Westlake and parts of northeast Los Angeles.

Such requests are a dime a dozen around City Hall, and sometimes the bureaucrats outright ignore them. But this is noteworthy, since driving in L.A. is scary, nevermind biking.

There is no shortage of good ideas. An intriguing one comes from New York City where traffic on a stretch of 9th Avenue started to be rearranged this fall so that the bike lane was next to the curb and protected from traffic by a row of parked cars.

It sounds good to me, but bike advocates don’t always like such arrangements. Their argument is that segregating bikes from cars leads cyclists and motorists to get too comfortable in their own space, leading to trouble when they must share the road.

And what is Councilman Jose Huizar’s New Year’s gift to city bureaucrats?

He doesn’t want to follow their advice.

Last week, city planning chief Gail Goldberg and community redevelopment chief Cecilia Estolano signed a directive to preserve much of downtown’s industrial land. Among their many concerns is that the city would lose too much space for industry, thereby costing the city jobs and tax revenues.

The two council members whose districts include that space are cheesed off: They want more residential units to be built, citing a demand for them and a declining need for manufacturing. So, despite the new directive, Huizar on Tuesday plans to ask the council to override both the city planning department and its commission and approve a 182-unit condo complex at the corner of Santa Fe Avenue and and 7th Street.

Huizar says the project, widely supported in the community, would replace jobs at the auto parts manufacturer on the site and provide some affordable units.

This is a battle worth watching. It pits Huizar against Goldberg and Estolano, two of Villaraigosa’s big hires, and demonstrates yet again that when it comes to planning Los Angeles, the City Council usually tries to have the last say.

The quiz answer: The year started poorly for City Hall reporters when Villaraigosa smartly appeared on the cargo ship and not the Love Boat.

Next week: Has the Department of Water and Power taken control of the weather?

steve.hymon@latimes.com