Is Eric Garcetti liberal enough to be mayor?

My column this week looked at City Councilman Eric Garcetti and posed a question that I hear a lot: Is he tough enough to be mayor? He argued that he is, and I laid out both the question and his answer. Responding, a number of readers went in a different direction, asking instead whether he’s liberal enough or Latino enough or capable enough to hold that office.

Interestingly, readers who emailed me directly seemed to like Garcetti. One said she had known Garcetti and his father -- former Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti -- and had long appreciated father and son. Another commended Garcetti for what he regarded as the councilman’s conscientious stewardship of Hollywood.

By contrast, “me1004,” who wrote to our comments section, started by asking: “What are you, Garcetti’s campaign manager?” This reader suggested that by pointing out that Garcetti has some Mexican heritage -- his grandfather was from Mexico -- I or The Times were “talking like he is a big Latino.” That wasn’t my point. Yes, Garcetti can point to some Mexican heritage, but I’m not trying to argue he’s a “big Latino,” whatever that is. Rather, that in a campaign without any notable Latino candidates, some of those votes may be up for grabs, and Garcetti’s politics, background and fluency in Spanish may position him to do well among Latinos. That reader, by the way, went on to say that I “never mention” that Garcetti is part Jewish. There’s a whiff of something ugly there, but I’ll choose to pass.

The larger point I’d like to offer in response to those who either think more needs to be made of Garcetti’s achievements or to those who think I’m already in his camp is that my columns on the mayor’s race for the moment are in the nature of scene-setting. I’m trying to introduce the personalities of those who will contend for the seat, which is up in 2013. This isn’t the time to examine each candidate’s record in detail but rather to say who’s a serious candidate and why -- and a little bit about who they are. As the campaign unwinds, I’ll look more deeply at each and at their records.

Finally, one note of correction: I referred in the column to Garcetti’s appearance at a forum last week, but misstated the name of the luncheon, which is sponsored by Emma Schafer. It’s the Current Affairs Forum, not the Civic Affairs Forum. I’ve been going to it for years, so I can’t explain the brain freeze, except perhaps to note that I also recently attended a dinner of the Civic Alliance, and perhaps that was still kicking around in my head. In any case, my apologies to Schafer. I’m looking forward to her next lunch, this one with Controller Wendy Greuel who is, you guessed it, a candidate for mayor.

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