AND NOW, THE SLUGFEST
Mayor Hahn proves that he's not quite as wounded as polls and newspapermen made him out to be
By Dean Kuipers
If Los Angeles Mayor Jim Hahn has been bloodied by the four-on-one beating he's taken this campaign season, it sure didn't show at his Election Night party at the Conga Room. Already early in the night, when only the absentee ballots had been tallied, his comfortable 10-point lead was posted on the big screen and a nonstop samba line of elected officials, labor leaders, and other notables jammed the dance floor in a show of respect. When Hahn appeared on the TV in the bar, they cheered. When coverage flipped to City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa, they booed.
But the gathering left no question: The machinery of the Hahn family dynasty is powerful, and even popular challengers like Villaraigosa or former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg were in for a slugfest.
"The mayor became, in the last few weeks of the campaign, that strong finisher that he has been in past campaigns," said Jan Miscikowski, the termed-out councilwoman from the Westside's 11th District. "He started to better articulate some of the good things about the city, rather than just stand there and take the bashing that was coming from his opponents."
Bashing, by the way, that even some of the mayor's biggest supporters agree is likely to continue. The allegations of improper fundraising by some of Hahn's commission appointees bothered even his party MC, big-voiced Silver Lake-area councilman Tom LaBonge.
"I didn't like some of the things that were done," said LaBonge. "Some of the individuals on the mayor's administration ... acted a little beyond what I'm sure Jim Hahn wanted them to do. The fellow at the airport, Ted Stein, was a little hot with issues out there. But that didn't back me away from Jim Hahn. I know what his family's all about."
The family, in fact, was clearly what Jim Hahn's mayoralty is all about. By the time Hahn showed up to make some non-remarks, his numbers were sinking against Villaraigosa, but the mayor's sister, Janice Hahn, was set to party. Grinning widely over her own uncontested reelection to a second term in the 15th council district, she was doing the bump with LaBonge onstage. When she introduced their mother, Ramona, as "Mrs. Kenneth Hahn," a huge cheer went up from the labor representatives, for whom the late county supervisor remains something of a saint.
Hizzoner himself finally came on, singing along to his theme song, Randy Newman's "I Love L.A.," at one point handing the microphone to L.A. Teamsters boss Jim Santangelo, who had the quote of the night, effusing, "The Teamsters union, and unions in general, are behind the winner - and always have been!"
Could it be stated any clearer? The unions go with a winner, and they still consider Hahn at least one of several potential winners. It should be noted that, as soon as the 15 minutes of thank-yous and back-slapping were finished, union leaders like Miguel Contreras - who had been chanting "Quatros Anos Mas!" - were out the door with flames shooting off their heels. Maybe they were headed over to hobnob at Villaraigosa's party at the much-larger Henry Fonda Music Box Theater, just as the third set of voting results showed Hahn slipping into second place.
Over at the Fonda, Villaraigosa - in stark contrast to Hahn's appearance - made a fiery victory speech and began immediately to fix Hahn in his sights. The question now will be whether he can scoop up any of the significant demographics that went to his other rivals, as City Councilman Bernard Parks is believed to have taken a large percentage of the black vote (which last time went to Hahn) and Hertzberg grabbed the San Fernando Valley's white and Jewish vote (which may still go to Hahn).
Ex-Mayor Richard Riordan is one who has made up his mind. At the Hertzberg gathering in Van Nuys, he laid out to a CityBeat reporter exactly where James Hahn went wrong: "He doesn't like the job, and he doesn't have the energy the job takes. He's a decent guy, but I don't think he's happy in the job. It doesn't surprise me. I shouldn't say that. Who are you with?"
Councilman Eric Garcetti, at the Hahn gathering, expected voter turnout to improve as the runoff heats up - and as the campaign goes negative.
"It's hard to see how the mayor could be hit much harder," he said. "Whereas, I think his fellow candidates haven't gotten the brunt of much criticism except in the last few days. In a runoff like this, politics is one person going negative, and then both have to. I hope we can actually hear some positive ideas.
"But," he added, "if it's really compelling negative information, it actually gets people out there to vote."
At his own party by the Van Nuys Airport, Hertzberg appeared just in time for a live feed to the 11 o'clock news. He was still hours away from his morning concession to Hahn and Villaraigosa, and said he expected "a long night" waiting for the returns. Hertzberg had come the closest to forcing Hahn out of the runoff, with a dynamic jumble of messages and constituencies: moderate Democrats, suburbanites, Republicans, Jewish voters, Valley secessionists.
"You have to be bold and you have to be dynamic," Hertzberg declared. "And as I move around the city, that's what people want in a new mayor."
He had the momentum, slowly rising in the polls with those TV commercials showing a goliath-size Hertzie stomping through the city. But it wasn't enough, and as close as he came - barely 1.5 points between him and the mayor - he would not demand a recount. As he made his way out of the Airtel Plaza Hotel ballroom before midnight, he stopped often to say thanks and goodnight, slightly deflated but still supersized, to pose for some final pictures and a final round of his big, red-faced bear-hugs.Published: 03/10/2005
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