05/16/05

LC050516

Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times --

It's a political rematch and the prize is the Mayor's office. So far, the challenger is ahead. Then again --

Ron Kaye>> I wouldn't write Hahn off and I think many of the people inside the game wouldn't. He's won six straight citywide elections. He has a very tough campaign team. They have a strategy.

Val>> And then, one part of the city packs a powerful punch at the polls. Which way will the Valley vote go?

It's all straight ahead on tonight's Life and Times.

Life and Times is made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education.

And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg.

Val>> It's election eve and it's your last chance to size up the two men who want to be Mayor of Los Angeles. Now many Californians say what does the Mayor of Los Angeles have to do with me? But whatever happens in Los Angeles with its four million people impacts the entire region for better or worse. Hena Cuevas has this profile of City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa who's running against Mayor James Hahn for the second time.

Hena Cuevas>> Four years ago, Antonio Villaraigosa was the man who almost became mayor.

Antonio Villaraigosa>> "Tonight's going to be a long night and we expect that it's going to be a good night."

Hena Cuevas>> But it didn't turn out to be such a good night after all. Villaraigosa lost the election to James Hahn by seven percentage points. Why do you think you lost last time?

Antonio Villaraigosa>> I don't think a whole lot about it frankly. I say to people that I'm not nostalgic about four years ago. It is what it is.

Hena Cuevas>> But political analysts have thought about it. Many attribute his loss to an eleventh hour negative ad from the Hahn campaign. The ad accused Villaraigosa of asking the President to pardon a convicted drug dealer. Although many declared the ad unfair, Villaraigosa's poll numbers plummeted.

Antonio Villaraigosa>> When people don't know you very well, those kinds of smear campaigns work. When they know you better, they don't. That's why I think, this time around, we're going to have a different result. People know me. They've seen me.

Hena Cuevas>> So he's decided to try again this year, joining the race almost five months after some of the other candidates. Why the late entry? Villaraigosa is currently a City Councilman. He promised his constituents he would serve out his term, but if he wins the mayoral race, he'll have to leave his council seat early.

Antonio Villaraigosa>> One of the reasons why I got into this race so late was that I talked it over with my constituents, with friends and, most importantly, with my family. I didn't want to run just to run. I wanted to run because it made sense and, over time, it made sense.

Hena Cuevas>> Villaraigosa was born fifty-two years ago in the Boyle Heights area. His name then was Antonio Villar. Villaraigosa is a combination of his name and his wife's maiden name, Raigosa. He was the oldest of four children raised by a single mother and in a lot of ways, he says, his upbringing was similar to others growing up in East Los Angeles in the 1960's.

Antonio Villaraigosa>> I lived in a home of domestic violence. I didn't have a father. I was an angry young man for a long time. It was my mother who said to me, you know, you can make excuses all your life or you can just take responsibility for your life, and I decided to take that road.

Hena Cuevas>> He was kicked out of a private high school his junior year, but eventually graduated from a public one, Roosevelt High, in Boyle Heights. He went on to UCLA where he was active in student politics. After graduation, Villaraigosa became a union activist working with organized labor. His first job in government came in 1991 when he became a member of the Board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, MTA. Three years later, he won a seat in the State Assembly where he quickly moved up through the ranks until he was sworn in as Speaker in 1994.

>> "Congratulations, Mr. Speaker."

Hena Cuevas>> One of the issues following Villaraigosa is that of race. And, even though Los Angeles has a very large Latino population, there hasn't been an Hispanic mayor here in over a hundred thirty years. The last Hispanic to serve was Christobal Aquilar in 1872. It's an issue Villaraigosa is downplaying this time around.

Antonio Villaraigosa>> Well, if you notice, people aren't talking about that as much anymore and I'm glad they're not because I said, look, don't vote for me for those reasons. Vote for me because I have a record.

Hena Cuevas>> Still, there are those like political analyst, Raphael Sonenshein, who believes race also played a role four years ago and not in a positive way.

Raphael Sonenshein>> Number one, he was the first Latino candidate for this office, first serious candidate for this office, and there was probably some sentiment against immigration at the time.

Antonio Villaraigosa>> I don't buy that. I think most people are good. I think Los Angeles is the one place where most people realize that we have to judge people by the content of their character, by their contributions, by what they offer, not by those ancillary things like race or ethnicity.

Hena Cuevas>> According to analyst, Jaime Regalado, Villaraigosa still has strong support among the Latino communities, especially in the east side of the city.

Jaime Regalado>> His base remains, you know, the eastern portion of Los Angeles, the Latino voters' strength.

Hena Cuevas>> His website lays out his vision for Los Angeles. To fight crime, he plans to raise thirty million dollars to hire three hundred new police officers. His transportation plan to help reduce Los Angeles's gridlock traffic includes synchronizing traffic lights and expanding the city's rail and bus systems. He opposes Hahn's proposal to expand LAX, favoring instead an increase in the use of regional airports like the one in Ontario.

But can he accomplish all this without one of his traditional supporters? Unlike four years ago, Villaraigosa doesn't have the backing of organized labor. According to Sonenshein, any candidate hoping to win will need the support of at least two traditional voting blocks like labor unions, Latinos, or the Valley vote.

Raphael Sonenshein>> You need one to get you into the general election, but then you need another to get you up to a majority.

Hena Cuevas>> Villaraigosa disagrees. Do you think you'll be able to win without the support of the labor unions?

Antonio Villaraigosa>> Jim Hahn won without the support of the labor unions and I believe that I can win as well.

Hena Cuevas>> As the election runoff approaches, polls are showing that it might be Hahn versus Villaraigosa all over again.

Raphael Sonenshein>> Villaraigosa has very large name recognition in this city and don't forget that he's a candidate who finished second in the last election, and he seems to have a very deep base of support that's willing to reach into their wallets and provide him support.

Jaime Regalado>> Some would say that his campaign lacks the same kind of energy as it did in 2001 where he drew fabulous crowds and had national media attention. He was the darling of many in the media. So a lot of things have changed. The style of his campaign has changed, the energy levels have changed, but he's still a formidable candidate.

Hena Cuevas>> But this time around, Villaraigosa says he has an advantage. Voters will be judging four years of the Hahn administration.

Antonio Villaraigosa>> This election is not going to be about what the election was about four years ago. This is a different election. This election will be about what has happened in the last four years or what hasn't happened in the last four years. It's going to be about whether or not people think it's time for a change.

Hena Cuevas>> What happens if you lose?

Antonio Villaraigosa>> I don't expect to lose.

Hena Cuevas>> Haven't thought that far in advance?

Antonio Villaraigosa>> I have thought that far in advance. I don't expect to lose. I'm feeling really good about where we are today.

Hena Cuevas>> With that positive attitude, Villaraigosa is looking forward to an election night that, unlike four years ago, will turn out to be a good one after all. I'm Hena Cuevas for Life and Times.

Kcet.org is the place to look for the very latest on Life and Times. You'll find previews of upcoming stories, transcripts and audio of past episodes and links to some of our most interesting features. Just go to kcet.org and click on "Life and Times".

Val>> For incumbent Mayor James Hahn, this campaign has been an uphill battle, but analysts say don't rule him out yet. David Okarski brings us this profile of James Hahn, a second generation politician who has benefited from his father's legacy.

David Okarski>> Los Angeles Mayor James Kenneth Hahn is showing off the new police surveillance camera at Hollywood and Cahuenga. He reminds reporters that, since he took office, violent crime in the city has dropped eighteen percent.

James Hahn>> "Gang-related crime is down fifty-nine percent here in Hollywood."

David Okarski>> When Life and Times asks to talk with him about the election, his representative suggests we sit down at a new restaurant a few blocks away to show off Hollywood's resurgence.

James Hahn>> The great Schwab's Restaurant here, brand new developments, mixed housing and retail. We have over a billion dollars in new development coming into Hollywood because we brought gang crime down by sixty percent over the last year.

David Okarski>> Political scientist, Raphael Sonenshein, says the mayor has always believed safe streets are good for business.

Raphael Sonenshein>> The mayor makes the argument that public safety is a pre-condition to economic success rather than the other way around.

James Hahn>> I identify with the fact that kids can't play out in their front yard or go to the park at night because of the fear of crime. It motivates me to want to change that. I don't think there's anything that is more important to your quality of life than feeling safe.

David Okarski>> This message hits voters where they live and, judging from Hahn's record, they like it.

Raphael Sonenshein>> Jim Hahn has won, I believe, six consecutive citywide elections which is, given the small number of people who ever win a citywide election in Los Angeles, that's a pretty formidable record.

David Okarski>> He started as City Controller, won four terms as City Attorney and, four years ago, won his first term as Mayor, but it wasn't easy and the road to re-election looks even tougher. For one thing, Hahn may have alienated some Hollywood and San Fernando Valley voters when he led the successful campaign against secession, but there's a bigger reason. Ongoing investigations into whether city officials illegally tried to raise money for the anti-secession campaign. The cloud hanging over Los Angeles City Hall involves allegations that key people Mayor Hahn appointed tried to pressure businesses vying for city contracts into making campaign contributions. No pay, no play. Now several of those people have left and state and federal authorities are investigating.

Raphael Sonenshein>> Citizen commissions of big departments give out gigantic contracts and those people are not elected. They're appointed officials. It's hard to know to whom they are accountable.

David Okarski>> Mayor Hahn says he's always followed the rules.

James Hahn>> I've made some enemies along the way and sometimes, you know, people obviously are going to go after the guy at the top of the hill. I'm confident that I did nothing wrong, but if somebody has, like I said, I don't have any sympathy for them.

Raphael Sonenshein>> That's a problem of governance for the whole city that ought to be addressed. This is, I think, a serious and significant scandal separate from the question of whether it's a Hahn scandal.

James Hahn>> And I wish people would, you know, wait for facts before they make up their minds. I'm certainly interested in getting those facts. I'm tired of waiting. I'd like to see some resolution here.

David Okarski>> The mayor has proposed barring people who do business with the city from contributing to political campaigns. Pay for play or not, the people who gather to talk politics in Lawrence Tolliver's barber shop down on Florence Boulevard have a lot to say about James K. Hahn.

Lawrence Tolliver>> He was by here Saturday. I thought he was very stiff before I met him. Surprisingly enough, believe it, Los Angeles, he is not as stiff as you think he is.

David Okarski>> This is the neighborhood where the mayor grew up.

Eddie Ford>> Oh, yeah, I knew his father personally. He used to come over to the Victory Baptist Church every other Sunday.

David Okarski>> Hahn's middle name is Kenneth, after his late father, who represented South Los Angeles for forty-five years as a City Councilman and a ten-term County Supervisor. Kenny Hahn was revered here for opening County government jobs to African-Americans and for generally taking care of his constituents.

Bobby Gantt>> I grew up with him. I have some pictures with him as a kid.

David Okarski>> James Hahn has benefited from being Kenny's son.

James Hahn>> When I got into public office, you know, they said, well, if he's Kenny Hahn's son, we kind of know where he's coming from.

David Okarski>> Voters' loyalty to his late father helped Hahn win the 2001 race for mayor, but at the start of his term, consistent with his commitment to fight crime, he made a decision that outraged many African-Americans who'd voted for him.

James Hahn>> "I've informed the Police Commission President, Rick Caruso, that I do not support Chief Parks' reappointment as Chief of Police."

James Hahn>> When I made the decision that I couldn't support Bernard Parks' bid for a second five years as police chief, I knew that was going to cause a lot of problems for me in that community and I was going to lose a lot of votes.

James Hahn>> "The chief and I have had real differences on major issues."

James Hahn>> Nevertheless, I felt I had to do what was right for this city, not necessarily what was in my political interest, and I think that sets me apart from most of the people in political life today.

David Okarski>> Few at the barber shop see it that way.

Ann Tolliver Binion>> I took it personal because I gave him my vote because I thought he had a lot of his father in him. At least, he had his name.

David Okarski>> William Bratton is the new police chief and he's getting good marks even at Tolliver's.

Lawrence Tolliver>> I have no problem with Chief Bratton, but it's the way that Hahn did it.

David Okarski>> The mayor can no longer count on his father's legacy to win these votes. Okay, so Hahn is not totally out of the picture?

Lawrence Tolliver>> Well, he was before he came by. He was gone, but he's slowly raising his hand a little bit out of the grave. He ain't made it out of the grave yet, but he's coming by tonight and maybe he will. I don't know (laughter).

David Okarski>> Whether or not Mayor Hahn rises from the dead at the barber shop, many critics already call him a zombie. Here may be the harshest and most frequent accusation of all: that you're boring. How does that make you feel?

James Hahn>> Well, you know, you are who you are.

David Okarski>> What's the best you can say about Jim Hahn?

Raphael Sonenshein>> That Jim Hahn knows the city government and how it works and can get things done probably than anybody in years in Los Angeles maybe since Tom Bradley.

David Okarski>> Here are the highlights of Hahn's four years as mayor. He's expanded after-school programs, built low-income housing, reduced pollution at the Port of Los Angeles and at the Department of Water and Power. He's expanding Los Angeles International Airport, he's spearheaded the fight for Prop 1A which stopped the state from taking money that cities need for basic services and, of course, he defeated Valley secession, got a new police chief and there's a significant drop in crime. What's the worst you can say about him?

Raphael Sonenshein>> I think Hahn's weakness is a low-key personality that invites challenge.

David Okarski>> Or maybe, Professor Sonenshein suggests, James Hahn's strength is his biggest weakness, his skill at the insider game of government which may have spun out of control. David Okarski for Life and Times.

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Val>> There is one part of Los Angeles that carries a lot of clout on election day: the Valley. Forty percent of the city's voters are north of Mulholland Drive and many of them are unhappy with city government. So, as Kevin Smith tells us, whatever candidate can win these votes will have a significant edge in tomorrow's election.

[Film Clip]

Kevin Smith>> City Councilman, Antonio Villaraigosa, toured a biomedical research company called Second Sight, but his sights are set on becoming the next mayor of Los Angeles. Second Sight is located in Sylmar, part of the hotly-contested San Fernando Valley.

[Film Clip]

Kevin Smith>> This was a good day for Villaraigosa. He received the endorsement of Bob Hertzberg, the former Assembly Speaker. Hertzberg finished a strong third in the March primary, thanks largely to support from his home base in the Valley. At Second Sight, Villaraigosa repeated his criticism that Mayor James Hahn had a vision problem.

Antonio Villaraigosa>> "Bob and I got into this race for the same reason. We were tired of seeing the city that we love, the city we were born in, the city that gave us so much, adrift and mired in scandal and headed by a mayor who doesn't have the vision or the energy to lead Los Angeles."

Kevin Smith>> Second Sight has developed technology to help some patients who have lost their eyesight see again.

Antonio Villaraigosa>> "We're here today at Second Sight because this is a place that gives people a second chance and hope, but this business is also a part of the future of Los Angeles's economy. We understand how critical biomed and biotech are to the creation of good jobs, to the creation of new opportunities."

James Hahn>> "Today in Los Angeles, violent crime is down city-wide, almost twenty percent."

Kevin Smith>> In another part of the San Fernando Valley over in Van Nuys, Mayor Hahn sounded a very different theme. He insists that he's tougher on crime than Villaraigosa. He picked a shopping center at the corner of Blythe Street and Van Nuys Boulevard, an area once overrun by gangs, to make his point.

James Hahn>> "We're not going to allow gang members to intimidate, threaten, ruin the quality of life, for people in their neighborhood. When I was pioneering the use of gang injunctions as the City Attorney, Antonio Villaraigosa was leading the ACLU who were in court trying to stop this effort."

Kevin Smith>> To that, Villaraigosa fires back. He says he now supports court injunctions against gangs and blasts Hahn for raising police salaries instead of hiring more officers.

Antonio Villaraigosa>> "Four years ago, Jim Hahn said that I promise to put a thousand new police officers on our streets. Four years later, he's failed to keep that promise."

William Bratton>> "We'll be back again asking for your consideration for additional personnel."

Kevin Smith>> At nearly every stop, Hahn hammers his anti-crime message, touting his recruitment of popular Police Chief, William Bratton. Hahn and his supporters like former District Attorney Robert Philibosian say the best way to create jobs in Los Angeles is to reduce crime.

Robert Philibosian>> You're not going to have business like these businesses coming into this neighborhood if it's full of crime. You're not going to have jobs if you don't have businesses.

Kevin Smith>> Ron Kaye is Managing Editor of the Daily News, the Valley's newspaper. He says the crime issue plays well for Hahn in the Valley.

Ron Kaye>> Well, I think it's his strongest guard. I think it's the one thing where he's got statistics and facts and change that says he did a good job and made progress.

Kevin Smith>> Hahn won a clear majority of voters here in the San Fernando Valley in his race against Villaraigosa four years ago, but few expect that scenario to repeat itself this time around. Hahn alienated a number of voters here by his successful, but very tough, campaign against the efforts of the Valley to secede from the city of Los Angeles. In the March primary, it was favorite son Hertzberg who finished first among Valley voters, so his endorsement is a major coup for Villaraigosa, but the two have not always seen eye to eye. In Sacramento, where both have served as Speakers of the Assembly, they reportedly had a falling out. Now they've put that feud behind them and are talking about a partnership if Villaraigosa becomes mayor.

Robert Hertzberg>> "I will stand with Antonio. I will give him everything that I got. I will give him every idea, every memo, all the internal stuff that I did, so that he can be the best mayor of Los Angeles."

Ron Kaye>> They were a great team up in Sacramento when Antonio was the Speaker and Bob was his right-hand guy. They were roommates. They were a good match. Mr. Outside and Mr. Inside. Villaraigosa has all the charm in the world, very persuasive guy, and Hertzberg's a volcano of ideas.

Kevin Smith>> And how did Hahn react to Hertzberg endorsing Villaraigosa? He called it backroom politics.

James Hahn>> "Look, he's part of the same Sacramento mentality that I've been fighting against for four years. It's no surprise that he and Antonio patched up their differences. They're Sacramento politicians cut from the same cloth."

Kevin Smith>> For some residents of the Valley, Hertzberg's endorsement carries weight. Greg Lippe is on the board of VICA, the Valley Industry and Commerce Association. He supported Hertzberg in the primary and considers Hahn's performance lackluster.

Greg Lippe>> Now what we need is somebody who's dynamic, energetic, proactive, somebody that has charisma and charm who can work together with the businesses and negotiate incentives to keep businesses here and to attract new business here.

Kevin Smith>> But not every Hertzberg supporter agrees. VICA Chairman-elect, Bob Scott, is now backing Hahn.

Bob Scott>> I totally agree that we need to bring more business back into Los Angeles, but I'm afraid that having somebody who's got the history that Mr. Villaraigosa has is not going to attract business in terms of his relationships with labor unions, his relationships to trial lawyers and lawsuits and sort of anti-business type interests.

Kevin Smith>> Valley residents aren't the only swing voters being courted by the candidates. Black voters gave Hahn eighty percent of their ballots four years ago, but this time he may get less than half. Many are still angry at Hahn for recommending the removal of African-American police chief, Bernard Parks, to make way for Bratton. Parks, who ran for mayor in the primary, has also thrown his support to Villaraigosa, but Hahn is unrepentant about his controversial decisions to remove Parks and to fight Valley secession.

James Hahn>> "I don't apologize for decisions to keep the city together. I don't apologize for saying that we needed to move in a new direction in the police department. Those two decisions were absolutely correct decisions."

Kevin Smith>> Another major issue in the campaign is ethics. Hahn is facing an ongoing investigation into corruption within his administration over allegations that city contracts were awarded in exchange for campaign contributions. Hahn in turn has resurrected a charge from the 2001 campaign. He chastises Villaraigosa for seeking a pardon for a drug kingpin who is the son of a major contributor.

James Hahn>> "Nobody has lived up to a higher ethical standard through his political career than I have. But the only person who has ever violated the public trust is the other guy on this stage when you wrote a letter to ask for a pardon for a convicted drug dealer."

Antonio Villaraigosa>> "I wrote a letter nine years ago. I made a mistake. I took responsibility for my actions. I think it's time to take responsibility for your actions and admit that you made a mistake when you put your chief fundraiser in charge of the chicken coop."

[Film Clip]

Kevin Smith>> Hahn clearly faces an uphill battle for a second term. The incumbent mayor only received twenty-five percent of the primary vote.

Ron Kaye>> I wouldn't write Hahn off and I think many of the people inside the game wouldn't. He's won six straight city-wide elections. It's even money on whether Villaraigosa wins by twenty points or Hahn wins by two points.

Kevin Smith>> Villaraigosa was stunned by Hahn's upset victory four years ago and knows the scrappy mayor will be fighting hard to keep his job right through election day. I'm Kevin Smith for Life and Times.

Val>> Thanks for joining us on this election eve and, remember, if you don't vote, you can't complain. I'm Val Zavala. For everyone at Life and Times, thanks for watching. We'll see you tomorrow.

Life and Times was made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education.

And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg.

Val>> Next time on Life and Times --

We hear constantly that the way to fight crime is to add more cops, but where will they come from?

>> We've noticed that we are reaching crisis levels or at least a crisis point in terms of hiring difficulties and, rather than wait for the train to crash completely after a derailment, we want to make sure and try to fix this problem before it gets there.

Val>> That's next time on Life and Times.