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| Who Dares to Be Great?
by John M. Curtis Copyright April 26, 2001
Winning the primary by 5% [with 30% of the vote], Villaraigosa generated considerable buzz among Hispanics at the prospect of seeing the first Latino mayor since Cristobal Aguillar left office in 1872. With Latinos the fastest growing minority, Villaraigosa’s liberal candidacy represents an exciting prospect for the Hispanic community. “There’s no campaign that represents the breadth of the city like this one,” said a hoarse Villaraigosa to cheering supporters late on election night. But how really diverse is his coalition when you consider that Hahn and Soboroff received the lion’s share of Black and White votes? “His [Villaraigosa’s] story is a wonderful American story that will give inspiration to thousands of Latino and minority children,” remarked Antonio Rodriguez, an Eastside attorney who’s known Villaraigosa since his days as “Tony Villar,” a little known UCLA student and eventual union organizer. By emphasizing his East LA roots and his days as an “angry youth,” Villaraigosa might have already missed Soboroff’s conservative base, largely responsible for putting Republican Richard Riordan into office. Behind the scenes, Soboroff emerged as the real power broker, whose following will either make or break the next election. Capturing a remarkable 20% of the vote in a largely Democratic city with little minority help, Soboroff’s swing votes should decide the June 5 runoff. Despite endorsements from organized labor and the Democratic Party, Villaraigosa still has to make a major play for disaffected White voters whose voices seem drowned out by all the hoopla. Crunching the numbers, Hahn and Villaraigosa have nowhere to turn other than the same constituency that put Riordan into City Hall. While there’s much to cheer about now, June’s a long way off. Unlike Villaraigosa, Hahn has yet to consolidate his base, counting heavily in the primary on Black votes. With Soboroff, Wachs and Connell accounting for 35% of the vote, Hahn now has the chance to dramatically expand his base. If he plays his cards right, he should cobble together 75% of that group, pushing him over the magic 50% needed to win the race—assuming that he doesn’t hiccough between now and June. Working against Hahn is what many people describe as a “bland” personality. Unlike his ebullient father, the younger Hahn hasn’t yet displayed the same spunk and political skill. On charisma alone, Villaraigosa has a decided leg up. “The campaign is about you, not me,” Antonio told jubilant supporters the day after the election, demonstrating the kind of magnetism that led him to become the Speaker of the Assembly. But charisma alone won’t save Villaraigosa if he doesn’t win over residents on the Westside and San Fernando Valley. To begin with, rising levels of crime concern all Angelenos but especially family-minded suburbanites and upscale Westsiders, whose communities are now infiltrated by inner city problems. Growing ethnic tensions, arising in part from LA’s East-West and North-South divide, necessitate commitments to improving all communities, not just those within candidates’ narrow orbit. Still plaguing downtown and the entire city is the growing homeless population, preventing downtown from flourishing like other great American cities. Cleaning trash off the streets, dismantling lean-tos, and finding subsidized housing and health care for skid row residents can’t be ignored. Daring to be great demands that Villaraigosa and Hahn step up to the plate with bold new measures to restore LA’s greatness in both opportunity and lifestyle. Hosting the Oscars isn’t enough to offer LA residents unparalleled fringe benefits for living in the Southland. Already home to the world’s finest jewelry and garment districts, downtown must once again encourage new investment and entrepreneurs. Both candidates must develop a real long-range urban plan to continue refurbishing downtown. Encouraging more development like Staples Center, including a state-of-the-art sports stadium to replace the aging LA Coliseum, should open doors to professional football, international soccer and hockey and world-class entertainment. Candidates need to spell out their vision and make their best case. Using public funds—together with the private sector—to rebuild the Coliseum and Exposition Park, and return pro football to LA, should be a priority for a great city, not an excuse to wring hands over how best to spend taxpayer dollars. Everyone’s proud of the Lakers and Staples Center, but where’s the shame and outrage over the dilapidated Coliseum and absence of pro football? Flying into Los Angeles, travelers can’t help but marvel at the spectacular landscape of endless glittery lights, embodying Reagan’s favorite image of a “shining city on a hill.” Los Angeles is a dream, representing the type of urban paradise only fantasized by individuals from all corners of the globe seeking a better way of life. Faced with overcrowding, pollution, gangs, homelessness and police corruption, the next mayor must insist that LA continue as the nation’s preeminent urban Mecca, setting new trends and standards for the rest of the country. So far, neither candidate has made a convincing case for how they plan to continue the dream that squarely falls on the next mayor. LA’s new challenge isn’t to put a minority—or anyone else for that matter—into City Hall: It’s to assure that all residents have equal access to the best business climate, community services and urban environment available anywhere. Whether it’s transportation, parks & recreation, entertainment, libraries, police & fire, etc., the next mayor must be determined to restore LA’s supremacy. Whoever shows how they plan to accomplish this goal—and dares to be great—will be the next mayor of Los Angeles. About the Author John M. Curtis is editor of OnlineColumnist.com and columnist for the Los Angeles Daily Journal. He’s director of a Los Angeles think tank specializing in political consulting and strategic public relations. He’s the author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma. |
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obbly from exhaustion and hobbled by hoarse voices, battered City Atty. James K. Hahn and former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa emerged from the carnage of the April 10 election and are now headed for what promises to be a bloody runoff on June 5. Falling by the wayside were mayor Riordan’s handpicked successor, tough talking real estate developer Steve Soboroff, acerbic crusader City Councilman Joel Wachs, East LA boy scout congressman Xavier Becerra, ever-critical schoolmarm State Controller Kathleen Connell, and a slew of media hounds whose campaigns were nicely staged publicity stunts. All in all, the election presented a garden variety of personalities—most of whom played it safe, tiptoed around burning issues and pandered to their own groups. Degenerating into veiled ethnic slurs, the waning days before the election resembled a free-for-all, certainly not a convincing picture of LA’s future. Now heading in the wrong direction, the survivors are scrambling for Soboroff’s impressive base on the Westside and San Fernando Valley.|
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