Bradley to Get Backing of Waxman and Berman

After putting Mayor Tom Bradley on hold for more than a month, the Westside’s Berman-Waxman political organization plans to endorse him today, The Times has learned.

Sources said Reps. Howard Berman (D-Studio City) and Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) will announce their backing of the mayor, who is running for a fourth term against Councilman John Ferraro.

The announcement is expected to be another plus for the mayor, already heavily favored over Ferraro. The Berman-Waxman organization is composed of Democratic elected officials in the Westside, parts of the San Fernando Valley and Southwestern Los Angeles. With its own independent fund-raising sources, and mailed advertising featuring popular members of its teams, the organization has had years of electoral success in its heavily Democratic area.

Berman and Waxman have been Bradley backers for years, but when Bradley called Waxman for an endorsement this time, the congressman did not give him an answer.

Palisades Decision

Waxman said he and his colleagues were unhappy over Bradley’s approval of Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s drilling for oil in the Pacific Palisades, which is in the district of Berman-Waxman ally Rep. Mel Levine (D-Santa Monica).

There were other differences, among them a feeling on the part of the organization that Bradley did not work hard enough against the Republican reapportionment measure on the 1984 ballot. It was defeated by a campaign run by Michael Berman, Howard Berman’s brother, and his partner, Carl D’Agostino.

And in the background were moves by the Berman-Waxman group that appeared to be aimed at pushing Bradley out of the 1986 governor’s race. (Bradley has not said whether he plans to run for governor again.)

Privately, the Bradley critics say they fear that the mayor cannot defeat Republican Gov. George Deukmejian, who beat him in 1982, next year. They fear that a combination of a Bradley loss, possible vulnerability of U.S. Sen. Alan Cranston, who is running for reelection, and the conservative campaign to deny Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird another term on the state Supreme Court could add up to Democratic losses of congressional and legislative seats.

Breakfast Meeting

Differences were discussed by Bradley, Berman and Waxman at a breakfast meeting at the home of Bruce Corwin, owner of Metropolitan Theatres Corp. and a political ally and fund-raiser for both Bradley and the Westside organization.

After breakfast, Corwin said, “the atmosphere was much improved.”

Los Angeles City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, a Bradley supporter and Berman-Waxman ally, then made telephone calls to both sides over the last few weeks, urging a quick announcement of an endorsement.