Janice Hahn Endorses Flores for Reelection to City Council : Politics: The development could give the incumbent more clout in Watts and Wilmington. Opponent Rudy Svorinich claims that the endorsement was bought--an allegation that is flatly denied.

In a move that could bring her new support in communities crucial to her reelection, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores has won the endorsement of businesswoman and former political adversary Janice Hahn.

The endorsement, scheduled to be announced at a news conference today, is significant both because Hahn finished third in the April primary for the 15th District seat and because her strongest support came in Watts and Wilmington, communities that loom as crucial battlegrounds for Flores and her opponent in the June 8 runoff, Rudy Svorinich.

The endorsement was immediately portrayed by Svorinich as a payoff. The San Pedro businessman claimed Wednesday that Hahn had told him Flores agreed to pay off Hahn’s $10,000 debt from the primary campaign in exchange for the endorsement.

That charge was flatly denied by both Hahn and Flores, with the latter calling Svorinich a liar.

Flores said: “I promised Janice nothing and Rudy is obviously a liar. . . . He is very disappointed about this endorsement and he will do anything to counteract it.”

Hahn, in a separate interview, said Svorinich’s charge was “absolutely not true. Joan did not offer to pay off the debt.”

In the primary, Flores won 28% of the vote to 23% for Svorinich and 19% for Hahn, whose family is a virtual political dynasty in Los Angeles. Her brother, James, is city attorney and her father, Kenneth, recently retired after a record 40 years as county supervisor.

Buoyant about the endorsement, Flores said she thinks Hahn’s support will go a long way toward bringing her a new four-year term to the seat she has held since 1981. “I believe we were headed for victory anyway,” Flores said, “but I think this cements a victory.”

Hahn, meantime, said her decision to back Flores--after waging a campaign calling for change--was based on her belief that the incumbent is in a better position than Svorinich to address the district’s problems of crime, overcrowding, unemployment and traffic.

“I know it took me a while to come to grips with my own loss but . . . I am committed to staying here and living here. And when I look at who would be best . . . for this district in the next four years, the answer is Joan,” said Hahn, who lives in San Pedro.

“There is no question that Joan has a much better chance of fighting for this district than Rudy,” Hahn added. “She has tenure. She has knowledge. She has experience. And I don’t believe in change just for the sake of change. I think that you need to know what you are getting with change.”

Flores has told friends and advisers that she might leave the council after one more term, and by endorsing her Hahn could be positioning herself for a bid to succeed her in 1997.

Svorinich leveled his charge of a quid pro quo agreement between Flores and Hahn after being contacted by The Times for a comment on the endorsement.

“I’m not surprised that Janice Hahn endorsed Joan Milke Flores at all,” he said. “Jan mentioned to me personally that Joan had offered to pay off her primary campaign debt in exchange for an endorsement. For all I know, Jan decided to take Joan up on the offer.

“Perhaps we should ask Jan what she got for the endorsement.” he said. “Four weeks ago, she was a candidate for change. Now she is a supporter of the status quo. How strange.” But Flores and Hahn dismissed Svorinich’s remarks as the bitter reaction of a candidate spurned in his bid for an endorsement.

“She did not offer to pay off my debt. This endorsement is not about a payoff,” Hahn said. After the primary, she said, she met with Flores and Svorinich and with both of them discussed her campaign debt--a nagging reminder of her unsuccessful campaign.

But in those meetings, Hahn said, there was never talk about Flores or Svorinich helping her retire the debt. That, she said, would be done with the help of her father and brother.

Nevertheless, Hahn said, she was not surprised by Svorinich’s claim. “I expected him to try and make my endorsement look like a payoff,” she said. “I just think it’s hard for him to accept the fact I think Joan has a better chance of leading this district than he does.”

Late Tuesday, Hahn said, she told Svorinich of her decision to endorse Flores: “I told him, ‘Look, it’s not that I don’t think that you wouldn’t fight hard and be committed . . . but at this time in Los Angeles, I think the person who would do the best job for the district is Joan Flores.”

For Flores, the endorsement should prove particularly valuable in the communities of Watts, where Hahn placed first in almost every precinct, and Wilmington, where Hahn won more precincts than either the incumbent or Svorinich.

With Flores and Svorinich--both Republicans--fighting over their mutual home base of San Pedro, many pundits see these other areas of the largely Democratic district weighing in more prominently than in previous council elections.

Last week, in her bid for votes throughout the district, Flores touted endorsements by county Supervisors Yvonne Braithwaite Burke and Gloria Molina, both Democrats. But that was matched by Svorinich’s surprise endorsement by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), who is seen by many as the city’s most influential African-American politician.

So potentially significant is Waters’ endorsement, in fact, that political consultant Rick Taylor said Svorinich was suddenly positioned to be competitive in areas where he fared dismally in the primary.

“Maxine Waters’ endorsement absolutely means 25% to 30% of the African-American vote just with mail” touting her support, Taylor said after that endorsement. “Whatever mail comes out, I think her endorsement can level the playing field.”

But now Hahn’s endorsement again promises to change the dynamics of the race.