ELECTIONS / L.A. MAYOR : Union Backs Riordan Despite Past Arrest

Strongly reaffirming its recent endorsement, the Los Angeles Police Protective League said Thursday that it will stand by mayoral candidate Richard Riordan even as he continued to fend off questions about his past conduct and comments.

While Riordan sought to turn the spotlight back on rival Michael Woo with fierce attacks on the councilman’s record, the police union reaffirmed its endorsement of Riordan in the wake of his disclosure Wednesday that he had been arrested 25 years ago for drunk driving and interfering with an officer.

“In our society, politicians have the tendency to make people believe that they are electing perfect human beings. Richard Riordan has made mistakes. He is human, and he has learned from his lesson,” union President William C. Violante said.

“Riordan has sentenced himself to 20 years of community service, which he has performed in an exemplary manner. The public pardoned him years ago, and we have been rewarded with a visionary civic leader,” Violante said.

Meantime, new public reports show that Riordan--largely on the strength of a $3-million infusion from his personal fortune--is overwhelming Woo in campaign spending.

In the first 4 1/2 weeks of the runoff contest, Riordan outspent Woo nearly 3 to 1, with much of the money going into television ads and a blitz of hundreds of thousands of high-quality, specially targeted mailers. Through Saturday, Riordan had spent $2.5 million in the runoff campaign, compared to $929,753 by Woo.

More ominous for Woo, Riordan held a $1.79-million cash reserve--nearly six times larger than Woo’s available funds--going into the final two weeks of the race.

The announcement of the league’s continuing support for Riordan came near the end of a day that began with him holding a news conference in Woo’s Hollywood district. The decline of the community has been a cornerstone of Riordan’s efforts to portray Woo as an ineffective City Hall politician.

But although Riordan sought to turn attention to Hollywood, he was hounded by reporters to further explain his arrests years ago, disclosed during a radio debate Wednesday.

“I’ve told what I know,” Riordan said. “I’m not even myself going to go back and learn the details. . . . I’ve told you what happened. I take responsibility.

“I think the voters of this city are going to put it into the equation in deciding whether to vote for Mr. Woo or myself,” he added.

Asked if his drivers license was suspended, Riordan grew testy and said: “The answer is no, but I’m not answering any other questions. . . . We’re talking about Hollywood. . . . I don’t want to get any more off that issue.”

Riordan also was dogged by questions about his position on abortion. Woo has begun running a TV ad replaying a 1991 remark made by Riordan that calls abortion murder.

Asked about the statement Thursday, Riordan said: “I am going to make one simple statement that I have made time and time again. . . . My opinions have not changed. I do not favor abortion. I have yet to meet anybody that favors abortion. But I strongly support the right of a woman to make a choice with respect to her own body. As mayor, I will protect the rights of women to exercise that choice by having access to clinics.”

Riordan was joined by former Councilwoman Peggy Stevenson, whom Woo defeated to win election in 1985.

“Has crime gone down in Hollywood as Mike Woo promised? No!” Stevenson said. “Have businesses been attracted to Hollywood as Mike Woo promised? No! . . . Have the streets been cleaned up of graffiti, prostitution and drug trafficking? Again, no!

“Mike Woo attacked me for supporting a property tax increase to pay for more police. This is the same Mike Woo who has attacked Richard Riordan for not supporting such a measure. He lied about me. And now, he’s lying about Dick Riordan.”

She said Woo defeated her with the “help of over $250,000 from his wealthy father. . . . He outspent me 8 to 1. Now he has the nerve to talk about people buying elections. Who is the real Mike Woo?”

Responding to the Riordan attack, Woo campaign manager Vicky Rideout said the councilman has consistently supported unsuccessful ballot measures to hire 1,000 more police while Riordan recently opposed such a proposition.

“If Dick Riordan hadn’t stood in the way of Chief Williams’ plan to hire more police, we might be having more police on the streets right now,” Rideout said.

A Times review of Woo’s eight years on the council found that Woo has a mixed record on economic development. His legacy includes sprucing up Hollywood Boulevard with glittering pavement and glowing neon, and enticing Walt Disney to rehabilitate the El Capitan Theatre. Woo also leaves an expanded network of social services for the homeless, runaways and AIDS patients.

But the Times review also found that the general deterioration of Hollywood, which started well before Woo took office, was not arrested during his tenure.

Streets are dotted with empty offices and boarded-up buildings. Neighborhoods are beset by gangs, bands of teen-age squatters and pushy panhandlers. The two biggest commercial developments Woo championed have foundered.

Police records show that the homicide rate rose 61% from 1985 to 1992, faster than the citywide rise of 41%. During the same period, robberies and aggravated assaults in Hollywood also rose but at a slightly slower pace than occurred citywide.

Although Woo has supported the unsuccessful measures to add police officers, it has only been in the context of the mayoral race that he has authored sweeping initiatives. On police matters, he has distinguished himself more for seeking to reform the Los Angeles Police Department than for trying to beef up its crime-fighting ability.

Meantime, Woo kept a light public schedule Thursday, with his only major appearance highlighting an endorsement by Henry G. Cisneros, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Cisneros, former mayor of San Antonio, said he believes that Woo is best qualified to work with Los Angeles’ many racial groups and best equipped to work with the Democratic Administration in Washington.

The endorsement by Cisneros came as Woo began running a TV ad featuring President Clinton’s endorsement of the Democratic councilman.

Next week, a White House official said Thursday, two other Cabinet secretaries--Bruce Babbitt of Interior and Federico Pena of Transportation--will visit Los Angeles and endorse Woo. Also in the coming week, Deputy Treasury Secretary Roger C. Altman will be the Clinton Administration’s representative at a New York City fund-raiser for Woo.

In the realm of fund raising, records show that in the runoff, Riordan collected $1.2 million, in addition to $3 million in personal contributions and loans. Woo collected $1.3 million--$989,000 in contributions and $325,000 in public matching funds.

Riordan declined public matching funds, which would have held him to a $1.6-million spending cap in the runoff election.

With polls showing Riordan and Woo in a tight race, the huge imbalance in resources heading into the homestretch could prove decisive for Riordan, said Herbert E. Alexander, director of the Citizen’s Research Foundation, a campaign finance think tank at USC.

“When one candidate is outspending the other almost 3 to 1, it may indeed ensure the outcome,” Alexander said.

New reports show that since Riordan entered the race last year his campaign has amassed more than $8.5 million--$6 million of it Riordan’s money. His total spending since entering the race has exceeded $6.6 million, compared to less than $4 million by Woo.

Times staff writers Rich Connell, James Rainey and Ted Rohrlich contributed to this report.