BITTER BUZZ OF MAYOR'S RACE: MAYOR SEARCHING FOR RECOGNITION; FACING ATTACK FROM RIVAL, CRITICS.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

As he faces the toughest battle of his political life, Mayor James Hahn often takes on the posture of a trial attorney addressing a jury with a summation of his accomplishments since taking office four years ago.

``People accuse me of not being flashy or pretty or whatever. But we've gotten the job done. That's what I'm proudest of,'' Hahn says, pointing often to his leading the campaign to defeat San Fernando Valley secession and ousting Bernard Parks as police chief in favor of William Bratton.

Yet as Hahn attempts to focus voters' attention on his record, the same record is under attack from Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa, his challenger in the May 17 runoff election, just as it was from all the major candidates in the primary.

Hahn's broken promises, according to his critics, form a long list:

--Failing to expand the LAPD by 1,000 officers as he pledged in 2001.

--Promising to have a full-time deputy mayor for the San Fernando Valley, and then leaving the position vacant after the first year.

--Delivering less than he promised on traffic solutions.

--Promising to fix streets, but resurfacing only half as much as five years ago.

--Vowing to forge a partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District to improve schools, then procrastinating for years.

--Failing to persuade the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to end its fight against a court order that required it to buy hundreds of new buses.

Frequently, Villaraigosa complains that Hahn has been ``missing in action,'' in providing leadership - particularly when it comes to issues involving traffic and transit.

Many of those who have defected from supporting Hahn four years ago and now support Villaraigosa cite similar failings.

``This mayor made a lot of promises to us when he was running in 2001,'' said Richard Close a San Fernando Valley secession leader who heads the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association. ``He didn't deliver.''

Close has had a long - often stormy - relationship with the mayor dating back to the days when Hahn was city attorney, but backed his election in 2001. This year, he has switched allegiances and is supporting Villaraigosa.

Close said homeowner groups are upset with Hahn over what they see as failures to deal with traffic and overdevelopment issues.

Marvin Selesnick, an Encino accountant and an active member of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, said he remains upset with Hahn over the secession battle.

``I voted for him four years ago, but I'm not sure he lived up to all the things he promised,'' Selesnick said.

Even on issues such as business tax reform, which Hahn pushed, Selesnick said he believes most of the credit should go to the City Council. ``It just doesn't seem like the mayor has been out there, pushing our interests.''

For Hahn, it has been a challenge getting people like Selesnick to recognize his record.

Like most things political, his record can be viewed in a variety of ways - from clear successes to much less certain progress.

Carrying out the new City Charter's requirement to create a system of neighborhood councils is a case in point. None of the advisory municipal panels existed when he took office. Now, there are 85 certified councils around the city.

Hahn's administration has provided $50,000 in funding for each council and given them oversight on spending of $100,000 more in local traffic improvements.

He also has included them in setting budget priorities and, last week, a proposal was announced to develop an oversight committee for the Department of Water and Power.

At the same time, the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment has faced intense criticism from many communities for getting in the way of forming their own councils, and many have suggested that Hahn could have moved much more quickly to expand the councils' role.

A similar two-edged controversy surrounds his promises to hire 1,000 more police officers. Critics say it's his biggest failing and point that the city has $500 million more in revenue since he became mayor, but nearly all the money has gone to wage and benefit increases for existing employees.

When Hahn took office on July 1, 2001, there were 8,958 officers on duty. The LAPD's most recent figures showed the department now has 9,131 - a gain of 173 officers.

However, the Mayor's Office says those figures are misleading.

Hahn says the city has hired 1,646 officers since July 2001 but due to attrition and retirements the net gain has been 412.

Even if the size of the force is in dispute, crime has dropped dramatically over the past two years, even as hiring more police officers has been a major issue in the mayoral campaign and the mayor has proposed an increase of 270 officers this coming year.

Hahn has cited a number of reasons for not achieving his goal - among them a sluggish economy, resistance by the City Council and the loss of revenue to the state.

Hahn has received strong support again this year from the city's labor unions.

Julie Butcher, general manager of SEIU Local 347, one of the largest city unions, said she believes Hahn has won that support because of his background in the city and his policies.

``A lot of city workers relate to him because he is part of the city family,'' Butcher said, noting Hahn served four terms as city attorney and one as controller before becoming mayor.

``He has been at City Hall so long that a lot of workers feel like they do know him well, that he is one of us.

``And, as far as we're concerned, if you look at his promises, he has done pretty well. You still see the traffic officers out on Ventura Boulevard during rush hour. You see people out filling potholes as fast as they can. You see the city work getting done.

``And, it's not that he's given us a break. Other than the Police Department, there are fewer city workers. He has demanded and gotten more efficiencies from city workers. I think, if you look back, the city is in better shape than it's ever been.''

David Abel, publisher of the Metro Investment Report and a close observer of City Hall, faults Hahn more on leadership.

``I think my biggest problem is the lack of leadership,'' Abel said. ``What I see is a mayor who is reactive and not proactive. I think the issue isn't whether he kept his promises, but that he didn't make enough promises.''

Abel had endorsed Bob Hertzberg in the primary election, but said he has not decided whether to endorse a candidate in the runoff election. Four years ago, he was neutral.

``A lot of my concerns goes to the fact this mayor brought in young, inexperienced people to run major departments and it has resulted in either no real policy or political problems for the mayor,'' Abel said.

``All it did was advance the status quo. In that way, the one surprising thing the mayor did was hire (Police Chief) Bill Bratton. I don't think anyone expected him to hire such an independent manager. It's not the kind of choices we've seen and should have.''

Raphael Sonenshein, a political science professor and executive director of the Appointed Charter Reform Commission, said Hahn should receive a mixed grade.

``There are some things that were not expected that he did exceptionally well in - bringing in Bill Bratton was totally unexpected and turned the Police Department around,'' Sonenshein said. ``That was not a promise he made, but he should get credit for it.

``It helped stop the bleeding at the LAPD in losing personnel and brought crime down.''

But, Sonenshein said, the mayor also has been faced with political problems - in dealing with the City Council, in firing Bernard Parks as police chief and in fighting secession.

Rick Orlov, [phone]

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com

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THE RAP ON HAHN