BITTER BUZZ OF MAYOR'S RACE: VILLARAIGOSA'S AMBITION MAKES HIM A TARGET, AS WELL AS A FAVORITE.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

As he struggles to generate the enthusiasm among supporters he did four years ago, Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa faces the challenge of overcoming attacks that he is too liberal for Los Angeles and too ambitious for his own good.

The 52-year-old Eastside councilman finds himself in familiar territory, finishing far ahead of Mayor James Hahn in the March primary election as he did four years ago. Now, he is fighting to hold on to that lead as the May 17 runoff election nears in what is expected to be a tough - and many say negative - campaign.

Hahn, who cultivated unions and liberals for most of the last four years, has gone on the attack against Villaraigosa for his leadership of the local American Civil Liberties Union chapter a decade ago, accusing him of being a crowd-pleaser who says different things to different audiences and of breaking his promise to his 14th Council District to not run for mayor this year.

``The biggest mistake I made was believing Antonio Villaraigosa when he said he wouldn't run against me,'' Hahn said recently, and has repeated one form or another many times.

Charismatic and charming are words often used to describe Villaraigosa, a teachers union organizer who rose to become speaker of the state Assembly and now is the front-runner in a race that would make him the city's first Latino mayor in more than a century and make Hahn the first mayor in most of a century to be ousted after just one term.

Villaraigosa says he didn't break his promise to serve a full four-year term on the council so much as Hahn, his administration beset by local and federal corruption investigations, failed to fulfill his promises to the people to make L.A. better.

``Everywhere I went in the city, people were asking me to run,'' Villaraigosa said when he announced he was running. He can also point to winning 58 percent of the votes in his district in the primary as evidence of his constituents' feelings on the promise question.

He accuses Hahn of providing lackluster leadership and letting the city drift while its problems grew worse.

And, of course, there is the revenge factor, fed by Hahn's apparent vulnerability that was borne out in the primary when more than 75 percent of voters cast their ballots for someone else.

The councilman's supporters believe the negative campaign Hahn ran against him four years ago stole the election and deprived Villaraigosa of the chance to become a national figure as the Latino mayor of the nation's second-largest city.

The buzz around Villaraigosa has been low-key this year, with the national media watching the race but not giving it the prominence it received in 2001. This year, they're waiting to see if he is able to win the election.

He clearly carries some personal baggage with him.

Art Pulido of the Community Leadership Coalition said he has known Villaraigosa for more than 25 years, dating back to when they worked out together at a local gym.

``He was completely different then,'' Pulido said. ``He was always political, always talking about what government should be doing. But then he went off to college. And, one day he came into the gym and he was wearing glasses, and we all went, 'Bro, what happened to you?'''

What happened, Pulido believes, is that Villaraigosa began to think of himself in terms beyond the world of Eastside politics, using his natural charisma to attract people.

``People like him. He is so sincere. I supported him when he ran for the Assembly and, last time, when he ran for mayor,'' Pulido said.

``But, after a while, if he doesn't get what he wants from you, he drops you cold. Like now, when he said he would stay here and he lied, that I oppose him. He and his staff almost act as if we don't exist.''

Villaraigosa heatedly disputes that he has ignored his district while he has run for mayor and, last fall, when he was national co-chairman of the John Kerry presidential campaign.

Many of his mayoral campaign events are based around his Boyle Heights office or in other parts of his district. He boasts of the shortcuts he takes around the district, leaving television crews scrambling to catch up with him.

Villaraigosa's early political career began when he was working with the United Teachers Los Angeles and the American Civil Liberties Union. He was close with then-Assemblywoman Gloria Molina and other local politicians until he ran and won election to the state Assembly in 1994.

Thanks to term limits, he moved rapidly up the political ladder and became Assembly speaker. But to get the job, he had to force an election of the Assembly to replace then-Speaker Cruz Bustamante. To hold on to the job, he delayed an election to turn over the reins of power to his roommate, Bob Hertzberg.

``A lot of people were upset with him in disrespecting Cruz and then in pushing Hertzberg but not letting him take over,'' said one former Assembly member, who asked not to be identified. ``There was the feeling there that it is always about Antonio.''

Villaraigosa is unapologetic about those days and points to his efforts to pass bond measures for schools and parks and passage of the healthy families initiative.

As councilman, Villaraigosa's office recently put out a 30-page booklet of his accomplishments in his first 18 months in office, which included such routine items as staffing field offices, publishing a community directory and responding to constituent complaints.

But he also points to boosting community involvement, claiming to have created 80 Neighborhood Watch programs and launching a ``Day of Community Service'' program, which helped put more than 6,000 people in community cleanup activities.

The most persistent criticism of Villaraigosa - from those who support him and those who oppose him - is his ambition.

``You always have the sense that he is looking over your shoulder when he's talking to you to see who else is coming in the room,'' said one longtime ally, who refused to be identified. ``Antonio is always reaching for the brass ring. Sometimes, I would like to tell him he doesn't have to do that. That it will come if he works hard.''

And the one thing Villaraigosa prides himself on is his work ethic.

In the final weekend of the primary election, with polls showing him easily headed for the runoff, Villaraigosa went on a more than 40-hour tour of the city, visiting bowling alleys at 2 a.m., going to Little League games and ending by serving hot dogs at midnight the following day at Pink's.

Some don't see that ambition as a drawback.

``To me, I think it will make him a more effective mayor,'' said Fernando Guerra, director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University.

``Being mayor of Los Angeles automatically puts you in a select group of people eligible for bigger things. And it can empower the city. We want our mayor to be considered for higher office because it gives him more clout in Sacramento and Washington.''

Rick Orlov, [phone]

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) VILLARAIGOSA

(2) no caption (Villaraigosa)

Box:

THE RAP ON VILLARAIGOSA

SOURCE: Daily News research