BOND, HAHN LEAD ANTI-PROP. 54 RALLY.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

A coalition of civil rights leaders and Los Angeles elected officials came out Tuesday against a measure on the Oct. 7 ballot they say would damage the ability of the state to collect information on discrimination.

Julian Bond, director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and Mayor James Hahn led a group of officials in denouncing Proposition 54, which author Ward Connerly calls the Racial Privacy Initiative.

``We will no longer be tricked by Ward Connerly,'' Bond said about the University of California regent who also led the campaign for Proposition 209, banning affirmative action programs, which voters passed in 1996.

Hahn said Proposition 54 would damage the state.

``In California, our diversity is one of our greatest strengths, but it also means we must have the ability to collect racial data to ensure that discriminatory practices are curbed and that all communities have access to important issues related to health care, education and other crucial issues.''

Proposition 54 spokeswoman Diane Schachterle, however, said the measure is designed to abolish racial classifications to promote equality. She said the measure has exemptions for collecting health and legal data.

``What the mayor and others are saying is nothing new,'' Schachterle said. ``This is exactly what happened before. The elite opposes something like this, and the people go to the polls and vote for it.''

Rick Orlov, [phone]

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com