BRATTON STILL MUST FACE VOCAL CITY COUNCIL.

Byline: Mariel Garza Staff Writer

East Coast celebrity cop William Bratton faces his last hurdle in his quest to become Los Angeles' next chief of police when he goes before the City Council for confirmation Friday.

Although council members vow that they will not rubber-stamp Mayor James Hahn's choice for chief, many of them say they favor the charming, Boston-bred former head of the New York Police Department.

``I've had an opportunity to talk with him and believe that his heart is in the right place,'' Councilwoman Wendy Greuel said Tuesday.

Greuel said she took Bratton on a tour of her East Valley district, showed him a street where drag racing is a problem while outlining some of the biggest problems facing the area - rising crime and the need for more officers patrolling the streets.

``We talked about the deployment of officers in the San Fernando Valley,'' Greuel said. ``We talked about drag racing, we talked about the gang problem and increase in homicides in East Valley.''

Councilman Dennis Zine, formerly skeptical of an outsider's ability to police the troubled department, was generally won over by Bratton during their candid talks about the problems of the department.

``He resolved my reservations,'' Zine said, though he declined to say how he will vote.

Cindy Miscikowski, chairwoman of the Public Safety Committee, and council members Alex Padilla, Tom LaBonge and Jack Weiss have publicly said they support Hahn's choice for police chief.

Councilman Ed Reyes said he was disappointed and angry that candidate Art Lopez, a former LAPD deputy chief and a former commander of East Los Angeles' Hollenbeck Division, was not Hahn's choice.

``I don't want to be an obstructionist,'' Reyes said. ``I do want to make the best choice for the city.''

Councilman Nate Holden said he has no problem obstructing the process, if he can, by voting no. The outspoken councilman said Bratton was the worst of the three top candidates because of what he's heard about police abuse in New York during Bratton's tenure.

Bratton was picked from among 51 applicants for the job left open when Chief Bernard C. Parks was blocked from getting another five year term by the mayor and the Police Commission. He beat out two other finalists - John Timoney, former Philadelphia police commissioner, and Lopez, a 27-year veteran of the LAPD and current head of the Oxnard Police Department.

On Tuesday, supporters of Lopez reacted angrily the selection of Bratton, calling the process a slap in the face to the Latino community.

``We have sat on the sidelines very quietly and very patiently and very respectful, since 1850 for God's sake,'' said Al Ruvalcaba, a member of the Los Angeles Coalition for Chief of Police and former LAPD motorcycle officer ``We finally have a highly qualified (Latino) candidate. (He's) been a deputy chief here, chief somewhere else, but that's just never good enough.''

The coalition members were reacting to accounts in recent days of a meeting between the mayor and Bratton before the search process in which Bratton told the mayor he should be chief.

Hahn spokeswoman Julie Wong denied that there was any wrongdoing in the chief selection process, pointing out that Bratton has visited every part of the city and been welcomed by the diverse communities.