CANDIDATES CLASH OVER L.A. : MAYOR, HAYDEN SPLIT ON BUSINESS.

Byline: Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writer

Mayor Richard Riordan said the Los Angeles economy was ``on a roll,'' while mayoral challenger Sen. Tom Hayden said it was on the verge of bankruptcy as both candidates unveiled their economic agendas Wednesday to take the city into the 21st century.

Riordan, speaking to a breakfast meeting with Town Hall Los Angeles at the Hyatt Regency downtown, called for establishing city tax moratoriums in impoverished areas and the development of 15 multimedia academies at local schools.

He said the city had seen the creation of 20,000 new jobs in the past year and now has the lowest unemployment rate in the past six years.

``A year ago, I stood on the floor of the Pacific Coast Stock Exchange to declare that Los Angeles had turned the corner,'' Riordan said. ``Today, I stand here at Town Hall to declare Los Angeles is on a roll.''

Hayden, D-Los Angeles, at his Sherman Oaks satellite campaign office, countered that he believes the city is on the verge of bankruptcy because of Riordan's policies.

``Richard Riordan is looking through the rear-view mirror,'' Hayden said. ``In Richard Riordan's rear-view vision, Los Angeles is the center of a fast-paced, deal-making, mergers and acquisition world. We need investments in our city's future.''

Riordan, who is seeking his last term, touted his record in creating new jobs in the city and seeing the growth in the entertainment and tourism industries as well as the start-up of new forms.

The mayor said he will propose a five-year freeze on all city business taxes in disadvantaged areas of the city that are included in the federal empowerment zones, that include areas of Pacoima and South Central L.A., to augment federal tax credits in those areas and attract more jobs.

``Our collective job is to keep the economic engine humming, to plant the seeds for long-term growth, but to make sure it happens in every part of our city,'' Riordan said.

In addition, Riordan announced he was seeking to develop a partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District and private companies to create 15 multimedia academies at high schools and community colleges across the city.

Under the early draft of his proposal, the private firms would provide computers and help develop the curriculum, while the city would pay for the teachers to staff the academies to provide training for students in the growing field.

Hayden, for his part, disagreed with Riordan's proposal to create a tax-free zone, saying the revenues are needed for the city and the federal government already offers incentives for businesses in the creation of new jobs.

``The mayor has ignored a rising crisis of nonpayment of property taxes which threatens the city's budget solvency,'' Hayden said.

``Forty percent of the properties in Los Angeles are delinquent and the city has not been auditing for these,'' Hayden said. ``It amounts to $1.1 billion in the county, with most of that in the city.''

Hayden was referring to a recent report prepared for Riordan which said as much as 40 percent of businesses in the city aren't paying business taxes because of the complexity of the city's tax system and ineffective enforcement.

If elected mayor, Hayden said he would work to ensure that all property owners and businesses are found and forced to pay.