DEBATE SHOWCASES SIMILARITIES MAYORAL HOPEFULS PITCH EXPERIENCE.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

Mayoral candidates James Hahn and Antonio Villaraigosa offered their credentials to voters Tuesday with one saying he would bring experience and the other a passion to the job.

In their fourth debate leading up to the June 5 runoff election, the two pledged to increase services throughout the city and to work to ease congestion and offer better political representation in the San Fernando Valley.

Hahn offered his 16 years as city attorney and four as city controller as evidence of his preparation for the job.

``I can hit the ground running,'' Hahn said. ``I don't think people want someone who will have to learn on the job.''

Villaraigosa countered with his own experience as a state legislator and two years as speaker of the Assembly.

``I was up all night learning about style,'' Villaraigosa joked. ``I already have the substance.''

The debate before some 300 people at the Los Angeles Times and co- sponsored by radio station KPCC-FM (89.3), however, served to show where the two men agreed on most issues rather than their differences.

Both said they would give high priority to clearing up congestion at the 405-101 freeway interchange, with a look at various programs including car-pool lanes and other proposals recommended by both Caltrans engineers and residents.

Both also favor an east-west busway across the Valley along with the potential for a light-rail system.

``We have to listen to the people on what they want,'' Hahn said. ``A couple of years ago, they voted on this and said they wanted a monorail or a light-rail system along the freeway.''

Both also agreed the Valley should not be as divided as it is among so many City Council members, diffusing authority among seven different districts.

``I pledged that I would seek to have five City Council districts fully in the Valley and possibly a sixth with half of it in the Valley,'' Villaraigosa said.

Where there were differences, it was in the degree to which the two emphasized issues.

``To me, job No. 1 of the city is public safety,'' Hahn said, citing his efforts to control violence through injunctions against gangs and his proposal to hire 1,000 more police officers.

Villaraigosa said he also ranked crime as a top issue, but also would work to improve education by auditing the Los Angeles Unified School District annually to measure its performance.

Both said they would work with the LAUSD to build the new schools that are needed, even it if meant taking over some housing units - and replacing them on a one-for-one basis.

``It is a crying shame for us to have a situation where children have a school across the street from their home and they have to be bused to another school,'' Hahn said. ``This is a moral issue and we must say to people that NIMBYism is over.''

Villaraigosa was asked about his support of public schools when his children are in parochial school.

``I am committed to public education,'' he said. ``I am a product of public education. Judge me by the results after I am mayor.''