Mediator Mystery.

Assemblyman Herb Wesson, D-Los Angeles, has shed some light on one of the lingering mysteries surrounding the recent MTA strike: his role as mediator. On Sept. 23, Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg appointed Wesson as "an impartial fact-finder," or mediator, in the already-lengthy impasse. But, after an initial flurry of media appearances that weekend, Wesson dropped from sight; as the weeks dragged on, he was forgotten as the principals staked out their positions publicly.

Contrast that with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who came in a month later and successfully mediated a settlement within a few days.

Wesson said that he spent his first two days just trying to identify and understand the stumbling blocks in the negotiations. And then, he said, he committed a crucial mistake: He chose to negotiate with MTA players at the negotiating table rather than MTA ho board members themselves.

"I should have picked up the phone and called (County Supervisor) Don Knabe or (County Supervisor) Zev Yaroslavsky, instead of dealing with the MTA's negotiating team," he said. "They were the ones who actually were making the decisions."

Once he saw he wasn't getting anywhere, he decided to "take a back seat," as he put it.

But some outside observers suggest another reason for Wesson's lack of success: Before he won election to the Assembly in 1998, he was chief of staff for County Supervisor Yvonne Braithwaite Burke, who is now chair of the MTA. His appointment as mediator reportedly incensed union negotiators, who did not see him as an impartial player.