NEW CHARTER'S POWER PUTS ALL EYES ON MAYOR.

Byline: Rick Orlov Tipoff

One can almost imagine Mayor Richard Riordan walking around his eighth-floor offices, rubbing his hands together with glee in anticipation of the new powers he gets when the new City Charter takes effect July 1.

But a skeptical and antagonistic City Council vows to continue to watch what the mayor will do, and a former nemesis has appeared to also warn of the potential for cronyism and patronage when the mayor has the power to hire and fire all department heads.

Former City Administrative Officer Keith Comrie says he is particularly concerned that Riordan will try to keep information from the council and public, and is concerned about the effect on general mangers.

Riordan already has indicated he plans to move against Comrie's successor, Bill Fujioka, and there might be one or more others on his hit list.

Comrie says that is dangerous.

``Many general managers told me they would not have come to the city under the (new) system,'' Comrie told the Metro Investment Report. ``We should not put general managers . . . at the mercy of what's often a very inexperienced and unknowledgeable mayor's staff.''

On another front, however, the mayor chose to avoid a battle with the City Council with the release of his proposed $4.4 billion budget last week.

With the exception of his revival of a proposal to use tobacco lawsuit money for the Rampart Division scandal - a plan already rejected by the council - the mayor did not use the budget for any major policy change as he has done in the past.

``There will be some nibbling around the edges, but mostly it looks like a lame-duck budget,'' said one city official, pointing to it being Riordan's last year in office.

Also, since the mayor has included $30 million for Rampart lawsuit settlements this year, the council is not forced to act on the bonding of the tobacco money until later this year.

One figure expected to emerge as a major force in this year's budget is Councilman Mike Feuer, who along with other budget committee members found himself overshadowed in the past by former Councilman Richard Alatorre.

As he does with most things, Feuer is taking his job very seriously - meeting privately with other council members to determine what they want to see in what will be an election year budget. Feuer is running for City Attorney.

Watch out guys! Kathleen Connell is edging closer to the 2001 mayor's race.

The state controller is sending out strong signals about her growing closer to entering the race, which would make her the only well-known female candidate in a race of five men.

Connell held her own in a recent survey of voter preferences in a pack in which no one is considered a giant killer.

To further her effort, Connell has been holding a series of meetings with various community and opinion leaders - many from the San Fernando Valley - to get their assessment of her prospects.

She has told supporters she plans to make a decision this summer.

MEDIA WATCH: Less than a week after the commercials began, the Los Angeles Times has pulled ads in its latest advertising campaign that angered some feminists, Muslim groups and its own staff.

The commercials used a theme of ``Connecting to the Times,'' and featured bikini-clad women next to Muslim women and contrasted various other themes. A radio spot ran from an actress issuing thanks for an award and segued into an angry man blaming police for the shooting of his son.

Insisting they weren't bowing to pressure from the different groups, the Times issued a statement saying the ads had run their course. Posters on the side of buses continuing the theme will be replaced in about two weeks, officials said.