RIORDAN HAS CLOUT, BUT IT'S NOT ALL POLITICAL.

Byline: Rick Orlov Tipoff

Tuesday's election provided a mixed bag of results for the Los Angeles County labor unions and for our own mayor, Richard Riordan.

Riordan may decide next time to stick with Republicans rather than cross over to support Democrats, such as Assemblyman Wally Knox, who was trounced by Assemblywoman Shelia Kuehl for the state Senate, and his backing of Amanda Susskind for the Assembly.

While Riordan made those annoying computerized telephone messages for the two campaigns, he didn't make much of a monetary investment - unlike his effort last year to change the school board.

``What it shows is the mayor's power is really with his wallet and not with his political influence in the city,'' one close observer said.

As for the unions, they won their No. 1 targeted race with the victory of state Sen. Hilda Solis over Rep. Marty Martinez, and their second target of Councilwoman Jackie Goldbergg for the state Assembly.

But they lost in the state Senate race for the Burbank-Pasadena area when Assemblyman Jack Scott beat back the labor choice of Assemblyman Scott Wildman for the Democratic nomination.

NOW THAT THE SHOUTING is all but over in the presidential race, California Republicans are looking to see if presumptive nominee George W. Bush will follow through on pledges to campaign hard in the state.

In the last two presidential campaigns - one by Bush's father and the other by former Sen. Bob Dole - California received lip service but no real focused effort. As a result, the state went for President Clinton on both occasions.

And to hear Bush's campaign folks talk, they might be making the same mistake.

At a recent breakfast with Los Angeles political reporters, Bush's top strategist, Karl Rove, said Republicans can recapture the White House without California, while Democrats must win the state to be victorious.

And he also claimed that Californians and Texans have a lot in common. Except, he acknowledged, on issues such as abortion rights, gun control and the environment.

Still, Rove insisted Bush would be campaigning hard in California for its 54 electoral votes.

``Forty percent of the electoral vote is in California, Texas and Florida,'' Rove said. ``We will be campaigning in California.''

NEVER ONE TO MISS AN OPPORTUNITY for attention, Gov. Gray Davis is looking to get the credit for a smog refund fee that will be going to 1.7 million California drivers. And, in the process, he is getting back at a longtime rival.

Davis is seeking legislation that would make the refunds come from the Department of Motor Vehicles - under the executive office - instead of coming from the state Controller's Office, Copley News Service reports.

Such a measure would allow Davis to put his name on the $300-plus checks being sent out, bringing to mind a similar effort he made when he was controller sending out income tax rebates with a letter to the lucky taxpayers.

State Controller Kathleen Connell, who has long been a Democratic rival to Davis and is said to be considering a run for Los Angeles mayor next year, has said through aides she will not fight the governor on the issue.

``We don't have a problem with this,'' spokesman Byron Tucker said. ``Whatever it takes to expedite the process, she's all for it.''

WHAT, YOU ASK, COULD POSSIBLY BRING Mr. Republican, Bert Boeckmann, to have brunch with Eli Broad and Ron Burkle, the city's two richest Democrats? And at Burkle's home, no less.

It's for the Los Angeles Police Foundation, formed by Police Chief Bernard Parks, to supplement his department's $1.1 billion budget for equipment he is otherwise not able to afford.

The brunch, to be held next Sunday, is expected to bring in $400,000 for the foundation, which last year provided emergency medical trauma kits for each officer and also purchased 14 new bomb blankets.

Programs for the coming year include the purchase of more safety equipment as well as some funding for youth programs.

Others scheduled to be at the affair include actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver; developer Ed Roski; media mogul Jerrold Perenchio; and a host of City Hall insiders.