RIORDAN SHARES HIS VISION OF L.A.; Q&A.

Byline: Rick Orlov

SINCE his election as the city's 38th mayor four years ago, Richard J. Riordan has changed the face and scope of Los Angeles government with a businessman's approach to government operations.

With an emphasis on fighting crime, Riordan has overseen the largest buildup in the history of the Los Angeles Police Department to where it now stands with a record 9,500 sworn officers.

At the same time, he has struggled with the City Council to enact many of his more far-reaching proposals to make the city friendlier to the public and business.

On Monday, Riordan will be inaugurated for his second and last four-year term. Last week, he met with the Daily News to discuss the city's problems and his plans.

DAILY NEWS: What are the main issues you plan to address during your second term?

RIORDAN: The main issues are safety and education, education and safety. These are the two that keep middle-class people in the city, attract business to the city, that give economically disadvantaged people with an education access to the middle class.

If you look to the next five years, Los Angeles looks great. But if you're looking 25-30 years out, if you don't solve the education problem, we're going to have so many have-nots, who out of hopelessness become gang members, criminals, etc. And we're not going to have the skilled work force to attract the high-tech businesses of the future.

DN: There is a sense among many that the city and government have declared war on the middle class.

RIORDAN: Absolutely. It's not ``white flight'' that's the problem; it's middle-class flight.

That's where the two factors that affect them are safety and education. If you're a middle-class person, you can't afford to spend $5,000 or $10,000 after taxes to put your kids in private schools (each year) and you don't want to send them to public schools unless it's a magnet, and even those aren't that great.

DN: Since the school district has its own political mandate, what can the mayor and city do to change its operation?

RIORDAN: I think the problems the city and the school system face are seamless. We have to work together. I'm working closely with (new Superintendent Ruben Zacarias) and some board members.

We have a task force that we've put together to build small schools with modular housing to ease the overcrowding and the busing, and we have other projects we're talking about.

And I think also, if there's one legacy I want to leave, it's to have the governance system in the city, the MTA and the school district that is capable of putting politics out of decisions and being goal-oriented - whether it is better education, a more efficient city with better services or a transportation system. When politics gets involved, very little gets done.

DN: How do you take politics out of boards with elected officials?

RIORDAN: You have to leave behind a system that takes politics out of it. This is happening in other areas. Right now, I'm working in Sacramento on a bill to restructure the MTA board to take the politicians off it.

DN: And the City Council?

RIORDAN: I think you do a lot by clearly delineating the executive and legislative functions of the city. That's through charter reform.

DN: Since the election, where candidates backed by the city unions defeated your slate, there has been a concern that you have abandoned charter reform as a major issue.

RIORDAN: I'm working on it every day. I've had lots of meetings with the unions and others. I don't feel that I've abandoned it.

Obviously, the unions were paranoid at first. They had a right to be because they probably pictured having a number of right-wing ideologues who were going to take away civil service protections. Never for a second did I consider that. You would disjoint the city if you had unions and businesspeople fighting over that.

What we need is a charter that works, but one that protects the rights of unions and other workers. I've been that way from the beginning. It's in their interest to have an efficient government as well as everyone else's.

DN: Since any new charter would not affect your powers, how do you plan to deal with the council over the next four years?

RIORDAN: We've worked with the council infinitely better than some council members indicate. Ninety-eight percent of what you do is working on projects, and we work very well with them on that.

DN: But that 2 percent?

RIORDAN: Certainly that's there. It is tough. There are always going to be some differences.

DN: You say you also plan to deal more with public safety. What are your plans for the coming year?

RIORDAN: To implement the resources infinitely better. Basically it means putting power and accountability down at the station and division level; having police officers accountable to their captains, and captains to command staff; looking at the number of arrests; dealing with quality-of-life crimes; and through the new police chief implementing strategies that put in effect a sophisticated system of accountability.

DN: Do you have any specific plans for the San Fernando Valley to deal with the sense that it is not getting its fair share?

RIORDAN: First of all, to become much more inclusive of the Valley. Our economic development team is working much more with people in the Valley. We are looking to do a smarter job on using resources to repair streets, traffic lights and all the basic things in the Valley. The thing I'm most dedicated to is getting a transit system in the Valley that works.

DN: With all the problems facing the city, is it in crisis?

RIORDAN: The city is infinitely better off. When I took over, the city was at a low point in its confidence. I think the city has tremendous confidence today.

If you had to look at a turning point, it would be the Northridge Earthquake, the largest national disaster in the history of the country. The fact that we came back so quickly and so well, ironically, is a turning point in our confidence. We were back further in six months than San Francisco was in six years.

DN: Was it a turning point for you as well?

RIORDAN: It's hard to say. In a way of giving me confidence, I've always been good in emergency situations. Having been in a strange business and realizing I could put all my talents to work in a complicated situation like this gave me a lot more confidence in myself to be a leader.

DN: Now that you've served one term, is there a difference in how you look at your job and the city?

RIORDAN: I don't just intellectually see the problems now. I feel them. I smell them. I hear them. I have my hands around the problems. I may not have all the solutions, but I know what the problems are.

DN: You only have one term left. Does that make you feel forced to rush action?

RIORDAN: It seems like a long time. Look at what we've done in the last four years. We've had a lot of things going on. I think we will celebrated (for) what we have done.

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Photo

Photo: Mayor Richard Riordan speaks Thursday at a going-away party at the City Hall rotunda for Councilman Marvin Braude.

Gus Ruelas/Daily News