TIPOFF A SALUTE TO THOSE WHO KEEP THE OPPOSITION ON ITS TOES.

Byline: RICK ORLOV

It is, without doubt, the worst job on a political campaign.

Those whose job it is to stake out the opposition campaign at various public gatherings - from news conferences to rallies - are subjected to repeated abuse, laughed at and derided.

The job has a long history and is usually left to the youngest and greenest staff members to take on almost as a rite of passage - although some would compare it to hazing - before they move on to other political jobs.

What is involved in the job is basically finding out where your campaign opponent will be, show up with a tape recorder and try to be as invisible as possible - which is not easy in ongoing campaigns such as we have seen for mayor.

This year, for Mayor James Hahn, the sacrificial lamb has been Jeff Millman, who worked briefly in the mayor's press office before moving over to the campaign. Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa's main person has been Nathan James, who has double duty as a spokesman for the campaign.

Both have been collecting their share of stories that they will be able to pass on in future campaigns.

For Millman, one recent adventure involved a Villaraigosa aide picking up his tape recorder when the young campaign worker was off answering a cell phone call. The Villaraigosa aide, who was not identified, said some obscenities on the tape before shutting it off and returning it. Needless to say, a sense of humor is invaluable.

And, sometimes, quick thinking helps avert the opposition.

Villaraigosa volunteer advance man Michael Trujillo dug into his pocket recently to keep Hahn supporters hot and thirsty at a Los Angeles Valley College rally on a warm Saturday afternoon.

The event was for Villaraigosa to get an endorsement from Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.

But, when about 50 chanting Hahn demonstrators showed up, there was a visible angst among the councilman's supporters.

Rather than engage in the group handwringing, Trujillo took action.

Spotting a nearby vendor who was being surrounded by the Hahn supporters, Trujillo paid $300 to buy all the water and soda the vendor had available.

``It was hot out,'' Trujillo said. ``I figured it was better off going to our people.''

The Villaraigosa campaign also stalled the start of the event and then had almost every elected official on hand make remarks until the Hahn demonstrators tired and left the event.

For those folks still searching out information on the ballot, the city's LA36 cable channel has launched a ``Voter Minute'' series to provide information on television and the Internet.

``No single individual has more impact on our daily lives than our mayor, and we've tried to let people know as much as we can about the two men who are running,'' said Steve Grace, president of LA36.

There are six segments available hosted by Ken Bernstein of the Los Angeles Conservancy dealing with crime, traffic, jobs, housing, arts, culture and education.

In addition to being shown on the cable station, Internet users can access the information at www.la36.org.

Darroch ``Rocky'' Young might have made some points with his wife, but he clearly missed his Hollywood moment last week when he was named chancellor of the Los Angeles Community College District.

Asked the obligatory, ``So Mr. Young, now that you've been named chancellor, what are you going to do?'' Young passed on going to Disneyland.

``Kiss my wife,'' Young said.

Daily News Staff Writer Lisa M. Sodders contributed.

Rick Orlov, [phone]

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com