L.A. mayor's race signals new ethnic alliances

[ckramer]

Four years after he lost narrowly to current mayor James Hahn, polls show Mr. Villaraigosa poised to unseat Mr. Hahn and become the first Hispanic mayor of Los Angeles in 133 years. The reason, say analysts, is Villaraigosa's appeal to a broad array of races in America's most diverse city, aided in part by his opponent's failure to maintain the coalition that has swept mayors into office here for more than four decades. Villaraigosa's ascension and Hahn's demise may presage a social, demographic, and cultural shift that is significant for big-city politics nationwide.

"The old white, Jewish, and black coalitions of Los Angeles politics are being broken up as Hispanics and blacks are figuring out ways to share power," says Franklin Gilliam, a political scientist at UCLA. "Increasingly this is going to be the story of urban American from Miami to Atlanta to Washington, D.C., to Chicago and beyond. The old configurations appear to be shifting and Los Angeles is the latest signal."

Entering the final week of campaigning, Villaraigosa is leading in surveys by at least 11 points. The former state Assembly speaker and current Los Angeles city councilman is ahead of the mayor among whites, blacks, Latinos, moderates, liberals, Democrats, Jewish voters, and union members. He holds a double-digit lead among likely voters in every region of the city.

On key issues, most agree there is not a major difference between the two Democratic candidates. Both Hahn and Villaraigosa emphasize being more involved in local schools, reducing traffic and crime, and working to bring more jobs to the city.


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