\”He\’s a soul mate in terms of environmental sensitivity and good government,\” said Dave Freeman, about mayoral candidate Antonio Villaraigosa. Freeman, former head of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP), paused for just a moment, then continued in his Southern accent, \”I just think he has the ability to advance an agenda more focused on what I consider Jewish values.\”
Who\’s the big winner in Tuesday\’s Los Angeles mayoral election? My bet is real estate developer Steve Soboroff. James Kenneth Hahn may be an old-line Democrat, but he benefited mightily from the silence maintained by the wealthy Republican businessman, who had come in third in the April primary.
While the Jewish vote apparently split down the middle in James K. Hahn\’s victory over Antonio Villaraigosa in the contest for mayor, there was bad news and good news for Jewish candidates in other races.
Those of us with a sense of Los Angeles history approach the June 5 election with trepidation. No one wants a repeat of the first Sam Yorty/Tom Bradley race in 1969, with its bitter overlay of race-baiting. That\’s one reason why throughout most of the campaign the candidates have wisely lowered their rhetoric, stressing their similarities rather than differences. As Los Angelenos consider picking the first Latino mayor in the modern era, Tuesday\’s election, pitting former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa against City Attorney James Hahn, already has, if anything, too much historic significance.
With the mayoral election less than three weeks away, the Jewish vote is ready for its closeup.
Assemblyman Robert Hertzberg strides through his district offices at a pace usually reserved for a commuter late to catch and early morning flight to Sacramento — a situation with which the busy politician is all too familiar. Here, within the confines of his home turf, his energy bounces off the walls, only slightly contained by his gracious manner.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.