Woo Draws New Fire From Opponents : Politics: Nava attacks the front-runner as being racially insensitive. Wachs, Holden also take shots.

After months of campaigning, Los Angeles Mayoral candidate Michael Woo is beginning to find that frontrunner status has its drawbacks.

This past week--at candidates’ forums and other campaign events--the 13th District councilman has been broadsided for his district’s problems and campaign practices. And the criticism was in plain view Thursday--a day that began with an attack from one rival and moved to an equally acrimonous luncheon debate.

In politically powerful West Los Angeles, home to rich contributors and a host of activists, Woo and six other top mayoral candidates jockeyed for support at a debate sponsored by the Westside Urban Forum, an association of builders, architects and others active in the real estate industry and land use issues.

During the 90-minute forum, Woo took several shots from his rivals before leaving to attend another event. His abrupt departure, though previously explained to the events’ organizers, led some at the event to speculate, privately, that Woo was unable to take the political heat.

Of that, there was plenty.

Early in the debate, when Woo said he--as mayor--would personally direct the city’s post-riot reconstruction, Councilman Joel Wachs attacked Woo’s ability to attend to his own district.

“My God, look at Hollywood. It’s a sewer,” Wachs told the audience. “That’s not what we need for the rest of the city.”

Later, Nate Holden said he and other council members recently chastised Woo for asking Police Chief Willie Williams to publicly outline his plans to protect the city at the end of two highly charged trials: the beating of Rodney G. King beating by four police officers and the trial of those charged with assaulting trucker Reginald Denny.

Likening Woo’s action to disclosing military strategy in a war, Holden said Woo may not have understood the potential damage of his request because he never served in the miltary. “I think he was one of the guys who refused to go,” Holden said in a statement that drew groans of disapproval from the crowd.

Interestingly, the shots at Woo by his rivals almost overshadowed the fact that he did not fare as well at the debate--at least based on applause--as several other candidates, among them businessman Nick Patsaouras, Assemblyman Richard Katz, and Councilman Wachs.

At a West Hills candidates’ forum Wednesday, Woo’s rivals also sniped at his lucrative campaign fund-raising, suggesting his practices have been less than honorable.

Woo, who did not attend the Temple Aliyat debate, disclosed this week that his campaign had collected $887,000, making him by far the most successful fund-raiser in the crowded 52-candidate field.

Multi-millionaire attorney Richard Riordan began the bashing by reminding the audience that Woo has requested $333,500 in public funds to subsidize his campaign.

Nor could Holden resist a few digs. He suggested that it has been improper for Woo to be soliciting campaign contributions from people in other cities who have no stake in Los Angeles. He referred to Woo’s raising money from Asian-American communities around the country.

Times staff Writer Greg Krikorian contributed to this story.