Silence of Foes Golden for Woo in Mayoral Race

So far, Councilman Michael Woo has had the luxury of a free ride in the mayor’s race.

He’s raised $887,000 but has spent hardly any of it. His opponents have been so preoccupied with getting their acts together that Woo has been able to act as if they don’t exist.

The latest Times Poll explains why. He’s the first choice of 20% of those polled, far ahead of second place Councilman Joel Wachs, who has just 8%. Moreover, Woo is the best known.

That’s why the other contenders have been spending more time building themselves up than tearing Woo down. Their attacks won’t amount to much if nobody knows them.

But if they wait too long, it’ll be too late. The primary is April 20 and the runoff is in June. If the top contenders and their expensive campaign advisers don’t move quickly, Woo will be occupying the mayor’s office, and they’ll be left with nothing but regrets.

It’s none of my business, but if they’re interested, I have some cheap advice--as inexpensive as this newspaper--about how to campaign against Mike Woo so he’ll really squirm.

First, there’s the remodeled house.

Woo lives in a lovely hillside house in Silver Lake. Finding it too small, he remodeled last year, doubling the size of the home. No story there except that . . ..

Beginning in 1989, Woo has been a strong advocate of a law passed recently that mandates strict and costly construction restrictions on homes being built or remodeled on the hillsides. One of the provisions requires extra parking spaces to eliminate curbside parking that blocks firetrucks. Another section requires houses to be set back so narrow streets can be widened.

While pushing for this restriction, Woo began work on his addition. He did not install the three parking places the ordinances would have required. And, contrary to the proposed ordinance, his remodeled house nudged to a few feet of the curb.

I understand that friends, noting his forthcoming mayoral campaign, advised him that his remodel ought to comply with the provisions of the proposed law, even though the ordinance had not yet passed. But Woo pressed ahead.

You can visualize the commercial: “He Won’t Even Obey His Own Law.”

Second, there’s the fund raising.

Woo is a wonder at it. That’s why he’s ahead of his opponents in this crucial aspect of campaigning.

But those who are good at that questionable side of politics let themselves in for a lot of trouble.

For example, some light was shed on Woo’s fund-raising head start by a recent story in the Daily News.

There are strict limits on the amounts of mayoral contributions, and when they can be accepted. Woo, the council’s strongest backer of political reform legislation, portrays himself as the father of this law.

Not covered by the law is another fund, a City Council officeholders’ account, usually spent for newsletters and holiday cards. Woo, the paper reported, used the officeholders’ account to pay for his flights to meet potential contributors and other activities helpful to his mayoral campaign.

Woo said it was legal. But I can see the commercial: “He Can’t Even Obey His Own Law.”

The Times Poll indicates this line of attack would be most effective in a section of town important to a liberal Democrat such as Woo, the Westside.

Though Woo is leading on the Westside, the poll shows his support is far weaker there than in other parts of town. He had the support of 14% of Westside poll respondents, compared to 30% or more in African-American neighborhoods, where his anti-Daryl Gates stand has made him popular.

And the Westside has changed since the civil rights movement days.

Political hanky-panky is what makes today’s Westsiders mad. A total of 42% of the Westsiders polled said honesty was the characteristic they’d most like to see in the next mayor. That was higher than in other parts of the city, not surprising to anyone who has watched the very mention of developers and their campaign contributions draw instant boos at Westside homeowners meetings.

The poll also offers considerable comfort to Woo. His multiethnic, bring-us-together campaign may be perfect for L.A. Those polled said they would prefer a “fair” mayor to a “tough” one by a 54% to 39% margin.

“Will I be shocked if the race starts moving around?” said Vicky Rideout, Woo’s campaign manager. “No, I won’t be. If some candidate puts his money into tearing him (Woo) down, I expect the numbers to move. But people know Mike Woo. They know his strengths and they know his weaknesses, and they are choosing to support him. He stands for something positive and that is a start from a position of strength.”