One of Mayor’s Top Deputies to Step Down : City Hall: Jadine Nielsen calls the split harmonious, but some insiders say it hints at strife within Riordan’s inner circle.

In the first shake-up of Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan’s inner circle, Deputy Mayor Jadine Nielsen announced Tuesday that she will resign at the end of the week--just three months into the new Administration.

Nielsen, the city’s first Asian-American deputy mayor and one of Riordan’s closest aides, said her decision to leave the $99,639-a-year post was entirely her own and that she is leaving the mayor’s staff to have more time to pursue her interests in state and national politics.

Nielsen will continue to work with Riordan as an unpaid senior policy adviser and as a consultant to a recently established private committee that will advise the mayor on reorganization of city government.

“I’m really happy about this,” said Nielsen. “I see these new positions as giving me more access and more opportunity to do the issues I care about.”

Although a statement from Nielsen and Riordan described the resignation in purely positive terms, others familiar with the fledgling Administration said Nielsen has been unhappy ever since she was passed over this summer for the position of chief of staff.

That job went to William McCarley, the city’s chief legislative analyst, who was hired to bring a dose of insider’s knowledge of City Hall to an Administration weighted with newcomers.

As executive director of Riordan’s successful campaign to transform himself from neophyte politician to mayor, sources said, Nielsen felt she deserved to be named as the mayor’s top staff member.

“She tried to force the issue of who was in charge and she lost,” said one Administration source.

Nielsen denied that speculation, saying: “I’m a team player.”

And in her deputy mayor’s position she was paid $10,000 more a year than the four other deputy mayors because of the long list of responsibilities she was to handle. Principal among these were tracking the mayor’s proposals through the City Council and acting as a liaison with City Council members. She also directed Riordan’s schedule.

Nielsen said she decided to leave the mayor’s office because her position in charge of legislative and executive affairs centered on administrative duties. She said she hoped that her new part-time assignments will give her more time to pursue outside consulting on political issues.

“I wanted flexibility to do other things and this gives me that flexibility,” she said.

Said Councilwoman Laura Chick: “I’m shocked and disappointed because I felt positively toward her and felt she was really an asset to his staff.

Riordan’s office released a statement in which the mayor also said he regretted Nielsen’s departure but said he would continue “to rely on her advice and support.”

The mayor’s office made no announcement on Nielsen’s replacement.

In her new assignments, the 44-year-old San Francisco native will become the third unpaid senior policy adviser to Riordan and a part-time consultant to the newly formed Committee on Los Angeles. The committee, headed by UCLA management professor William Ouchi and funded by private corporate donations, will make non-binding recommendations to Riordan on how to reorganize city government.

“Not only will I be able to focus on issues facing Los Angeles, but in addition, I will also be able to pursue my interest in state and national issues,” Nielsen said.

Some knowledgeable sources have indicated that there were subtle strains in recent months between Nielsen and her allies and other powerful advisers around the mayor.

The differences involved style and execution, rather than significant policy disagreements, sources said. Nielsen was the highest ranking of several campaign staffers who joined the City Hall staff. She was closely associated with the mayor’s media office staff, which also was transplanted from the campaign.

Privately, some Riordan advisers have expressed dissatisfaction over the performance of the mayor’s City Hall political operation and the press office. Critics complain that while the mayor has gotten heavy exposure on television talk shows and at press conferences, his message has often been flat and repetitive. And they note that the mayor’s office seemed to have flubbed some early tests, including the ill-fated nomination of Latino activist Xavier Hermosillo to the city Fire Commission.

A hunt has been on quietly for some time to find a savvy political operative and communications director for the office--someone who could help guide the mayor through a series of battles ahead, including streamlining the bureaucracy and squeezing out funds to enlarge the police force.

A leading candidate for that job, who in essence would replace Neilsen, is Robin Kramer, sources said. A respected former City Council aide, Kramer is a registered lobbyist and consultant. She served as chief deputy to council member Richard Alatorre and former council member Bob Ronka before leaving City Hall. Kramer could not be reached for comment.

Replacing Nielsen, a City Hall newcomer, with Kramer could strengthen Riordan’s ability to move the mayor’s legislation through the temperamental and independent City Council, as well as help solidify McCarley’s power inside the office, sources said. McCarley, the former chief legislative analyst, and Kramer have worked together for years.

But some worried Tuesday that the departure of outsider Nielsen and the possible arrival of old hand Kramer might be a bad sign for Riordan’s agenda of change. “You don’t sack a person that got you here,” said one Nielsen ally. “It’s bureaucrats 1, reformers 0.”

A source close to Riordan countered: “Sometimes what happens is, the campaign people don’t turn out to be the best people to govern.”