Riordan Names 2 Deputy Mayors to Complete Staff

Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan appointed a former Bill Clinton fund-raiser and an Eastside business owner as deputy mayors Thursday, filling out the top posts in his fledgling Administration.

The appointments of Mary Leslie as deputy mayor for economic development and Sofia Garcia-Conde Zuckerman as deputy mayor for finance and administration bring to six the number of deputy mayors reporting to Riordan.

Former Mayor Tom Bradley had just two deputy mayors, although his overall staff was larger.

Leslie, an official with the U.S. Small Business Administration and a fund-raiser for President Clinton during the 1992 campaign, will coordinate local business recruitment, retention and expansion. She fills a vacancy left by Al Villalobos, who resigned in December after six months on the job.

Riordan’s campaign pledge to invigorate the city’s business climate has emerged as one of his toughest tasks, complicated by the lingering recession and a large city budget deficit. Leslie will also use her Washington contacts to assist Riordan in his dealings with the federal government.

“Economic development is a critical area,” said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the nonprofit Economic Development Corp. of Los Angeles County. “It is not just luring big firms here, but it also means retaining your business base and helping existing entrepreneurs thrive.”

Zuckerman, a successful furniture store owner who supported Riordan during the campaign, becomes the highest-ranking Latino in the Administration. Four of Riordan’s six deputy mayors are women; African Americans, Latinos and gays are also represented.

Zuckerman, who was appointed by Riordan to the Recreation and Parks Commission last year, will advise the mayor on budgetary and fiscal matters and handle the paperwork routed through the mayor’s office from the City Council.

The increased staffing comes after a tumultuous period in which a handful of Riordan aides resigned or were asked to leave, a turnover that Riordan characterized as typical for a new organization.

“This pretty much rounds out the Administration,” William McCarley, Riordan’s chief of staff, said of the new appointments. “But that doesn’t mean that we won’t continue to evolve in the years ahead.”

Other staffing announcements include three new assistant deputy mayors: Reginald Jones-Sawyer, a city employee who was past president of the Los Angeles Assn. of Black Personnel; Caprice Young, a former aide at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority; and David Michaelson, an attorney and former aide to Los Angeles County Supervisor Ed Edelman.

In addition, Fidel Vargas, the 24-year-old mayor of Baldwin Park, will become a senior policy analyst for public safety, and Kimberly Dupree, an attorney, will join the mayor’s field staff in south and central Los Angeles.

Next week, a new press secretary will join the staff. Noelia Rodriguez, who had worked in the communications office of Southern California Edison, replaces Annette Castro, who became chief deputy to Councilman Richard Alarcon.