Alatorre Finds Some Real Power Outside City Hall

While everyone else in Los Angeles is running for mayor, one politician has his eye on the real prize.

Councilman Richard Alatorre isn’t demeaning himself by egging contributors for money. Nor does he have to elbow his way through the crowd of mayoral contenders to find a seat at candidates’ debates.

Why should he? On Thursday, he is expected to be named chairman of the board in charge of the new Metropolitan Transit Authority, the super-agency that will be building and running the region’s $183-billion, 400-mile rail and bus network, scheduled to be completed in 30 years.

All of this spending will be under the control of MTA board members, who are county supervisors and council members from Los Angeles and smaller cities.

Think of the contracts they’ll award, worth billions of dollars for construction, trains, computers and the rest of the hardware needed for a train system that will stretch from the coast to the Inland Empire.

And think of the campaign contributions they’ll receive from grateful equipment manufacturers, builders, lawyers and consultants.

It’s the gold rush of local politics. And Alatorre, if he becomes chairman, will be a dominant figure. Long known as the power broker of L.A.’s barrio, Richard Alatorre is on his way to being one of the biggest power brokers in the entire Southland.

Alatorre, a Los Angeles city councilman since 1985, is easy to spot at council sessions.

He’s a slender man of 49 who likes to wear expensive Italian-cut suits. You can see him slumped deep in his chair at the right-hand corner of the horseshoe arrangement of council desks. He often looks bored. As his colleagues drone on, he breaks the tedium by reading the papers, making phone calls and offering an occasional profane observation to the reporters sitting nearby.

A few years ago, Alatorre was thinking of running for mayor or county supervisor. But his rival in Latino politics, Gloria Molina, eclipsed him in the battle for public attention. Alatorre might have been the master of back room politics, but Molina became the star of local television political news. While Molina was elected supervisor, and considered running for mayor, Alatorre faded from public attention.

Public attention, however, is fickle and not the true gauge of what’s really happening.

Opportunity lay several blocks from City Hall, in the headquarters of the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission.

For most of the ‘80s, this agency was in charge of building the rail network. Local tax increases swelled the commission treasury and its importance grew. The town’s biggest lobbyists began showing up at meetings, representing companies bidding for contracts.

Despite the riches, transit administration was a mess. The commission feuded with the Southern California Rapid Transit District, which operates buses and trains. It was more than just bureaucratic rivalry. The RTD wanted more money for its bus lines, which serve the inner-city poor. The commission tilted toward the more affluent suburbs.

The stalemate was broken when Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) pushed through legislation merging the transportation commission and the rapid transit district into the Metropolitan Transit Authority. That’s when Alatorre, who had been appointed to the transportation commission and the RTD board by Mayor Tom Bradley, moved in.

Alatorre became chairman of the committee implementing the merger. Then, by 4-3 vote, he got his old political mentor, attorney Walter Karabian, hired as merger adviser, or “facilitator.” Karabian presumably wrote the fine print that will govern the new agency.

Alatorre and Karabian have been friends since Alatorre was in college. Karabian was then a young assemblyman from Monterey Park with a talent for raising large contributions from land developers. He hired Alatorre and taught him about money and politics.

The combination of Karabian’s fine print and Alatorre’s political skill will shape the new agency. No doubt Alatorre will use his power to bring in campaign funds for himself and his supporters, thus extending his political power.

That is not the end of his agenda. Like the old political boss, Alatorre takes care of his constituents. Look for better bus service and safer buses in East and South L.A. and in the poor parts of the San Fernando Valley. “My agenda is very simple,” he told me. “Transit dependent people in the inner city have been neglected.”

And the MTA, he said, will “open up opportunities for small businesses owned by Latinos, blacks and women.” Bet on these small firms being owned by Alatorre supporters.

Let others run for mayor. Richard Alatorre has found there’s more money and power outside of City Hall.