A View of Public, Private Way the Mayor Governs

As Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan digs into his second term, he presides over two administrations: an official staff that has amassed a generally successful record despite high turnover and an intensely loyal private cabinet that gives the mayor his most valued counsel while fueling suspicion about the way he wields power.

The result is a double-edged style of governance that makes Riordan a rarity among mayors and, indeed, among politicians generally. It accounts for some of his notable successes at the same time it helps explain his often poor relations with the City Council, where many members are wary of what to them is the mayor’s mysterious power base--as influential as it is unaccountable.

And it reflects an administration whose emphasis is solidly on results over process, an emphasis that can irritate political insiders and one that is neatly summarized by a favorite Riordan axiom: “It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.”

In the traditional administration, Riordan’s most trusted aides are reasonably well known, drawn from the public and private sectors and charged with translating his business-based vision into coherent policy.

At the center of this administration are four women. Chief of Staff Robin Kramer is an articulate, intelligent fixture at Los Angeles City Hall. Deputy Mayors Kelly M. Martin and Stephanie A. Bradfield provide Riordan with increasingly influential policy and political expertise. Press Secretary Noelia Rodriguez shadows Riordan around town, steering him clear of minefields and helping draft his public statements.

This public administration has seen its share of turnover, for reasons ranging from clashes within the bureaucracy to pursuit of new opportunities. Kramer is Riordan’s third chief of staff in less than five years. Three deputy mayors have departed in the last three months. Martin and Bradfield are relatively recent arrivals, and Riordan’s first paid staffer recently left for a job in the private sector.

By contrast, the private cabinet is, with one recent exception, rock-solid stable.

In this administration, Riordan’s insiders are predominantly executives, but also educators, labor leaders and others. They are mostly but not exclusively men--and most of them are wealthy. Most are less visible than the City Hall aides, but many consider them even more influential.

There is Eli Broad, a multimillionaire businessman whom Riordan tapped to head the fund-raising efforts for Disney Hall and who is a social friend of both Riordan and the mayor’s companion, Nancy Daly.

There is Bill Dahl, a member of the Airport Commission whose judgment Riordan relies upon, and Bruce Karatz, another social friend and leading builder who raised millions of dollars for Los Angeles Police Department computers at Riordan’s request. There are criminologist James Q. Wilson, developer Steven Soboroff and resort investor Bob Lowe, all of whom the mayor consults on matters related to their far-flung specialties.

And above all there is William Wardlaw, the feared and respected lawyer/businessman whose devotion to the mayor is unbounded and who acts as unofficial chief of staff to the unofficial Riordan administration.

Wardlaw, echoing a sentiment often expressed by members of Riordan’s inner circle, credits the mayor with reaching out to business executives and others as he engages talented people in the business of running Los Angeles.

“He has the ability to reach out and find the right people to solve problems,” Wardlaw said, specifically citing Broad. “To be able to tap that kind of talent on behalf of the city is phenomenal.”

A Broad, Varied Network

Riordan’s unofficial cabinet--where turnover is almost nonexistent, where deals are done in private and where politicians are conspicuously absent--anchors a broad network of Riordan friends and associates whose members can expect phone calls at almost any time of day from the restless mayor.

“If I have any brilliance in life, it’s through having networked in a billion ways,” said Riordan. “When I’m working on a problem, a name will pop into my head. I’ll call that person up.”

Education leaders across the country are regularly sought out by Riordan for advice on schools and children, topics that increasingly captivate the city’s chief executive even though he has no direct authority in that area. Until her recent death, Helen Bernstein was a close and trusted confidant. Riordan’s new education advisor, Ted Mitchell, has begun to fill the void that Bernstein’s death left, according to various aides to the mayor.

As other issues arise, Riordan’s pool of advisors is constantly shifting.

The mayor consulted with USC professor Susan Estrich as he weighed his position on the state initiative to curtail affirmative action. He regularly talked with Jim Wood, the county’s longtime labor leader who died recently, on issues involving workers and politics; more recently, Riordan has turned to Miguel Contreras, who heads the county labor federation, seeking Contreras’ ideas and trying to assure him that the venture capitalist mayor is in fact friendly to organized labor.

On legal questions, he has corralled the help and advice of Judges Harry Pregerson and Manuel Real, as well as prominent local lawyer Gil Ray, who also heads the board of the city’s Community Development Bank. When he is puzzling over politics, Riordan occasionally reaches out to City Council President John Ferraro, as well as to a trio of ideologically diverse members of Congress, Los Angeles Democrats Yvonne Brathwaite Burke and Julian C. Dixon and Covina Republican David Dreier.

Donna Tuttle, who heads the Private Industry Council, has helped shape Riordan’s thinking on youth employment and job training, while developer Marshall Ezralow has offered advice on how to approach problems involving vacant and troubled downtown buildings.

But while that network gives Riordan a deep well of support and counsel, it also can rankle others, some of whom complain that the kitchen cabinet wields huge influence without any public accountability.

“That’s always a fear,” said Ferraro. “You don’t know what relationships they might have with a vendor or a contractor and someone else with city business.”

Others are more blunt, but less willing to be publicly identified. “Who are these people and what do they want?” one local political observer asked. “We know they have great sway with the mayor, but no one knows what their interests are.”

Kramer, Riordan’s chief of staff, dismissed many of those criticisms and argued that the mayor’s many advisors provide him and his staff with “not only ballast but also reality therapy.”

Friends, Supporters Praise Mayor

Still, Kramer conceded that it can be difficult to juggle the demands of the official administration she helps to oversee with the informal one her boss also relies upon.

“Is that frustrating?” she asked rhetorically, pausing to ponder the question. “In the aggregate, it makes the work much more interesting.”

Riordan’s other de facto chief of staff, Wardlaw, was quick to acknowledge that the mayor’s close circle of associates occasionally causes skeptics to question what motivates their fealty to Riordan.

“In theory, relationships with the mayor could be abused by people, but the mayor has a record of just the opposite,” Wardlaw said. “When you look at the benefits that this guy brings by drawing all these people into government, it so outweighs any potential downside.”

After all, Wardlaw and others said, the kitchen cabinet has spearheaded the drive to build a new music hall and a new downtown sports arena. The same advisors boosted the Los Angeles Police Department’s technological abilities when the city government could not find the resources. They have helped shape Riordan’s views on issues as disparate as immigration, labor relations and community policing.

Moreover, Wardlaw stressed that the very thing that binds many of Riordan’s associates to him--fierce loyalty--discourages those associates from trying to capitalize on their influence.

Indeed, Riordan inspires near-legendary support among many friends and associates. Broad compares Riordan to “the 101st Airborne” for his willingness to move quickly on problems. Karatz calls him a vital catalyst for change and unification of the city’s disparate business community. Wilson praises his ability to listen and engage in debate. And Wardlaw describes Riordan with reverence approaching awe.

“His basic humanity is extraordinary,” Wardlaw said. “He will never change.”

Still, occasionally a Riordan loyalist strays. The results can be jarring.

Michael Keeley, a longtime admirer of the mayor, left the Riordan administration in 1996 after a controversy erupted regarding his handling of confidential city documents. Keeley had fought to stay in his job, and was stung by the administration’s decision to seek his resignation. Typically, that message was delivered by Wardlaw, not Riordan, sources said.

Keeley nevertheless stayed close to Riordan until recently, when, unbeknown to the mayor, the former aide agreed to advise City Councilman Joel Wachs on his campaign to force public votes on proposed sports stadiums--a notion Riordan strongly opposes. Riordan wrote Keeley a testy letter; Keeley snapped back with a combative retort.

They have not spoken since.

Among those who view Riordan’s kitchen cabinet with skepticism, some say his advisors have tended to distract the mayor with random suggestions. Others accuse the outside cabinet of lacking the political savvy to appreciate how their ideas will be received inside Los Angeles government.

In fact, one of the politicians Riordan most trusts, Ferraro, commends the mayor for reaching outside the government for advice but says Riordan has not always been well served by it. “I also would like to point out that the city is not a business,” Ferraro said. “Sometimes, these people don’t quite understand that.”

State Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles), whose dogged mayoral campaign infuriated some people close to the mayor but barely dented Riordan at the polls, consistently called attention to what he called Riordan’s closed-door leadership style. According to Hayden, the mayor’s approach excludes too many residents and relies too heavily on the perspectives of well-to-do businessmen.

That accusation rankles Riordan, who counters by complaining that too many city problems go unsolved because so many people are more interested in getting credit than taking action.

Wardlaw agrees, and argues that the complaints about Riordan’s style of governing and about those in his inner circle are largely irrelevant to the public.

“We’re at a point in our history where the people of Los Angeles are tired of process,” he said. “What they really want is solutions.”

More recently, the issue of public accountability has arisen in the debate over how to fund the elected charter commission, a group of citizens whose job is to rewrite the City Charter. Riordan had promised to arrange funding for the elected commission, but the original offer of money came from a group whose contributors were unidentified.

The City Council demanded names, holding up the process for weeks until a group of donors eventually allowed their identities to be released.

Erwin Chemerinksy, a USC law professor who heads the elected commission, credited Riordan with seeing that the names were disclosed and the money released. But he agreed that the controversy highlighted some of the concerns about a style of leadership that sometimes favors working behind the scenes.

“We have very strict rules to make sure that government is conducted in public,” Chemerinksy said. “The concern is that whenever decisions are made in private, then all the benefits of openness are lost. And the perception can be as bad as the reality. If the perception is that there is secret government, that taints everything the government does.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The Mayor’s Counsel

Here are profiles of Mayor Richard Riordan’s closest advisors, including key members of his City Hall staff and the trusted friends who make up his “kitchen cabinet.”

OFFICIAL ADMINISTRATION

Robin Kramer

Chief of Staff

Articulate, poised and experienced, Kramer brought Riordan instant City Hall credibility when she was appointed to the chief of staff post in 1995, following two short stints by Riordan’s previous picks for his top administrative job. She calmed some of the early turmoil of the administration, but now some council members and their staffs complain that she is too remote from the city’s top legislative body. A former aide to Councilman Richard Alatorre, Kramer has tremendous sway with the mayor, consulting and advising him on nearly every aspect of his administration.

*

Stephanie Bradfield

Deputy Mayor

A veteran of both the public and private sectors, Bradfield joined the Riordan administration in 1996. She is responsible for community and government affairs, and in that capacity often is the mayor’s point person on council relations. That puts her at the center of many of the city’s most hotly contentious issues, and she has both strong allies and critics among council members and their aides.

*

Kelly M. Martin

Deputy Mayor

Martin is a former partner at Riordan & McKinzie, where she specialized in corporate finance, and a vice president of a computer software company. She came to Riordan’s staff in January and has emerged as one of Riordan’s most trusted policy advisors. Martin now oversees the mayor’s strategic priorities and city operations. Associates of the mayor say Martin has long impressed Riordan and recently has become a vital member of his planning and operations staff.

*

Noelia Rodriguez

Press Secretary

Formerly of Southern California Edison, Rodriguez came to the Riordan administration in 1994. Rodriguez took a leave of absence from the government earlier this year to join Riordan in his reelection campaign, where she served as communications director, helping Riordan draft public statements, fending off reporters and wading through interview requests. Although Rodriguez is not formally included in some administration policy debates, the mayor often consults her and cites her advice as important to him on a range of issues, not just press matters.

****

UNOFFICIAL ADMINISTRATION

William Wardlaw

General Partner, Freeman Spogli and Co.

Wardlaw is Riordan’s closest friend and associate. A longtime behind-the-scenes powerhouse in Democratic Party circles, Wardlaw helped persuade Riordan to run for mayor, then managed the effort that landed his former boss in the city’s top job. Wardlaw is married to U.S. District Judge Kim Wardlaw, who delivered the oath of office when Riordan was sworn in for a second term. Asked to describe Bill Wardlaw, the mayor once answered: “He is my best friend. He is someone who would die for me. He is somebody who would never mislead me, somebody who has no agenda other than his friendship--a rare commodity.”

*

Eli Broad

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, SunAmerica

Broad, who founded the home-building firm of Kaufman & Broad, is one of the city’s wealthiest and increasingly influential corporate citizens. At Riordan’s request, Broad chairs the group that is raising money for a new downtown music center. Broad and his wife, Edythe, are social friends of Riordan and his companion, Nancy Daly.

*

Bruce Karatz

Chief Executive Officer, Kaufman & Broad

Karatz runs one of the region’s most successful development companies and, like Broad, is someone Riordan has turned to with a major project. In Karatz’s case, that was the Mayor’s Alliance, which collected millions of dollars worth of new technology for the LAPD. Karatz also is a personal friend of Riordan and frequently sees him socially.

*

James Q. Wilson

Author, UCLA Professor

Arguably the most important scholar on policing and criminal behavior, Wilson is among the nation’s most recognized political philosophers. He met Riordan as the then-venture capitalist was contemplating his first campaign for political office. Wilson is a member of Riordan’s book group, and though Wilson’s writing has profoundly influenced Riordan’s thoughts on policing, the mayor regularly seeks out Wilson’s advice on issues beyond law enforcement.

*

Steven Soboroff

President, Soboroff Partners

Unlike the others in Riordan’s unofficial cabinet, Soboroff keeps an office at City Hall, where he works as a special advisor to the mayor, advising him on a wide variety of topics. Soboroff runs a retail real estate consulting firm called Soboroff Partners and is Riordan’s point man on the negotiations for a downtown sports arena. Gregarious and devoted to the mayor’s style of problem solving, Soboroff helped pull together the Alameda Corridor construction project and is widely considered a possible candidate for mayor in 2001.

*

Robert J. Lowe

Real Estate Executive, President of Lowe Enterprises

A Southern California native who built a resort empire that stretches from Colorado ski areas to Hawaiian condominiums to a golf course in Palm Springs, Lowe is a wealthy and respected businessman. His relationship with Riordan dates back to Riordan’s days as a lawyer and venture capitalist. After being elected, Riordan tapped Lowe’s wife, Beth, to serve on the city’s Fire Commission, and Bob Lowe heads the New Los Angeles Marketing Partnership, which promotes Los Angeles to the world. Lowe also was behind a warehouse district under construction near downtown that Riordan joined him in dedicating this summer.

Researched by JIM NEWTON / Los Angeles Times