Pressure Builds on Riordan to Enter Governor’s Race

With Sen. Dianne Feinstein out of the race for governor, influential insiders from both political parties are urging Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan to join the campaign, which many believe he could dominate if he chooses to run.

So far, Riordan is rejecting the idea--but is still listening. On Tuesday, as in previous interviews, the 67-year-old mayor acknowledged that he has been urged to run but insisted that he is happy in his current job and uninterested in higher office.

“I’ve got too much to do here in Los Angeles,” Riordan said Tuesday. “I love this city. Every day, we’re getting more and more done. Charter reform is very exciting, and I’m trying to fight secession by the Valley.”

But with a field of three candidates who are failing to inspire much enthusiasm, the efforts to woo Riordan have intensified in recent days and may continue to mount as the Feb. 4 filing deadline closes in. Sources close to the mayor say Riordan has been receiving nearly a dozen calls a day urging him to run. According to those sources, the calls have come from moderate Republicans and Democrats alike--from longtime sources of Republican strength to disappointed Feinstein backers.

According to sources close to Riordan, among those who have discussed the idea of the mayor running for governor are Democratic power broker William Wardlaw, Democratic strategist Bill Carrick, SunAmerica Chief Executive Officer Eli Broad and Irvine Co. chief Donald Bren. Others, including local business and political officials, also are said to have been in contact with Riordan, but are keeping a low profile because they are afraid he will not enter the race and they want to avoid antagonizing both parties’ eventual nominees.

Should Riordan decide to run, his prospects in such a campaign would be bolstered by a recent structural change in the state’s electoral system. The governor’s race will feature a so-called open primary, in which Democrats and Republicans can cast votes for candidates of either party. The top vote-getters in each party then will challenge each other in November for the governor’s office.

As a centrist, pragmatic, non-ideological Republican, Riordan would stand to pick up not just moderates in his own party unhappy with the more conservative state Atty. General Dan Lungren, but also conservative Democrats displeased with their options, Lt. Gov. Gray Davis and businessman Al Checchi.

Almost a year ago, a statewide Field Poll showed the mayor leading a trial heat in the GOP governor’s race, finishing second to Feinstein but ahead of Lungren. At the time, Riordan issued a statement denying any interest in the race; he also privately offered assurances to Lungren. But such disclaimers have failed to quell interest in his possible candidacy.

“It’s absolutely true that he’s been getting lots of calls and expressions of support,” said Wardlaw, Riordan’s best friend and closest advisor. “The effort has been underway for months, but it accelerated after the decision by Sen. Feinstein.”

Wardlaw and others said Riordan had been reluctant to join the campaign in part because of his respect for Feinstein. Last week, however, Feinstein informed Riordan that she was going to pass on this campaign, clearing the way for Riordan to run if he chose to.

If he did, the mayor would bring formidable political and financial backing to the race. The former venture capitalist’s personal worth is estimated at more than $200 million, and he recently won an overwhelming reelection in the state’s largest city.

But Riordan also would face hurdles. The Republican Party establishment, which Riordan has bucked before, would be enraged by such a late attack on Lungren. What’s more, Riordan enjoys a comfortable life in Los Angeles, so treasuring his elegant Brentwood estate that he declined to relocate to the official mayor’s residence in Windsor Square.

The prospect of moving to Sacramento would not appeal to the mayor, nor would the likely rigors of a statewide campaign. Camping out nights at the Motel 6 as he stumped across the Central Valley “wouldn’t be his natural environment,” as one former political aide dryly put it.

As a candidate, Riordan would face a field that is topped by Lungren, whose sharply conservative beliefs worry some Republicans who fear he will alienate voters on divisive issues such as abortion.

“There’s a slice of folks in the Republican Party for whom abortion is the principal issue on their minds,” said Ken Khachigian, a veteran GOP strategist. “They may think that Dan Lungren is fine on a lot of things, but they don’t agree with his pro-life position.”

Despite an obvious preference for running unopposed, Lungren campaign director Dave Puglia said Tuesday that the attorney general was prepared to run against Riordan if necessary.

“Nobody ever said the nomination would be Dan Lungren’s by divine right,” Puglia said. “This is politics. This is a campaign. If Mayor Riordan chooses to run for the Republican nomination, we look forward to a healthy, vigorous debate on issues. . . . It’s my view that Dan Lungren represents California’s strongest mainstream conservative, and so I’m confident that we would do well in that situation.”

On the Democratic side, there is concern that neither of the declared candidates so far has generated much of a following. Davis has run a dull campaign while quixotic political newcomer Checchi has money but no solid political base.

“Neither Checchi nor Davis float my boat, though I’ll support whoever the Democratic nominee is,” said Robert Barnes, a San Francisco-based Democratic strategist and ardent Feinstein backer, voicing a sentiment widely heard in party circles.

That distinct lack of enthusiasm has given hope to Leon Panetta, the former White House chief of staff and Monterey congressman, who is a favorite inside the Washington Beltway but a mystery to most California voters.

In recent days, Panetta has conspicuously sought to distance himself from President Clinton’s troubles--suggesting that Clinton should resign if the allegations prove true--and actively worked the phone to gauge support for a prospective candidacy.

Ironically, the talk of a bolt-from-the-blue Riordan candidacy comes at a time when some doubtful Republicans have started voicing more confidence in Lungren, who has run virtually unopposed for the GOP nomination for the past three years.

The decision by Feinstein to opt out of the governor’s race removed the Democrat with the best chance of winning in November, according to opinion polls, and installed Lungren--at least for now--as the candidate to beat.

Feinstein’s decision, along with the unfolding White House sex scandal, suggests a potential GOP advantage that wasn’t there as recently as a week ago. “It’s starting to look like it could be a very good Republican year,” said one GOP strategist, who has been notably gloomy about Lungren’s candidacy until now.

Like many of his peers, San Francisco-based consultant Harvey Harlowe Hukari was skeptical about Riordan’s ability to snatch the nomination away from Lungren. In contrast to Riordan’s muted, practically nonpartisan brand of Republicanism, Lungren has been a longtime party activist and built “a solid conservative base,” Hukari said.

Still, given the open primary and Riordan’s other political strengths, few are willing to rule out the mayor’s chances, even at the eleventh hour.

“Riordan is probably the only candidate who could get in at this late date and have a chance, given his personal wealth, name ID and base in the city of Los Angeles,” said a Republican strategist for another of the GOP’s statewide candidates. “With an open primary, he could possibly pull a lot of independents and conservative Democrats.”

Riordan’s cross-party appeal also is reflected in some of his principal backers. Not only is Wardlaw a major Democratic Party operative, but Democratic campaign strategist Carrick advised Riordan’s mayoral reelection in 1997.

Although Wardlaw’s devotion to Riordan is well known, the high-profile support for the Republican mayor from Democratic insiders has caused some Republican strategists to wonder how much of the encouragement being given to the mayor reflects his advisors’ interest in stirring up trouble for the Republican Party.

“You have to wonder what their agenda is here,” said one Republican strategist. “Are they really looking to help Riordan, or just hurt Lungren?”

Times political writer Cathleen Decker contributed to this story.

* THE SPIN: Selling Mayor Riordan on governor’s job won’t be easy. B1