LOCAL ELECTIONS / L.A. MAYOR : Report Undermines Riordan’s Plan for LAX

As Los Angeles mayoral candidate Richard Riordan sharpened the edge of his anti-crime campaign theme with a stark new television ad, a city analysis shook the financial foundation of his proposal to field 3,000 new police officers by leasing the international airport to private operators.

Earlier city estimates that leasing LAX could generate up to $130 million in income next year--and larger sums in subsequent years--have been scaled back dramatically in a new analysis obtained by The Times. The analysis corrects a $25-million error in calculations and says more realistic projections of airport costs, income and passenger counts indicate that less than $15 million in annual net income would be expected in 1994.

The initial airport lease study two years ago “had these grandiose assumptions, none of which are currently coming true and none of which in the immediate future will” develop, said new airport General Manager Jack Driscoll, who requested the revised study.

Leasing the airport to finance a 40% boost in the size of the Police Department is a cornerstone of Riordan’s campaign pitch--that by curbing crime he can lead an economic revival of the city.

His aides on Wednesday scrambled to evaluate the new figures and Riordan issued a prepared, but unspecific, statement reaffirming his commitment to provide more police. “As with any plan, if it turns out it encounters problems, I will find another way to do what we must do--improve public safety.

“Throughout my career, I have been a problem-solver who sets a goal and goes after it. . . . If I am mayor, I will make it happen.”

Jadine Nielsen, Riordan’s campaign manager, suggested that the report might be politically motivated by City Hall allies of Riordan’s chief competitor, Councilman Michael Woo. “This report and its timing seem political and makes one wonder whether there is a link between persons high up in both the mayor’s office and the Woo campaign,” she said.

Officials and consultants involved in the re-evaluation said it had nothing to do with the mayoral campaign. They said it was prompted by a growing City Hall debate over the wisdom and benefits of turning the airport over to private operators.

The study was completed last week with encouragement of Deputy Mayor Mark Fabiani, who has been a harsh Riordan critic and who two months ago told a Times reporter he would be voting for Woo.

But Fabiani and other officials said Wednesday that neither Fabiani nor the mayor’s office initiated the study. Fabiani insisted he is now undecided about who he will vote for in the mayor’s race, adding that it is a personal and irrelevant matter.

He said he pushed for completion of the report to bolster Mayor Tom Bradley’s strong opposition to turning over a “crown jewel” asset to private operators just to get through a temporary economic crunch.

Woo spokesman Garry South said he did not believe anyone in Woo’s campaign had seen the new analysis. But he said it underscores the weakness of the Riordan crime-fighting proposal, which he said could cost $300 million a year. “You can’t get that kind of revenue out of the airport,” he said.

The release of the report came as Riordan’s campaign took a predatory turn, for the first time attacking Woo. Although Woo has singled out Riordan for criticism on several occasions during the past several weeks, the Riordan camp until this week had not responded in kind.

A 30-second campaign commercial that began airing Tuesday holds Woo accountable for a rising crime rate and a deteriorating economy. The ad initially focuses on conditions in Hollywood, which Woo has represented on the City Council for eight years. Then the 30-second commercial ties Woo to the local recession, attempting to blame him for matters ranging from massive job losses to a huge city budget deficit.

The ad features fast-moving images of menacing-looking figures lurking in the shadows on gritty streets, graffiti-covered walls and coroner’s workers wheeling a body on a gurney.

A narrator says, “Councilman Mike Woo’s Hollywood district: crime, drugs, unemployment, homelessness, graffiti. Mike Woo: eight years on the L.A. City Council, eight years of decline. Four murders a day. America’s most under-policed city. A $500-million deficit. Three hundred sixty-five thousand jobs lost. Now, Councilman Woo wants to be mayor. Does he really deserve the promotion?”

Woo spokesman South called the ad “absolutely outrageous” and “divisive” and said it was unfair to seek votes by “trashing a particular neighborhood.”

“Mike is proud of his record in Hollywood. He hasn’t won every battle. This is a very difficult inner-city neighborhood,” he said.

Nielsen, Riordan’s strategist, said: “Woo has changed the rules of the game. Rather than working to unify all of L.A., Woo wants to divide it. The question is whether Woo is tough enough to stand close scrutiny of his City Hall record.”

Late Wednesday, Woo retaliated with an attack ad of his own, seeking to portray Riordan as two-faced.

“He says he’ll fight crime, but Riordan opposes our police chief’s plan to add 1,000 cops,” says the Woo ad. “He says he’s for a woman’s right to choose. But Riordan gave $10,000 to a right-wing anti-choice group. He brags about saving Mattel, but what he doesn’t tell you is Dick Riordan closed two L.A. factories and shipped our jobs here to Mexico.”

The ad features props of Ken and Barbie dolls from Riordan’s own commercials--which tout his role in turning around Mattel Inc.--contrasted with a picture of the Mexican Mattel factory.

The ad closes with a sharp twist on Riordan’s campaign slogan: “Dick Riordan. Not even tough enough to tell the truth.”

As the ad war heated up, Riordan sent out his third mailer to Republicans--again touting his support from former President Ronald Reagan and the conservative California Republican Assembly.

“Beware of mailings stating or implying Republican support for any other candidate for mayor,” says the mailing. “Richard Riordan is the only major candidate for mayor who is Republican.”

Meanwhile, television station KCAL and radio station KFWB released a poll showing Woo increasing his lead to 33% support, followed by Riordan with 21%. None of the other mayoral candidates received more than 6%; 15% of the respondents were undecided. Linda Griego was third with 6%.

Among those most likely to vote, Woo leads Riordan 33% to 23%, with 14% undecided.

The poll, based on interviews of 600 voters Monday and Tuesday, confirmed the findings of a Times poll conduct last week that shows the 24-candidate race has become a two-man contest. The KCAL-KFWB poll showed Woo with a larger lead over Riordan than the Times poll, which was based on interviews with 813 likely voters.

Times staff writers Frank Clifford and Greg Krikorian contributed to this story.