Traveling to South Los Angeles to talk about schools the other day, Mayor James K. Hahn was in no mood to discuss his reelection.
"I have no comment about anyone running for office or thinking about running for office," the Los Angeles mayor snapped at a television reporter who asked about one of his challengers. "I'm doing my job."
The outburst made the afternoon news and set off a round of snickering among local politicos on the lookout for signs that the mayor was breaking under the pressure of criminal investigations and a growing field plotting for his job.
But that one slip was all the Hahn-watchers would get.
Despite months of headlines linking his administration to allegations of corruption, the mayor who built a reputation for integrity in a quarter century of public life has given barely a hint that he is troubled.
Hahn's response has baffled some allies, who have urged him to fight back more forcefully. And it has fed detractors, who have called Hahn's passivity a lack of leadership.
But those who know Hahn well say his stoicism reflects a man who is surprisingly secure in himself -- and whose decades in politics have taught him how and when to fight hard.
"I think Jim Hahn is frequently misunderstood," said Councilman Eric Garcetti, one of the few elected officials with whom Hahn has developed a somewhat close relationship. "He's a much stronger person than a lot of people give him credit for."
The past several months have not been easy for the 53-year-old mayor. Hounded by challengers trying to drive him from office next March, defended publicly by few, the intensely private and reserved mayor has rarely appeared more alone.
Four of his deputy mayors have stepped down, including one who was called to testify before a grand jury. His Airport Commission president, Ted Stein, resigned amid controversy over his fundraising for the mayor.
Federal prosecutors have been going after e-mails inside the mayor's office as part of their probe of city contracting at the airport, seaport and Department of Water and Power.
Then, last week, former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg jumped into the race to unseat Hahn, attacking the mayor as being "asleep at the switch."
Hertzberg joined state Sen. Richard Alarcon (D-Sylmar) and possible candidate Bernard C. Parks, a councilman and former police chief, in a field that could seriously trouble Hahn's hopes of winning a second term.
