Alleged improprieties in city contracting and campaign fundraising have damaged Mayor James K. Hahn's public standing, and the Los Angeles mayor's race is up for grabs with nearly a third of likely voters yet to decide among him and his challengers, a Times poll has found.
None of the five top contenders holds a wide lead, although the mayor and City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa, who lost to Hahn in 2001, are distinctly ahead of the others.
The contest on the March 8 ballot remains volatile: Even among voters who have picked a candidate, a third say they might switch. That instability heightens the importance of the upcoming TV ad clash in shaping perceptions of a campaign that so far has sparked little public interest, according to the survey.
For Hahn, signs of trouble abound. Among all registered voters, just 50% say they approve of his job performance, putting him right at the traditional danger threshold for an incumbent. Among those most likely to vote, he does worse, with just 44% approving.
The poll found that Hahn had failed to recover from his steep slide in popularity among African Americans, a bloc crucial to his 2001 victory: Barely a quarter of black voters back his reelection.
Beyond that is the taint of the corruption investigation by county and federal prosecutors: More than a third of likely voters say Hahn, who has denied wrongdoing, lacks the honesty and integrity to serve as mayor. Nearly four in 10 say alleged improprieties in city contracting make them less likely to vote for Hahn. And among those who give him negative job ratings, the top reasons involve doubts about his ethics and campaign fundraising.
"I don't feel comfortable with him anymore," said Bette Levy of Tarzana, a 69-year-old Republican homemaker who voted for Hahn four years ago but does not plan to do so again.
Hahn is by no means mortally wounded. His popularity among Latinos has risen. His political base is geographically diverse. He is almost equally popular among liberals, moderates and conservatives -- a breadth of support that could prove important in a runoff. He also scores well on the economy.
Yet even with broad powers of incumbency at his disposal, the poll shows that Hahn has failed, at least so far, to consolidate even a fourth of city voters behind him. His accomplishments remain a mystery to most voters. And three of his foes -- Villaraigosa, City Councilman Bernard C. Parks and former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg -- are complicating the mayor's task by laying claim to niches of the electorate.
