Choose the Moon

Mayor James K. Hahn didn't promise voters the moon when he ran for office four years ago. What Los Angeles wants of a mayor, he said then and says now as he seeks reelection, is a nuts-and-bolts manager who can make the city work, not a leader with "vision" or even a leader who is particularly visible. The scion of a political family with 20 years as city attorney and city controller, Hahn sold himself as right for the job he had defined.

As voters, many with mail-in ballots already in hand, weigh whether to give Hahn another four years, here are two questions to ponder:

Has he met these modest goals?

Can't the nation's second-largest city have the moon as well? Hahn's top two achievements came in his first two years in office: He hired outspoken police reformer William J. Bratton to head the Los Angeles Police Department, and he led the campaign that kept Los Angeles from breaking apart into three cities.

Both were gutsy moves that cost him political support among constituencies that had helped elect him. Many in Los Angeles' black community were outraged when Hahn dumped then-Police Chief Bernard C. Parks, the highest-ranking African American in city government. (Parks subsequently ran for City Council and is now among the mayor's challengers in the March 8 election.) Hahn's handling of the politically delicate decision lacked finesse. But it's impossible to deny the strides made under Bratton, whether in crime-fighting or police reform. The chief's reputation, in fact, is matched only by his ego. Luckily, Hahn doesn't appear to worry about being outshone. It's an instance in which his low-key style is an asset.

Hahn's challengers in the mayoral race now fault his tough, energetic campaign against San Fernando Valley and Hollywood secession as too negative. Imagine what they would have said if Los Angeles had broken apart. What has come back to haunt Hahn, however, are political donations to his anti-secession campaign. But we'll get to that in a moment.

The question is, are Hahn's two key accomplishments, however significant, enough? Or do they stand out precisely because they are the exception?

Then What?

The rest of Hahn's four-year record is more mixed.

He deserves credit for backing a $100-million trust fund to build affordable housing, for expanding the city's LA's Best after-school program and for persistently focusing on gang violence.