Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn and his challenger, Antonio Villaraigosa, tangled over trust and leadership Monday night in a scrappy debate dominated by the question of which candidate has the integrity to run City Hall.
The mayor and city councilman sparred over crime, traffic and schools. But their tussle over character captured the harsh tone of a mayoral race that pits Hahn and Villaraigosa against each other for the second time in four years.
Hahn sought to raise doubts about Villaraigosa, portraying him as a shifty politician prone to inconsistency. "This is about trust, Antonio, and people don't trust you," said Hahn, who accused his rival of using "double talk."
Villaraigosa, for his part, cited investigations into the mayor's fundraising and city contracting. "We can't afford four more years of corruption probes and stagnation," he said. "We need a mayor who will restore trust and confidence in City Hall again."
The debate at Cal State Northridge was the first of the mayoral runoff campaign, coming seven weeks before the May 17 election. Broadcast live on KNBC-TV (Channel 4) and KWHY-TV (Channel 22), the 60-minute encounter was often bitter -- and at times personal. The mayor repeatedly referred to his opponent as simply "Antonio."
When Villaraigosa acknowledged that his children attend private schools "to give them a good Catholic school education," Hahn went on the attack. "I think you have to put your money where your mouth is," he said.
Villaraigosa, a former Assembly speaker, should have fought harder for state aid to city schools, Hahn said. "Because you failed that test of leadership, you took your kids out of the public school system," he said.
"If Jim Hahn had his facts straight," the councilman shot back, "he'd know that under my speakership there was an unprecedented investment in public schools."
The two candidates, both Democrats, agree broadly on many issues facing Los Angeles. Both advocated driver's licenses for illegal immigrants and would not rule out higher taxes to pay for more police officers.
"There aren't a lot of policy differences between us," Villaraigosa said after the debate. "The biggest difference is the issue of leadership."
Both seemed to bridle at the debate's strict format, wandering repeatedly from behind their respective lecterns, placed a few feet apart. The crowd of about 150 was split, wedding style, between Hahn and Villaraigosa supporters.
