With Villaraigosa out, who'll get Hollywood's support?

In fact, while Brown is seen nowadays as a Bay Area pol, like Newsom, because of his service as Oakland's mayor, his political roots in Los Angeles -- which means Hollywood -- go deep . . . and, no, that isn't because he once dated Linda Ronstadt.) Brown first won elective office as a member of the L.A. Community College Board and ran for governor while living in a hilltop home in Laurel Canyon.

It's widely assumed that the former two-term governor would enjoy wide support in the state's African American and Latino communities, where he has long-standing ties that extend back to his support of civil rights, particularly of Cesar Chavez's United Farm Workers. Establishing the Agricultural Labor Relations Board was one of Brown's signature achievements as a first-term governor. And even though Newsom has won many gay and lesbian backers for his cutting-edge support of marriage equality, Brown holds identical views. Many older activists will recall that he was the first statewide officeholder to publicly embrace the gay rights cause.

As Schake points out, Brown named openly gay West Hollywood lawyer Sheldon Andelson, a beloved figure in the local gay community, to the UC Board of Regents and at the time took a considerable amount of flak for it.

Kerman Maddox, L.A.'s most experienced African American political strategist, thinks "Villaraigosa would have done fantastic in Hollywood with his magnetic personality, but his absence gives both Brown and Newsom a real opportunity." Maddox says he expects both candidates to "do well with the Hollywood crowd. It will be interesting to see how their candidacies play with the different generations in Hollywood."

In fact, you already can see the beginning of such a split, much as you could between Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton supporters in the early stages of the last general election.

While the San Francisco mayor clearly enjoys support among the current crop of uber-agents, Brown is collecting impressive donations from what might be called "Old Hollywood," including $13,000 from Eagles stalwart Don Henley and $12,000 from Edith Wasserman, widow of MCA co-founder Lew, the legendary industry power broker.

Longtime L.A. and Hollywood advisor and activist Donna Bojarsky predicts "a little Gavin boomlet" but doesn't think "it'll stick over time, as it becomes clear that he's really not terribly electable statewide."

Bojarsky is one of those who believe black and Latino Californians ultimately "will go with Jerry, and even some older gays who remember Jerry's early and pivotal support of gay rights."

Hollywood's Democrats love a choice, and they love to be courted. It looks like the governor race is shaping up as a decision between the longtime leading man with proven box office and a fresh face with niche appeal -- sounds a bit like a summer release roster.

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tina.daunt@latimes.com