Mayors

As Mayor Richard Riordan winds through his second and final term, a number of critics say he increasingly seems disengaged from the business of running Los Angeles, spending more time addressing questions beyond his control and less governing the city that elected him. A variety of city department heads, former Riordan aides and elected and appointed leaders say they have discerned a softening of the mayor's oversight of some key departments and issues.

London's mayor can keep doing his job while a court decides whether he deserves a four-week suspension for comparing a Jewish reporter to a Nazi concentration camp guard, a judge ruled. Mayor Ken Livingstone, meanwhile, accused Britain's main Jewish group, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, of initiating his legal troubles because it was unhappy with his attitudes about Israel and the Palestinians.

Thank you, thank you. Gracias a todos. Today is a day for thanks. I want to thank all of you. What a great country this is. And what a great city this is. Los Angeles has always led the way. You've always focused on what really matters. You've always disproved the doubters. When others said it couldn't be done, you elected the first African American mayor of a leading American city. And, believe me, early in our campaign, there were those who said it wasn't time for a Latino mayor.

Police conducting a routine security sweep of Mayor John F. Street's City Hall office found a hidden listening device Tuesday morning, authorities said. Street, who is seeking reelection, quickly sought to reassure city residents that his office was not the subject of an investigation. "I have done nothing wrong," Street said at a news conference.

The City Council unanimously named John J. Collins mayor Tuesday evening to replace James D. Petrikin, who resigned from the position two weeks ago for health reasons. Collins was elected to the council in 1990 and already has served two terms as mayor. The position rotates annually between the five council members. The new mayor described bittersweet feelings about taking the mayoralty in a pinch but said he was excited to do the job. "I am honored to be here, but it's not a celebration for me."

Citing health reasons, James D. Petrikin resigned Tuesday night as mayor after only one month in office. But he vowed to continue serving on the City Council. Mayor Pro Tem Laurann Cook will tend city affairs until the council decides who will serve as mayor for the rest of the year. The chiefly ceremonial post rotates among the five council members. Petrikin, 56, was elected to his third council term in November, and was named mayor by the council in December. He replaced George B.

Mayor John J. Collins recently was reelected joint chairman of the County Sanitation Districts of Orange County. The districts serve 2.2 million Orange County residents with two treatment and disposal plants in Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach. A combined body of the county's nine sanitation boards operate the districts. Twenty-nine members from each of the boards meet regularly to discuss issues that affect the boards and county as a whole.

City Councilwoman Laurann Cook is poised to become the city's third mayor in a year. When the gavel passes between City Council members at an annual ceremony tonight, it will go from Mayor John J. Collins to Cook, the mayor pro tem. Collins stepped in in January when Councilman James D. Petrikin, citing health problems, resigned as mayor but stayed on the council.

Tom Edwards, who was elected mayor of Newport Beach Monday by his council colleagues, said he wants to get the city's many homeowners groups more involved by creating a committee. "They think they have been left out of some important decisions," Edwards said. By establishing a committee for homeowners association representatives, Edwards said, the city can benefit from their input, and inspire the groups to help lobby other governmental bodies on important city issues.

The arraignment of Mayor Ronald E. Isles was postponed until next Thursday after his attorney told a municipal judge that he needed another week to complete discovery proceedings in the case. Isles' attorney, Thomas Avdeef, said he had not yet obtained all of the paperwork and reports in the case from the Orange County district attorney's office.