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American Morning

New Los Angeles Mayor Prepares to Take Office

Aired July 02, 2001 - 09:36   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: In just a few hours from now, a new mayor takes the helm in Los Angeles. James Hahn will face a number of challenges in leading L.A.

CNN's Charles Feldman now takes a look at some of those challenges.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLES FELDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): If nothing else, James Hahn will have a nice place to go to work this week as he officially becomes mayor of Los Angeles. City hall, the stand-in for "The Daily Planet" in the old "Superman" series has undergone an expensive face-lift and seismic retrofitting. So while the building may never actually fall down on the new mayor, the city itself is a far different matter.

WARREN OLNEY, HOST, "WHY WAY L.A.?": During the campaign, one of the major issues was which of the candidates would best be able to hold the city together, and that is a real question in Los Angeles.

FELDMAN: Warren Olney hosts a popular radio show, "Which Way L.A.?," that has its finger on the pulse of this diverse and ever changing city.

OLNEY: There are big chunks of it, in notably in the San Fernando Valley, that want to secede and form their own city. So Mr. Hahn has got to persuade the people of that mindset that there is good reason to stay here.

FELDMAN: Until a recent charter revision, real power in L.A. resided in the city council and that allowed previous mayors to be able to duck responsibility for many of the city's woes. And one of the city's biggest woes in recent years has been its police department. A corruption scandal has brought about a consent decree with the U.S. Justice Department for federal oversight of the department. The decree was negotiated by then city attorney James Hahn and vehemently opposed by the police chief. So for now at least, the new mayor chooses his words about the reluctant chief carefully.

JAMES HAHN (D), LOS ANGELES MAYOR-ELECT: I'm expecting real progress in improving morale and improving recruitment and bringing crime down, and I'm going to hold him accountable to do that.

FELDMAN: Hahn will govern knowing that most of the city's emerging Latino power base voted for someone else.

OLNEY: He is going to have to reach out to that very large, increasingly active, more and more involved population if he is going to succeed.

FELDMAN: And yet, while Hahn will have more power than the mayors before him, the city's salvation may come in the form of newly established neighborhood councils.

HAHN: Hopefully that that will give people a sense that they're in control, that people are listening to them, services are being delivered more efficiently.

FELDMAN: Hahn has had a lifetime to hone his political skills. He was born into a political family, only now he is in charge and the city waits to see just how skillful he really is.

Charles Feldman, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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