HAHN FOR MAYOR
18553 Ventura Blvd.
Tarzana, CA 91356

The next mayor?

FEBRUARY 28, 2001
LOS ANGELES INDEPENDENT

By Elizabeth Schneider

It was Super Sunday at the Jewish Federation, and in the midst of the hustle of the crowded room, behind the yellow, red and white balloons, City Attorney Jim Hahn sat answering phones at the head table.

Not that it was any thing new. He's been doing this for years. As City Controller and now as City Attorney, Hahn stands firm on his record of fighting to improve the lives of Angelenos.

"As mayor, I would continue to make the neighborhoods as good as they can be, the schools as good as they can be, and the communities as good as they can be," he says.

Hahn says he can do more than just talk about making these improvements. He says he will be able to do them.

Right now, students in the public school system are being short changed, with overcrowding and insufficient resources, he says. "It's outrageous," Hahn says. "I want to embark on a crash course of school construction [projects]."

To do so, Hahn has proposed creating a school construction authority whose sole purpose would be to site and construct 100 schools in the Los Angeles area.

He would also make sure that every school in the Los Angeles Unified School District will be home to afterschool programs such as L.A.'s BEST and L.A. Bridges.

Recently created mini-districts are a good start, he says. "If you can decentralize decision-making, you're moving in the right direction," Hahn says. "The Downtown administration needs to let go."

His stance on improving education is as firm as his commitment to prosecuting gangs and ridding the streets of guns.

In 1987, Hahn filed the first gang injunctions. Since then, prosecutors assigned to his Anti-Gang Unit have reported a 100 percent conviction rate.

In 1999, he organized the California Gun Task Force, which filed lawsuits accusing handgun makers, distributors and trade associations of illegally ignoring firearm safety technology and facilitating an underground market, putting handguns in the hands of criminals and children.

With Election Day only six weeks away, Hahn says he is feeling the energy, and that makes him feel good.

He's sure he'll make it to the June 5 runoff. "Yeah, I'll be in it with someone else," Hahn says smiling. "I just haven't figured out who the other else is going to be.

"I feel like my hard work is really paying off. I started campaigning early.... [Running for mayor] was something I really wanted to do. I wasn't wasting any time hemming and hawing."

One could say that public service is in his blood. The son of former City Councilman and Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, his 16 years as City Attorney has allowed him to build on his strong record of public service.

"He comes from good stock," says Harold Janken, one of the volunteers at Sunday's telethon. "His father was very good and was important to his community. He stood for the right things, and I am assuming that Jim will stand for the same things."

Hahn, 50, grew up in South Los Angeles and attended Manchester Avenue Elementary School, Horace Mann Junior High School and Lutheran High School. He received a bachelor's in English and a law degree from Pepperdine University.

Elected to four terms as city attorney, the last in 1997, he has worked with other city agencies to establish the Citywide Nuisance Abatement Program, which works to clean up abandoned buildings and other properties that attract criminal activity.

He also created the City Attorney's Domestic Violence Unit, which has, to this point, achieved a 90 percent conviction rate.

He takes credit for legal efforts against the tobacco industry and the end of the "Joe Camel" ad campaign targeted at children that led to a $312-million settlement for the city. With a portion of those funds, he established the Tobacco Enforcement Project to reduce the illegal sale of cigarettes to minors.

Congresswoman Jane Harman, who was also answering phones at the telethon, has endorsed Hahn for mayor and introduced him to the crowd of volunteers on Sunday.

"He truly embraces the diversity of L.A.," Harman says.