LOCAL ELECTIONS / LOS ANGELES MAYOR : Political Ads Alluding to Riots Draw Criticism

Seeking to grab the attention of a city distracted by jury deliberations in the Rodney G. King civil rights case, two long-shot candidates for mayor of Los Angeles on Tuesday aired TV ads conjuring up images of last year’s riots.

The theme of the ads, by Richard Katz and Stan Sanders, was questioned by civic leaders, and some experts saw the tactics as last-ditch efforts by candidates fighting for political survival.

Katz, a state assemblyman, and Sanders, a lawyer and city recreation and parks commissioner, are desperately trying to catch front-runners Michael Woo and Richard Riordan with just six days left before Tuesday’s election. A recent Times Poll showed Katz and Sanders badly trailing, with 7% and 4% of the vote, respectively.

Sanders’ ad is an appeal for peace, featuring scenes of last year’s riots and black-and-white footage of U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy appealing for calm after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

Looking into the camera, Sanders then says: “Some see a Los Angeles that is divided. Some see a city plagued by violence and hatred. I see the Los Angeles that is. And the Los Angeles that can be.” The ad ends with the words “Keep the peace” flashed on the screen.

Katz’s ad contains no riot pictures. Instead, Katz appears on camera, saying: “The City Hall crowd’s been turning their backs on the problems of this city for years. . . . The riots weren’t a surprise. The riots were inevitable.”

The ad drew criticism from civil rights activists and other candidates.

Joe Hicks, executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Los Angeles, said Katz is “trying to buy into the hysteria surrounding the trial. . . . It’s another attempt to cast blame when, in fact, Richard Katz knows, sitting up there in Sacramento, that he has been as much a part of the problem as the City Council. “

In general, Hicks said that he did not like references to the riots in ads.

“In the context of 30-second spots, it’s impossible to take up the issue of last year’s riot in a substantive way that doesn’t conjure up fears. So I have a general problem with ads that use riots or allusions because they play to people’s fears without taking up the serious issues.”

Riordan campaign manager Jadine Nielsen said of the Katz ad: “Given the degree of anxiety in the city, Katz’s desperate ad is inflammatory and a disgrace--irresponsible beyond redemption.”

Katz’s campaign manager, Peter Taylor, defended the ad. “My sense is everybody is talking about (jury deliberations). Why pretend they’re not?”

Asked if stations might choose not to air the Katz ad, Bill Emerson, manager of broadcast standards and practices for KNBC-TV, said: “He is entitled to say anything he wants short of calling for the overthrow of the United States government . . . or using obscene, indecent and profane language.”

Political consultant Joe Cerrell predicted that the Katz and Sanders ads would certainly catch voters’ attention, even if the strategy is risky. “When you’re where Katz and Sanders are (in the polls), you take a gamble. You’ve got to do something to project you ahead of the crowd. So what if they slip?”

In other mayoral developments:

* The Woo campaign, anxious over Riordan’s upswing in the polls and his proven willingness to tap his personal wealth in the campaign, shifted gears and began raising funds for a likely June runoff.

The Woo campaign formally notified the city Ethics Commission that it was launching a legally separate drive for contributions to fund a runoff campaign. Candidates may not legally raise funds for two elections simultaneously. Woo campaign officials said the new contributions will be returned should Woo fail to make the runoff.

* Riordan picked up the endorsement of the Daily News of the San Fernando Valley. “Riordan knows what the city’s problems are, and he correctly puts crime at the top of the list,” the paper said in an editorial Tuesday.

Woo, endorsed by La Opinion, the Los Angeles Sentinel and L.A. Weekly, has courted the vote of minority and white liberal communities.

The Times will not endorse a candidate in Tuesday’s primary. “The Times generally does not endorse in primaries,” said Thomas Plate, editor of the editorial pages. “But the paper is reserving its option to endorse in June.”

Times staff writers Frank Clifford and Rich Connell contributed to this story.