Showdown for a Showboater

Eight volatile years as mayor of Los Angeles have taught Sam Yorty that power is not one of the perquisites of his office. The ramshackle 1925 charter of the nation's third largest city so splits authority between mayor and council that neither enjoys effective command. All the same, Yorty, now 59, has en joyed himself hugely as mayor. He has served as the city's master of ceremonies and junketeer-extraordinary. At the drop of an airline ticket, Sam has been able to discover municipal business requiring his presence in 15 countries.

A sometime Democrat who is usually at odds with his own party, Yorty was elected in 1961 after stirring up a political storm out of a vexatious city ordinance that obliged housewives to separate empty tin cans from the rest of their garbage. Since then, he has some times busied himself with loftier matters -- but not often. Last week, for in stance, he made news of a sort by hoisting the flag of Estonia over city hall to commemorate the onetime Baltic republic's independence 51 years ago (it has been occupied by the Soviets since 1940).

No Contributions. Now, however, as Yorty seeks a third term in the all-party preliminary election on April 1, his showboating ways are being challenged. Appropriately, the principal threat comes from another showman. Deep-voiced local TV Newscaster Baxter Ward, 49, who quit his job at station KABC to run, is the leader in a motley field of 14 would-be mayors, who include a model who prizes her Irish brogue as an electoral asset, an X-ray technician, a former basketball coach, and the producer of Yorty's own television show until it went off the air last year. A citywide poll prepared by Psephologist Mervin Field showed Yorty only one percentage point ahead of Ward among the more serious contenders last week. Two other candidates--liberal Negro City Councilman Thomas Bradley, 51, and Congressman Alphonzo Bell, 54, a moderate Republican--trailed the front runners, but could easily force them into a runoff election in May to decide the winner.

Pollster Field reported that 32% of the voters interviewed in his sample thought that the craggy-featured TV man was sincere and upright, perhaps because Ward has adopted the unorthodox tactic of refusing to accept campaign contributions. Only 10% of the voters interviewed by Field praised Yorty for honesty and integrity, even though the mayor's personal probity has never been impugned.

Low Tolerance. Yorty has suffered, however, from light-fingered associates. In October 1967, the Los Angeles Times, which has feuded with the mayor for years, published an expose of the city's harbor commission; as a result, three former city commissioners, all of them Yorty appointees, were convicted last fall of accepting bribes. Then former Recreation and Parks Commissioner Mel Pierson was indicted and is now awaiting trial for similar crimes.

For the mayor, the scandals could be disastrous. Yorty's principal voter support has come from the white middle-class residents of the San Fernando Valley, a vast expanse of tract homes and shopping centers northwest of the city's heart. "Sam's people," as they are called, do not insist upon political heavyweights as their elected representatives. But they are strong law-and-order advocates with an especially low tolerance for official malfeasance.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.