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Rick Orlov, the Dean of City Hall reporters, levels with Mayor Hahn in his Daily News column. His message? Between the nascent police scandals, political controversies, and a tough field of rivals, it looks as if Jimmy's got a tough row to hoe. Orlov outlines the substance of Hahn's political peril:
...he alienated two of his key areas of support. He forced Parks out as chief, angering many in the African-American community, and he lost much of his support in the San Fernando Valley with a heavy-handed campaign against secession.
Hahn's advantage with these constituencies - each essential to his first victory - are also undermined by the candidacies of Councilman Bernard Parks and Bob Hertzberg of Sherman Oaks. Hahn finds himself surrounded on all sides by challengers, and it's going to take some serious political creativity to get out of this jam.Perhaps in response to concerns about his leadership abilities, Hahn's office released a plan Tuesday to combat congestion at 25 of L.A.'s problem intersections. Check out the infobox: a plurality of the improvements go to the Valley. In response, Hertzberg's campaign manager took a shot at Hahn's ideas, saying they're "like cutting grass one blade at a time." With this apt suburban metaphor, let the battle for the Valley begin!
