[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 20 (Monday, May 24, 1993)]
[Pages 903-905]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
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Remarks Endorsing Michael Woo for Mayor of Los Angeles in Van Nuys
May 18, 1993
The President. Good afternoon everyone. As you know, a couple of
days ago I issued a statement endorsing the candidacy of Mike Woo for
Mayor of Los Angeles. I wanted to just amplify a little on that today,
make a couple of comments, give Mr. Woo a chance to say something, and
then answer a few of your questions.
Let me say that I know it is somewhat unusual for all these national
figures to be involved in a mayors race in Los Angeles. But that's
because what happens in Los Angeles matters to America and because we
can't really turn America around until we can lift the economy of
California up.
I endorsed Mike Woo not because I have something against his
opponent; I don't. I just like him, and I like him for some very good
substantive reasons. I feel a personal affinity for him because he
supported me early in the race for President before the New Hampshire
primary. And that's a part of it. But I also have been terribly
impressed by what he has said to me in private about this city, about
the need to bring people together across racial and ethnic lines, about
the need to try some new ideas to get the economy going again.
After the riots last year and long before I was President, I came
here and walked the streets of Los Angeles with Mike Woo. And we talked
abut the kinds of things it would take to start businesses, to attract
investment, to change the framework of people's lives; the kinds of
incentives that are embodied in the empowerment zone legislation that I
have presented to Congress, which will provide much more dramatic and
comprehensive incentives to invest in businesses and jobs and education
and anticrime initiatives in our cities than has ever happened before;
the kinds of initiatives that are embodied in the national service
program that I have presented, that will be embodied in the welfare
reform program that is coming forward. I want to do something to help
Los Angeles, southern California, and this State revive and come back.
I've assigned the Secretary of Commerce to come out here. He's been
here seven times. And I want the best possible partnership to get that
done. That's why I endorse Mike Woo. It is 100 percent positive feeling.
I have nothing against his opponent. I just care a lot about this
community. I care a lot about this State. I want to do everything I can
to make it work. I think this will help. And I think the decision was an
appropriate one and one I feel very comfortable with.
[At this point, Mr. Woo expressed his appreciation to the President.]
Los Angeles Mayoral Election
Q. Mr. President, have you ever met Mr. Riordan, and what do you
know about him?
The President. I know quite a bit about him. I have met him, and I
know a lot of people who are working in his campaign, as you know. And
my wife has spent some good time with him. I have nothing against him.
I'm for Woo. There's nothing negative here in my feelings about Dick
Riordan.
Q. Mr. President, if Dick Riordan does win the election, can Los
Angeles count on as close a relationship with the White House as it will
have if Mr. Woo----
The President. It won't affect my attitude about Los Angeles in any
way. I will work as hard as I can to help the people here, whatever the
voters of this city decide to do.
But let me try to reinforce that and put it in what I consider to be
the proper framework. Just like I told those students out there
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today at this college, whatever I do as President, whether this economy
works or not depends on their willingness to prepare themselves to
compete and win. In other words, they have to do certain things. I'm
going to do everything I can. My Secretary of Transportation was out
here just a few days ago announcing a $1.4 billion commitment to the Red
Line Mass Transit System. We're here for the duration. Ron Brown is
going to be here supervising this economic program and our coordinated
efforts. But I think it will work better if there's a mayor who has a
lot of good ideas about how to start businesses, how to rebuild
communities, how to pull people together. I think Mike Woo's ideas are
good. That's my point. It's not anything negative.
Q. Mr. President, is your prestige on the line at all because of
this? You know candidates have coattails--sometimes they use, sometimes
they don't
The President. Frankly, I don't know if they ever do. If I have any
coattails, it would only be because of the ideas that I share in common
with Mike and the things that I hope that we can do together. I was only
too happy to do this. Ultimately, in the end, the people of Los Angeles
will vote the way people do everywhere. They'll vote on the merits of
the issue before them.
The one thing that I hope will happen is that you will have a very
good turnout. I hope the citizens of this city realize that this has a
lot to do with how things work out in the future. A lot of the things
that I want to do--for instance, you take this empowerment zone issue,
for example. If we pass this bill through Congress, look what it will
do. It will say--say, Los Angeles, a big section of Los Angeles, is
selected as an empowerment zone, there will be new jobs credits and
other new tax incentives for private sector people to invest in these
communities and to hire people. There will be all kinds of new
initiatives to facilitate investments in housing and in anticrime
initiatives, and in education and training initiatives. That's good. But
whether it works or not depends on how it's put together once the
Federal Government makes the selection. That has to happen from the
grassroots up.
So what I would say to the people of Los Angeles is, you need to
vote based on what you think is best for you. The reason I think Mike
Woo is the better candidate is because I know him, I know how he thinks,
and I know he can figure out how to make this stuff work. And in the
end, the test of our endeavors is not how well we speak or what we say
as much as whether we can change the lives of people. That's the way we
ought to ultimately keep score. So that's why I took this position.
Press Secretary Myers. Last question.
Q.----of your administration be coming to Los Angeles and campaign
on Mr. Woo's behalf?
Q. [Inaudible].
The President. Well, let me tell you something. When Michael Woo
endorsed me, there was not much in it for him. I mean, Michael Woo
endorsed me before the New Hampshire primary, and I was still running
third in California in June. So there was nothing in it for him. There
was never any anticipation that there would be some political payback.
He did it because he thought I had good ideas and he thought I'd be a
good President.
There is very little--do I feel a personal sense of loyalty to him?
You bet I do, and I'm not ashamed of that. But would I do it if I
thought he wouldn't be a good mayor? Never in a thousand years. I
believe he'd be a very good mayor.
Q. Mr. President, will members of your administration be coming to
Los Angeles to campaign on Mr. Woo's behalf?
The President. I'm embarrassed to tell you I don't know. I've never
even discussed that with them or with him. But I'm strongly in favor of
him, and I know Ron Brown feels very positively toward him because we
talked about him on the way in here today. This is something I want to
do because I believe it's good for the people of Los Angeles. If I
didn't think it was, I wouldn't do it.
Thank you.
Note: The President spoke at 1:40 p.m. in the courtyard at Los Angeles
Valley College. A tape was not available for verification of the content
of these remarks.
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