Hahn, 50, has spent virtually his entire professional career in politics. He was LA's elected city attorney before defeating mayoral hopeful Antonio Villaraigosa in a run-off election last month.

Hahn is considered a more moderate Democrat than Villaraigosa. While Villaraigosa was able to secure the backing of unions that represent many clerical workers at City Hall, Hahn was able to capture the support of most Police and Firefighter unions—as well as most of the building industry trades.

Both Hahn and Villaraigosa also received large contributions from local developers. Some slow-growth advocates now worry that Hahn might become too "pro-development" in order to reward the construction trade unions and builders who financially supported his successful campaign.

Separately, outgoing Mayor Riordan promised Monday to decide by the end of this summer whether we will run as the Republican candidate in the 2002 gubernatorial race. Riordan, who was widely admired for helping to pull LA together after the 1992 riots and then steering it out of recession, could not run for the mayor's job again because the position is limited to two four-year terms.

President Bush and most of California's Republican congressional representatives are among those urging Riordan to challenge Democratic incumbent Gray Davis in next year's election. One recent newspaper poll found the former mayor's popularity and name-recognition far above those of any other potential Republican challenger to Davis, whose popularity has been hurt by California's continuing energy crisis.