Pubdate: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Copyright: 2001 San Jose Mercury News Contact: 750 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, CA 95190 Fax: (408) 271-3792 Website: http://www.sjmercury.com/ Forum: http://forums.bayarea.com/webx/cgi-bin/WebX Author: Erica Werner, Associated Press CANDIDATES URGED PARDON IN DRUG CASE L.A. Mayoral Campaigns Troubled LOS ANGELES -- Two high-profile candidates vying to become the city's first Latino mayor in more than a century could be stung by their roles in President Clinton's pardon of a convicted cocaine dealer. Both U.S. Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Los Angeles, and former state Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa wrote letters interceding on behalf of Carlos Vignali Jr., whose father had made campaign donations to both men. Becerra and Villaraigosa are among six candidates jostling for voters' notice in the weeks leading up to the April 10 primary. Becerra urged review of the case in his letter, while Villaraigosa wrote he was ``convinced'' that Carlos Vignali was ``falsely linked'' to a drug ring. Villaraigosa's campaign strategist, Parke Skelton, said it is too early to predict what effect the flap will have. Becerra's campaign manager, Paige Richardson, said, ``All press is good press in a race like this, where name recognition is half the battle.'' Vignali was freed Jan. 20, Clinton's last day in office, after serving six years of a 15-year term for his role in a drug ring that stretched from Los Angeles to Minneapolis and delivered more than 800 pounds of cocaine. Vignali's father, Horacio Carlos Vignali, is a successful local businessman. Villaraigosa, who wrote a 1996 letter to the Justice Department, had received nearly $2,795 from Vignali's father in donations to past campaigns, according to the Los Angeles Times. Becerra wrote a letter to the White House and placed calls to top officials on Vignali's behalf. Vignali's father donated $2,475 to Becerra's congressional campaigns, $10,000 to a political action committee Becerra operated, and, with family members, donated $3,500 to Becerra's mayoral campaign, according to campaign finance reports. Villaraigosa, considered the more viable candidate of the two, said last week that he was wrong to have intervened. Becerra stood by his actions, saying he did no more for Vignali -- whose parents he described in his letter as ``dear friends'' -- than he would have for any other constituent. Some observers say Becerra and Villaraigosa have political cover, because Cardinal Roger Mahony, a much-respected local figure, also wrote a 1996 letter on Vignali's behalf -- a move he later said he regretted. On Sunday, officials with the former Clinton White House said Vignali was released because of intervention by a ``broad range'' of influential Los Angeles community leaders -- singling out Mahony and U.S. Attorney Alejandro Mayorkas. - --- MAP posted-by: Andrew