WASHINGTON

BUSH, KERRY ADVISERS JOIN FORCES IN LOBBYING VENTURE

A top finance official in President Bush’s re-election campaign and a veteran political operative who helped run Senator Kerry’s presidential bid, announced yesterday that they are joining forces to start a lobbying venture.

The Republican, Jack Oliver, and the Democrat, Steven Elmendorf, said the government affairs consulting shop will have offices at Washington and Missouri, and will be attached to a St. Louis law firm, Bryan Cave.

“This was an extraordinary opportunity,” said Mr. Oliver, a former deputy chairman of the Republican Party. “There were so many synergies.”

Both men have strong connections to Missouri. Mr. Oliver, 36, was born there and worked for four Republican senators from the state. For more than a decade, Mr. Elmendorf was the chief aide to a former minority leader of the House of Representatives, Richard Gephardt. Mr. Elmendorf, 44, ran Mr. Gephardt’s 2004 presidential bid and became Mr. Kerry’s deputy campaign manager when the Missouri politician quit the race.

The lobbying practices of some Washington law firms have caused controversy and conflicts, but Mr. Elmendorf said he was confident that Bryan Cave would avoid such trouble. “They are a very well known, substantial and ethical firm. They don’t have any reputation for playing things fast and loose,” he said.

Mr. Elmendorf said he and Mr. Oliver were brought together by President Bush’s brother-in-law, Robert Koch. “He said you should go into business with Jack Oliver. I’d heard of Jack, but never met him,” Mr. Elmendorf said. “When I worked in the leader’s office, I didn’t spend a lot of time with Republicans. But when you get into the business world, you find they’re useful.”

Mr. Oliver said also plans to serve as a consultant to a New York investment bank, Lehman Brothers.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

WEST

MAYOR, HISPANIC COUNCILMAN IN A RUNOFF REMATCH

LOS ANGELES – Overcoming corruption allegations at City Hall and his own drab image, Mayor Hahn survived a scare in his bid for a second term and advanced yesterday to a runoff against the Hispanic councilman he beat four years ago.

Mr. Hahn and fellow Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa emerged as the top two vote-getters in Tuesday’s election after a third candidate conceded yesterday. The two men will meet in a May 17 rematch of their bitter 2001 runoff.

Until midmorning yesterday, Mr. Hahn appeared in danger of becoming the first Los Angeles mayor in 32 years to be ousted. But he shrugged off his second-place finish, saying, “Every day is a new day.”

He said he will stick to his message that crime is down and the economy is growing. “There’s not going to be a new Jim Hahn,” Mr. Hahn told cheering union supporters. “I’ve got to do a better job of communicating with voters.”

Mr. Villaraigosa, meanwhile, plunged into the battleground neighborhoods that cost him City Hall four years ago. “People want a fresh start, they want to get traffic moving again, they want to address the challenges that we face,” he said.

Mr. Villaraigosa finished with 33% of the vote, followed by Mr. Hahn with 24 percent and former state Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg, who conceded after pulling in 22%. Candidates needed more than 50% to win the mayor’s job outright and avoid the runoff.

– Associated Press

ACCUSER FACES JACKSON IN MOLESTATION TRIAL

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – Michael Jackson’s young accuser took the witness stand yesterday, saying he once considered the pop star now charged with molesting him “the coolest guy in the world.”

The 15-year-old was not asked about the molestation allegations before court ended for the day, but described viewing adult Internet sites with Mr. Jackson present and said the singer told him to “call me daddy” during the taping of a documentary.

With an expression that appeared to verge on a sneer, the young cancer survivor said yes when District Attorney Thomas Sneddon asked him if he recognized the defendant. The accuser followed to the stand his 14-year-old brother, who testified he saw Mr. Jackson grope his sibling in 2003.

Mr. Jackson, 46, is accused of molesting the boy, giving him alcohol, and conspiring to hold the boy’s family captive to get them to rebut a damaging TV documentary in which Jackson said he allowed children to sleep in his bedroom.

Mr. Jackson’s defense contends the family has a history of filing false claims to get money.

– Associated Press