LOS ANGELES : Woo Wins Endorsement of Sentinel Newspaper

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Michael Woo has won the endorsement of the Los Angeles Sentinel, boosting his efforts to win over African-American voters, who account for 20% of the city’s registered voters.

In an editorial in today’s edition, the South-Central Los Angeles-based newspaper praises Woo as the first city official to call for former Police Chief Daryl F. Gates’ resignation.

“Michael Woo has long demonstrated his commitment to the city as a whole and minority communities in particular,” says the editorial. “We base our endorsement of Michael Woo not only on his words, but on his deeds, which demonstrate to us a sincere commitment to our issues. . . . Our hearts are with (candidate) Stan Sanders . . . a product of Watts.” But publisher Kenneth Thomas called Sanders a long shot.

“If we’re going to keep Mr. Riordan from buying the election, we’ll have to go with Mike Woo,” said Thomas, referring to Richard Riordan’s donation of $3 million to his own campaign.