LOS ANGELES : LaBonge Wins Backing of Gay Challenger

City Council candidate Tom LaBonge on Wednesday picked up a key endorsement from a gay challenger in the April primary in his contest for the 13th District seat being vacated by mayoral hopeful Michael Woo.

Michael Weinstein, 40, who finished fourth among eight candidates in April, threw his support to LaBonge.

The news was an unexpected blow to LaBonge’s opponent, Jackie Goldberg, 48, a former Los Angeles school board member who is trying to become the first openly gay or lesbian membEr of the City Council. It gives LaBonge, 39, endorsements from the third-, fourth- and fifth-place finishers in last month’s primary, and could help chip away at Goldberg’s support from the gay and lesbian community, whose backing will be crucial in a close election.

In another council race, 15th District Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores has won the backing of former political adversary Janice Hahn. The endorsement by Hahn, who finished third in the primary, is significant because her strongest support came in Watts and Wilmington, communities that loom as crucial battlegrounds for Flores and her runoff opponent, Rudy Svorinich.