Bob Hertzberg is a whirlwind of energy and a man of big ideas who believes he is just the candidate to shake L.A. out of what he perceives as its lethargy.

An attorney who plunged into politics and used both charm and political calculation to become Speaker of the state Assembly, Hertzberg has raised lots of money with a Web-based campaign and boldly proposed to break up the L.A. Unified School District. He also was the first to hit the airwaves with an ad showing him towering over L.A.

But is L.A. ready for Bob Hertzberg?

He’s still unknown to most voters and it’s anyone’s guess whether he rides to triumph like Richard Riordan did a dozen years ago or falls short like Steve Soboroff did four years ago.

“Hertzberg is presenting himself as the idea man in this race,” said Raphael Sonenshein, professor of political science at California State University Fullerton and a longtime observer of local politics. “He’s also displaying a sense of boundless energy. When you combine these two, it’s almost the polar opposite of Hahn’s style.”

Much will depend on whether Hertzberg can connect to voters outside his base in the San Fernando Valley. In a Los Angeles Times poll released earlier this month, before the ad campaign was launched, 21 percent of Valley voters said they would vote for Hertzberg. But overall his support was just 12 percent, putting him on a par with Councilman and former Police Chief Bernard Parks but well behind incumbent Mayor James Hahn and City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa.

That will force Hertzberg to win over lots of voters within a short period of time, a challenge that the candidate appears eager to take on. It is that gregarious nature – including those now trademark bear hugs – and his work behind the scenes to forge delicate political compromises that has gotten him this far.

“Bob has the ability to see the big picture and yet understand every little detail in that picture. Usually, people can only do one or the other,” said attorney Scott Baugh, who was the Assembly Republican leader when Hertzberg, a Democrat, was Speaker.

Tackling big issues

That understanding comes from a voracious appetite for anything involving public policy, something that Hertzberg displayed during his childhood growing up with a father who was a prominent constitutional lawyer.

“He always wanted to tackle big issues,” said brother Gerry Hertzberg, who works as an aide to Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina.

Hertzberg, the third of five sons, was elected class president at Palm Springs High School in his junior and senior years. (The family moved to Palm Springs from L.A. because the local school district there was willing to accept his older brother Lyle, who suffered from cerebral palsy.)

He followed in his father’s footsteps and enrolled in the Hastings College of Law in San Francisco on his way to becoming an attorney himself. Upon graduation, Hertzberg and his father started their own law firm.