Former Times Editor Is Nominated to Ethics Panel

City Controller Laura Chick said Thursday that she was nominating journalist Bill Boyarsky to the Los Angeles Ethics Commission, calling him “the antithesis of a City Hall insider” while citing his knowledge of government gained through 30 years as a reporter, columnist and editor for the Los Angeles Times.

Boyarsky, who has retired from The Times and lectures at USC, said that he supports a strong Ethics Commission that actively enforces campaign finance and ethics laws. He added that he is concerned that campaign contributions play a large role at City Hall.

“There is a perception that the public has, and it’s justified to a great degree, that, not only in city politics, in every level of government, you have to pay to play,” Boyarsky said.

“Gov. Davis and his campaign and fund-raising brought this up to a high level. The fund-raising for city campaigns, the fund-raising for the mayor campaigns has become extremely intense.”

Boyarsky, a West Los Angeles resident, said he supports a pending proposal requiring elected officials to recuse themselves from acting on matters involving lobbyists who work for them or raise campaign funds for them. He also said that someday he would like to see full public financing of campaigns, but added that he does not think that is politically or financially feasible now.

The appointment to a five-year term requires City Council confirmation.