Mayor Defends Airport Panel Against Criticism

Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn defended the city’s airport commissioners Tuesday against criticism that they have awarded contracts without proper justification and openness, and said Airport Commission President Ted Stein has assured him he has not raised political contributions from contractors on Hahn’s behalf.

“I think if there are any allegations or other things that need to be investigated, they should be investigated, but I am satisfied at this point, from what I know so far, that proper procedures have been followed,” Hahn told reporters at City Hall.

On Monday, City Controller Laura Chick released a critical audit of the city’s airport agency, Los Angeles World Airports, and said she had asked local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to investigate “potential illegal acts” that she did not specify. The agency operates Los Angeles International Airport, Ontario International Airport and Van Nuys and Palmdale airports.

Chick said she launched her review because of “rumors about a pay-to-play environment” in which contractors make political contributions to get preferential treatment.

Responding on Tuesday, Hahn said he believes that airport officials have been “scrupulously following the law and the advice of the city attorney.”

Appearing earlier in the day on the “Ask the Mayor” program on radio station KFWB-AM (980), Hahn said he reviewed the audit but added, “I didn’t find any evidence of wrongdoing in the controller’s report.”

Hahn said some of Chick’s concerns might stem from the fact that Los Angeles has a form of government that allows city commissioners broad oversight of municipal departments, including the power to approve contracts.

“We have a form of government in Los Angeles that is kind of unique,” Hahn said during the radio show. “We believe that citizens ought to be running the city’s departments, not bureaucrats. I appoint members of the public to all the commissions of the city [and] ... they are supposed to exercise general oversight over the departments.”

Auditors expressed concern that, in one example cited, there was no written documentation supporting the commission’s decision to award a contract to one firm when the airport staff recommended another company as the most qualified bidder.

“It is a different way of doing things,” Hahn said of the city process. “We don’t let the bureaucrats make all the decisions. But it’s important that it be a public and open process so the public has confidence that we are making these decisions on the merits.”

He also backed the dual role of Stein, who in addition to being Airport Commission president is one of Hahn’s chief political fundraisers.

“I have had several conversations with the president of the Airport Commission, Mr. Stein, about this issue, because the allegations keep being made,” Hahn said.

“He is absolutely adamant that he does not request campaign contributions from people who have business at the airport,” the mayor said. “He does ask other people that he knows outside the airport from time to time if they are interested in supporting me. But he is adamant that he is not asking for support out of anybody who is doing business at the airport.”

Despite the mayor’s statement, his campaign representatives declined a request by The Times on Tuesday to release a list of those who contributed to Hahn’s campaign during an Oct. 30 fundraiser that Stein hosted at the exclusive City Club on Bunker Hill.

Campaign spokesman Bill Carrick said he did not know who made contributions at the event.

Those who attended the fundraiser say at least four people who have done business with the airport were there, but only one of the three interviewed said he wrote a check at the event.

Matt Middlebrook, a former deputy to Hahn who is now an executive with airport contractor and public relations firm Fleishman Hillard Inc., confirmed that he wrote a check to the Hahn campaign at the Stein event, but said he was not solicited by Stein.

“He didn’t ask me for it. I just wrote a check,” said Middlebrook, who left his position as deputy mayor earlier in October.

“I think the mayor has done a good job, and I would like to see him continue,” Middlebrook said to explain why he contributed. He said he showed up at the event uninvited.

In fact, the invitation sent out for the fundraiser included a warning that read, “Please disregard this invitation if you are a registered lobbyist of the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners and/or are an airport contractor.”

Doug Dowie, another executive at Fleishman Hillard, and Harvey Englander, a lobbyist for Mercury Air, a company that does business with the airport department, said they also attended the fundraiser but did not contribute to Hahn’s campaign at the event. Dowie said he was invited as a courtesy after having contributed to Hahn in the past.

The approximately 30 people who attended included Ed McSpedon, a vice president of HNTB, an engineering firm that does work at the airport, but McSpedon and Stein did not return phone calls to determine whether he made a contribution at the event.