Groups Assail Mayor’s Use of Firm’s Jet

The head of the Mexican American Political Assn. on Tuesday called on Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to drop support of an ambassadorship for an owner of Ameriquest and urged him not to use the mortgage company’s jet again.

Also, the executive director of California Common Cause urged Villaraigosa to disclose the full value of flights that he, an aide and their security detail took Nov. 1 and 2 on a jet provided by Ameriquest so he could attend the funeral of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks in Detroit.

And the leader of a taxpayer advocacy group called on Villaraigosa to repay more than the commercial coach fare for the flight.

In a letter to the mayor, MAPA National President Nativo Lopez said his group was “taken aback” by an article in The Times on Tuesday that detailed Villaraigosa’s use of the Ameriquest jet and his letter of support to the Senate for the nomination of Ameriquest principal owner Roland E. Arnall as ambassador to the Netherlands.

Lopez said his organization has accused Ameriquest of predatory lending practices in the Latino community.

He called on Villaraigosa to drop his support for Arnall’s appointment as ambassador, support tough penalties against Ameriquest for unfair lending practices “and refuse any further entreats or favors” from the company.

“Anything less from a person of your stature and reputation would send a wrong message to the community in general, but especially from the community from whence you came,” Lopez wrote.

The mayor is tapping his political officeholder account to reimburse Ameriquest $438 each for himself and an aide who went on the trip, saying the city’s municipal code allows him to pay coach fare.

Kathay Feng of California Common Cause called on Villaraigosa to publicly disclose the full value of the flight.

A separate jet operator at Van Nuys Airport said her one-way fare to Detroit for a party of five costs more than $19,500.

“Clearly the mayor needs to disclose the full value,” Feng said. “We should be concerned whenever an elected official receives a gift or travel support from a special interest.”

Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., said the city should determine the fair market value of Villaraigosa’s travel and he should reimburse that amount. “It’s going to be more than coach. That’s clear,” Coupal said. “He shouldn’t have done it in the first place. It doesn’t look right.”

Villaraigosa’s office issued a statement Tuesday that defended use of the private jet.

“The California Political Reform Act expressly provides that the acceptance of domestic travel is permissible when an elected official is delivering a speech as part of official duty or relating to public policy,” the statement said.

The statement said the mayor’s attorney had determined the trip to Detroit was permitted under the act.

“A thorough reading of both state and city law shows that the actions of the office of the mayor were entirely permissible and ethical,” the statement said.

Villaraigosa has no plans to drop his support for the ambassadorship, will not increase the amount of reimbursement he plans, and is not ruling out using an Ameriquest jet in the future because he had previously decided to recuse himself from city matters involving Ameriquest, said Tom Saenz, the mayor’s counsel.

Given that Villaraigosa plans to stay out of Ameriquest issues at City Hall, Saenz questioned the value of the mayor seeking the fair market value of the jet flight and said there are no plans to request that information.

Villaraigosa, who worked as a consultant for Ameriquest in 2001 and 2002, has recently announced initiatives that could help mortgage lenders, including a proposal for a $1-billion bond measure to pay for more affordable housing.

The firm has a lobbyist at City Hall to “act as our representative on matters relating to home equity lending,” according to a letter by Adam J. Bass, a senior executive vice president for the firm. Bass did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday.