Mayor Denies Veto of Hotel Was Political Favoritism

Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley on Tuesday denied allegations that he vetoed a permit for construction of a 14-story, 340-room Hilton Hotel in Warner Center because a campaign contributor led the opposition to the project.

“I have friendships with those who are promoting that project,” Bradley said, citing his friendship with Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, a former congresswoman and Los Angeles County supervisor who was hired by the hotel’s developer to lobby for the project.

Bradley said his disapproval of the project was “simply a matter of conscience.” He repeated his objections, contained in his veto message Monday, that the project conflicts with the Warner Center master plan and would create traffic problems.

That master plan calls for the most intense commercial development west of Canoga Avenue and designates the proposed hotel site, on the east side of Canoga just south of Victory Boulevard, for less intense industrial use.

Major Contributor

Bradley was responding to allegations made by Councilwoman Joy Picus after his veto that he was trying to kill the project because developer Robert Voit lobbied heavily against it.

Warner Center Properties, of which Voit is managing partner, was Bradley’s biggest campaign contributor from the San Fernando Valley in 1983 and 1984, according to a Times analysis of contributions.

Marriott Corp. is building a 17-story, 470-room hotel on property Voit owns in Warner Center, within a mile of the proposed Hilton Hotel site.

Picus, who supports construction of the hotel in her West Valley district, said Tuesday that she believes she has the 12 council votes necessary to override the mayor’s veto. A vote is scheduled Friday.

Picus, usually an ally of the mayor, said she spoke to most of her colleagues Tuesday urging their support of the project. “I’m not having any problems,” she said. “They all seem to be holding tight.”

One Vote Shy

However, an informal sampling of council members found that Picus appears to need one more vote--that of Councilmen Dave Cunningham or Gilbert Lindsay--to override the mayor’s veto.

Picus said Cunningham told her that he is “unequivocally commited” to support the project.

But Cunningham and Lindsay, who voted for the project when it was approved Friday on a 12-1 council vote, declined to commit themselves Tuesday. Both are strong supporters of the mayor.

“I don’t know yet what I’m going to do,” Lindsay said.

Council President Pat Russell cast the vote against the project. Councilman Joel Wachs, who was absent for Friday’s vote, said he supports the project.

The Hilton Hotel has been proposed by developer Norman Kravetz as part of his “Trillium” project, which will include two already-approved 17-story office buildings on eight acres.