Simi Valley Mayor Finds Favor With Developers : Gallegly’s Campaign for Congressional Seat Gains Financial Boost From Firms Active in City Projects

Simi Valley Mayor Elton Gallegly has long been an enthusiastic booster of growth in this young city, which in recent years has experienced an explosion of multimillion-dollar development.

That pro-growth stance has proved a financial boon for Gallegly’s campaign to capture the 21st District congressional seat being vacated by incumbent Rep. Bobbi Fiedler (R-Northridge), who is running for the U.S. Senate.

According to federal campaign disclosure reports, Gallegly has raised $192,491 since he set his sights on Congress early last year. At least 49% of Republican Gallegly’s contributions have come from developers, construction firms, construction engineers, real estate agents and financial institutions.

Executives associated with more than 80 development-related companies are among Gallegly’s contributors. Many of those companies have been active in development projects in Simi Valley, which must often receive approval from both the city’s Planning Commission and the City Council.

In several instances, developers have donated to Gallegly’s campaign a few days or weeks before the City Council voted to approve their projects. In at least two instances, Gallegly formed part of the minimum three-vote majority needed for the approval of two controversial development projects, a Target department store and a retail center featuring a Fuddrucker’s restaurant.

Mackel Co. Donation

One of the donations that coincided with a council vote came from the executives of the Mackel Co. in North Hollywood, one of the largest commercial developers in Simi Valley.

Four members of the Mackel family donated a total of $1,125 to Gallegly’s campaign in December, a month before the City Council considered whether to halt the Mackel Co.’s shopping center project, which was to be anchored by a Target department store. The planning commission had endorsed the project, but two council members sought to reverse the approval because, they claimed, it was not in accordance with the city’s general plan, which called for a larger, more appropriate shopping mall.

The developers were given the go-ahead after Gallegly and two other councilmen approved the project.

Gallegly said he voted for the Target project strictly because it would bring two dozen stores to the community, provide jobs and fatten the city’s coffers.

Tom Mackel, the company’s president, said he and his brothers wanted to help the mayor because they admired him.

“He’s a good man. We’ve watched him through the years and we feel he would make a good congressman and would be a great asset to Simi Valley,” Mackel said.

‘Never Asked Any Favor’

“We have never asked any favor,” Mackel added. “We’re very proud of the fact we don’t ask for favors. Our projects stand alone.”

In another case, Eugene and Jean Lederer contributed $2,000 shortly before their development project was reviewed by the council last spring.

In June, the council, on a 3-2 vote, approved a zoning change to permit the Lederers to build a Fuddrucker’s restaurant and specialty shopping center. Opponents claimed the spot zoning would set a bad precedent. But Gallegly, who voted for the project, said it would be an asset to the community.

Lederer praised the mayor and insisted there was no attempt to influence Gallegly’s vote.

“If I didn’t believe in the guy I wouldn’t give him any money,” Lederer said.

Gallegly maintains that none of the congressional campaign contributions he has received from developers represents a conflict of interest. He said the developers have supported his candidacy because, during his six years as mayor, he has supported orderly residential and commercial development in Simi Valley.

‘Votes Done Objectively’

“I can assure you, and I say without reservation . . . my votes have been done objectively and done without any kind of conflict,” Gallegly said.

The building interests, the mayor added, “did not get my vote because they contributed to the campaign.”

All the developers who were interviewed said the timing of contributions was coincidental. They said they have helped the mayor financially because they have been impressed with his tenacity, honesty, intelligence and political acumen.

“He’s a qualified individual who would represent us well in Washington,” said Elaine Freeman, a vice president at Griffin Homes, an active home builder in the city. Under his leadership, she added, Gallegly has helped elevate the city from the butt of jokes into a prosperous community with the highest median income in Ventura County.

According to campaign finance experts, the practice of voting on issues of importance to his campaign contributors did not represent a conflict of interest under state law.

Lynn Montgomery, a spokeswoman for the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission, said, referring to local officials, “They know it’s not a basis of conflict so they won’t exclude themselves from votes.”

Explains Council Votes

In explaining his council votes, Gallegly said he has consistently backed high-quality development projects because the city, which does not have a property tax, depends heavily on the revenue growth generates. The projects, he said, also create jobs. His recent votes, he added, do not conflict with his typical pattern of voting for many development projects.

Gallegly said he never considered abstaining from voting on issues affecting his contributors.

One of those contributors was Irwin Garfield, whose donation arrived shortly before a City Council vote involving him was taken.

Garfield, president of Paragon Homes in Santa Monica, had planned to erect 84 homes and 32 apartments near the site of an ancient Chumash Indian village. The city had authorized the project, but the development was later jeopardized when the plans were not completed within the time limit.

On Feb. 5, the city’s Planning Commission refused to give Garfield’s project a year’s extension. The commission members, who objected to his plan to place some homes only five feet from the street, said they had allowed Garfield sufficient time to start construction. The project also had been criticized by Chumash Indians, who said that grading would destroy Indian artifacts.

Donated $500 Same Day

On the same day of the planning commission’s decision, Garfield donated $500 to Gallegly’s campaign. Garfield then appealed to City Council.

The council later rejected Garfield’s appeal, but Gallegly, along with another councilman, voted to grant Garfield the extension.

Gallegly said he favored the extension because he believed Garfield only needed another 30 days to complete his plans. The mayor said the Planning Commission’s decision “seemed a little unfair” because he believed that the city helped cause the delay.

“I can tell you there was no telephone call saying, ‘We’re making a donation to your campaign.’ It was never discussed,” Gallegly said.

Garfield said he does not recall when he contributed to Gallegly’s campaign, but he added that there was no connection between the donation and his appeal before the City Council.

“I had a meeting with him. I heard his philosophy regarding his open-door policy,” Garfield said. “I was impressed; it warranted a contribution.”

Donation Last Spring

Gallegly also received a donation from a developer last spring when the council was facing one of the most controversial development issues to hit town in a long time.

Griffin Homes wanted to build a large housing development and a light industrial park on a piece of land called Hopetown. The hilly, picturesque property is perhaps the city’s most historic area, having at one time provided the backdrop for thousands of movies and television shows.

Opponents of the proposed development, who considered the project to be environmentally harmful, threatened to circulate initiative petitions seeking to kill the project.

During this period, Gallegly accepted a $1,000 campaign contribution from Paul Griffin Jr., president of Griffin Homes.

Less than a month later, Gallegly, along with the rest of City Council, unanimously approved a compromise plan on June 3 to allow Griffin to build up to 280 homes on the property.

Freeman said Griffin’s $1,000 contribution for the primary--the maximum permitted an individual under federal law--coincided with one of Gallegly’s fund-raisers and had nothing to do with the Hopetown development.

Gallegly’s chief opponent in the congressional primary contest is Tony Hope, an attorney and son of entertainer Bob Hope, who recently returned to the San Fernando Valley after working in Washington for 10 years. Tom La Porte, a stockbroker from Thousand Oaks, is also in the Republican race. Whoever wins the Republican nomination is virtually guaranteed victory in the general election in November because of the district’s overwhelming Republican makeup.