Broome Attacks Holden Record as RTD Director

With the election two weeks away, Los Angeles City Council candidate Homer Broome Jr. made it clear Monday that he plans to try to overtake his rival, former state Sen. Nate Holden, by saddling him with the well-publicized troubles of the embattled RTD.

Holden is a Southern California Rapid Transit District director.

Fresh on the heels of a television debate in which he hammered away at Holden’s RTD record, Broome said at a City Hall news conference Monday that his opponent’s “abysmal” record as a member of the transit board should raise concerns about his “fitness and competence.”

Broome, who finished second to Holden in the April primary, accused his opponent of questionable activities as an RTD director, including billing the bus agency for “undocumented” secretarial help, taking side trips on transit-related business and handling expense receipts in a slipshod manner.

Those accusations, which Broome has resurrected in the increasingly volatile 10th Council District campaign, drew an immediate response from Holden, who accused his rival of engaging in mudslinging. He also said he has used his position to become one of the strongest in-house critics of the transit district’s shortcomings.

Focus of Campaign

The RTD, plagued by allegations of mismanagement and other troubles, has become the focus of Broome’s campaign to win the vacant council seat in a race in which he is considered the underdog.

That political strategy took shape during a television show Sunday, when Broome suggested that Holden was trying to play down his role with the RTD. Broome lashed out at his opponent’s record during his four years on the transit board. On Monday, Broome produced copies of RTD expense accounts submitted by Holden and accused him of having a poor record as a director.

“What I’m trying to say is that he, as a public official, should stand up and be accountable, and it seems that he is hiding something. And if he isn’t hiding something, he should come forth,” said Broome, adding that the record “raises questions as to (Holden’s) fitness and competence as a public official.”

Specifically, Broome criticized some side trips that Holden had taken in 1984 while traveling to Washington for the RTD. Holden visited cities in New Jersey, Minnesota and Illinois on personal business as part of the trip, Broome said, and charged it to the public.

He also criticized the payment of $225 a month during most of 1984 for “secretarial services” at Holden’s home as well as the reimbursement of money for “social hours” and meals with guests whose identity was limited to first names such as “Rita, Theresa, Josie and Jewel.”

“My concern is he taking side trips at taxpayer expense. My concern is he taking social lunches at taxpayer expense,” said Broome, who added that Holden has not filed expense accounts for the last two years.

Allegations Denied

When asked about the expense account issue, Holden said reimbursements were for authorized lunches or dinners, including $31.42 in meal costs with four RTD secretaries listed by their first names. He maintained that the side trips included visits to transit properties and were made to save money on bargain air fares. He said the billing for extra secretarial services was allowed by the board.

“I’m not going to engage in mudslinging. I am not going to wallow in the mud. It’s clear that desperate people take desperate actions,” Holden said.

“They gave me the ground rules when I joined the RTD board,” he added, “and I have followed them.”

Broome’s attack, however, has clearly stung his opponent. Holden told The Times that he has pulled out of a scheduled television broadcast with Broome because of the tactics.

The campaign has also become testy on another level, with both candidates complaining of vandalism--slashed tires and smashed windows--against their own automobiles or those of supporters. Broome said he also called Holden to warn “you and your thugs” to quit taking lawn signs off private property. Holden denied that his supporters had done so.

The candidates, vying in a sprawling council district that extends across the Southwest Los Angeles area, are backed by powerful political organizations. Holden’s supporters include Supervisor Kenneth Hahn and Broome has the backing of Mayor Tom Bradley, whose former political aide, Tom Sullivan, joined Broome’s campaign last week.