Major Firms Backing Police, Library Bond Measures

Big business interests are giving heavily to campaigns for two bond measures on Tuesday’s municipal ballot, campaign finance records show.

The measures are Proposition 1, which would raise $53.4 million to repair and expand libraries, and Proposition 2, which would provide $176 million to upgrade Police Department facilities.

Campaign managers for the bond measures said that most of their funds have been raised from large corporations, some with interests in downtown development.

Charles Reed, chairman of Citizens for a Safer Los Angeles, the Proposition 2 campaign committee, said he was able to raise $325,000 with telephone calls to fewer than 35 area corporations. “I didn’t get one turndown,” Reed said.

“A safer Los Angeles is good for business,” said Bob Lavoie, campaign manager of the committee.

Proposition 2 would allow the city to build two new police stations and a new training facility and to modernize or replace all of the existing stations.

Many of the large donations are being made in the closing days of the campaign, according to campaign finance records on file at the city clerk’s office.

Among the big corporate sponsors of the campaign are Arco, $25,000; Times Mirror Co., $15,000; Pacific Telesis Group, $10,000; Occidental Petroleum Corp., $2,500, and Southern California Edison Co., $2,500.

The library measure is being supported in large part by real estate developers and businesses with an interest in the downtown library office tower project--even though no funds from the bond measure will be used in that project. Branch libraries would be the sole beneficiaries of Proposition 1.

Craig Steele, co-manager of the Yes on L.A. Libraries campaign, said the developers and many of the tenants have taken an interest in the library as a result of their association with the project.

Development firm Maguire Thomas Partners, which is rebuilding the downtown library under separate funding, was one of the big contributors to the library bonds campaign, giving $5,000. Other contributors include the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers, $7,500; Shapel Industries, $2,500, and KDG Architecture and Planning, $1,250.

In all, the campaign has raised $60,000.