Make It Independent

The questions raised by the shadowy and irregular nature of Mayor Tom Bradley’s personal finances are among the most serious to afflict Los Angeles city government in half a century. Michael Woo, chairman of the City Council’s Government Operations Committee, did not overstate the case last week, when he called this affair “a crisis of confidence in the integrity of city government itself.”

At best, the mayor has been guilty of insensitivity and bad judgment in the handling of his own business dealings. If there is worse, it needs to be found out--all of it, and quickly.

For that reason, we believe the City Council should appoint an independent prosecutor to investigate any and all suspected conflicts between Bradley’s financial interests and his responsibilities as an elected official. The person chosen ought to be an experienced, distinguished member of the bar, free of partisan political attachment. The person chosen must be provided the staff necessary to accomplish an expeditious but thorough inquiry. It is essential that the prosecutor have the power to subpoena records and compel testimony under pain of perjury. Anything less is likely to leave unresolved questions that must be answered.

In making this recommendation we do not wish to denigrate the efforts already being made by City Atty. James K. Hahn and his staff. They have proceeded with diligence. However, in conflict-of-interest cases, the appearance of conflict can be as debilitating as actual conflict. In this matter, Hahn is enmeshed in such appearances. He is, by law, the mayor’s attorney, as well as the city’s. Both James Hahn and his father, County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, are longtime political allies of the mayor. One of the younger Hahn’s principal aides is a former partner in one of the the law firms now representing Bradley.

Similarly, Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner, himself a former city attorney and a Bradley supporter, is not an appropriate candidate to conduct this investigation.

Recent history has shown that when political scandals are allowed to unwind on their own, the consequences fall on the body politic like some degenerative disease. Initially, there is retreat and denial. But, as symptoms multiply, the result is a crippling paralysis that will not be ignored. Los Angeles cannot afford a paralyzed city government.

Only a full, fair and disinterested inquiry can do what now must be done: Either restore the mayor’s good name or lay bare all of his activities for others to judge and act upon.