Holden Still Wants to Sue Lobbyist

Los Angeles City Councilman Nate Holden said Friday that he will “vigorously pursue” his lawsuit against a lobbyist who claimed he and Councilman John Ferraro asked for contributions in exchange for scheduling a hearing for her clients, even though the lobbyist has since recanted her story.

Holden said at a City Hall press conference that a letter written by lobbyist Ann Carlton Bose detailing the allegations “may have been prepared to hurt me and to damage my reputation, and for no other reason.”

The district attorney’s office dropped its review of the matter on Thursday after Bose contradicted her initial account in the letter and in interviews last week with KNBC and The Times. Bose told investigators she “never viewed the matter as a bribe or soliciting a bribe,” according to investigators.

Holden said Friday that he welcomed the district attorney’s decision to drop the matter but said the allegations nonetheless have “been damaging to my health, my welfare and my reputation.”