Friedman Has Assembly’s Highest Office Expense Tab

Assemblyman Terry B. Friedman (D-Los Angeles) spent $332,552--more than any of the Assembly’s 79 other members--on his office expenses during the 1988 legislative session, according to figures released by the Assembly.

Friedman’s total was 19% higher than the Assembly average of $279,192 for the 12 months ending last Nov. 30. It was $10,270 ahead of the $322,282 accounted for by the second ranking spender, Assemblyman Bill Leonard (R-Big Bear).

“I have no problem with anyone examining the way every penny was spent because it was spent prudently,” Friedman said in an interview Monday. “There’s no excessive salaries. There’s no frivolous expenditures.”

Among the reasons cited by Friedman for his top ranking are the cost of renting his Sherman Oaks office, the cost of mailing newsletters to his San Fernando Valley and Westside constituents and a bookkeeping delay that caused some 1987 expenses to be paid in 1988.

Friedman’s 43rd District includes Studio City, Encino and Sherman Oaks in the Valley and Beverly Hills, part of West Hollywood, Bel-Air, Brentwood and part of Westwood in West Los Angeles.

The figures, released Friday, are compiled annually and released by the Assembly Rules Committee. The totals include staff salaries, travel, cars, district office expenses, newsletters, postage, telephones, furniture, equipment, supplies, subscriptions and photocopying.

The totals do not include staff and other costs connected with committee assignments. Some Assembly members who head committees have additional staff and expenses connected to their extra duties. Friedman, who is not a committee chairman, is a two-term lawmaker who easily won reelection last November.

Office Rent Cited

In reviewing his expenses, Friedman said his office rent is higher than rents in other parts of the state. He paid $20,833 a year for his Ventura Boulevard office, compared to the average annual local office rent of $15,863 for the Assembly’s 80 members.

“There ought to be an allowance for the prevailing rent in a particular district,” Friedman said. “The fact is that it costs more to rent an office space in Sherman Oaks than it does in Norwalk.”

Also included in the expenses is the cost of newsletters--$63,490 for Friedman. Karin Caves, a spokeswoman for Friedman, said $15,800 in newsletter costs from 1987 were not paid by the state controller until 1988.

In addition, Caves said Friedman’s newsletter budget was higher than most other members because it was pegged to the number of registered voters per household. Friedman, with 103,568 households, is among the Assembly members with the most registered voters, she said.

That expense may have ended. Mass mailings by elected officials at public expense, including newsletters, were prohibited last June when voters adopted Proposition 73, which is being challenged in the courts.

After Friedman, the next highest-spending Valley Assembly member was Tom Bane (D-Van Nuys), who listed $301,019 in expenses. Bane, chairman of the Assembly Rules Committee, reported spending $29,343--more than any of his colleagues--on postage not connected with newsletters. He spent another $30,323 on newsletter printing and postage.

The office expenses figures for other San Fernando Valley area Assembly members were: Marian W. La Follette (R-Northridge), $288,864; Richard Katz (D-Sylmar), $285,471; Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley), $283,936; Burt Margolin (D-Los Angeles), $277,030, and Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks), $269,235.