Councilmen Offer Reforms to Bolster City’s Ethics Code

Amid a chorus of calls for a strengthening of the city’s code of ethics, three Los Angeles city councilmen Monday unveiled a package of reforms that would prohibit outside employment by city officials, cut down on contributions from parties with City Hall dealings and institute a permanent city ethics officer.

Under the reforms, former city officials would be permanently barred from lobbying on any matter in which they were personally involved, and they would face a moratorium on lobbying on any matter for a set period of time after leaving office.

Although Councilmen John Ferraro, Michael Woo and Marvin Braude said they were not “prejudging” Mayor Tom Bradley, the suggested ban on outside income struck directly at one of the allegations swirling around the five-term mayor. The city attorney is investigating, among other things, whether the mayor violated conflict-of-interest rules in accepting payment from two local financial institutions for acting as their adviser.

Prompted by Investigations

The councilmen made clear that publicity about the myriad investigations into Bradley’s financial affairs prompted their proposal, which will be forwarded to the council’s Governmental Operations Committee for hearing.

“We all feel this is a window of opportunity,” said Braude, who appeared with his colleagues at a City Hall press conference. “This is a time for reform, and we all want to take advantage of that time and opportunity.”

Bradley, in a statement released by his office, said he was “delighted” by the council proposals. But he issued a slap at the Governmental Operations Committee, led by Woo, which Bradley said has failed to act for two years on a mayoral initiative to curtail the power of local lobbyists.

Bradley also criticized the council members’ attempt to render moot the conclusions of the mayor’s own committee, appointed last April to strengthen ethics laws. Under a schedule outlined Monday by Woo, the new proposals will be heard by the full council in mid-summer, months before the Bradley panel will report its findings.

Ethics Panel Report

“I would not want to preempt the work of the (ethics) panel by rashly adopting a proposal today while the panel is in the midst of their work,” the mayor said. “Since the lobbyist legislation sat idle in committee for two years, I believe we can wait two or three more months to receive the recommendations of the ethics panel.”

Despite Bradley’s criticism, the council members’ proposal won swift acceptance from the citizens’ lobby Common Cause. Assistant Executive Director Mark Haarar said in a prepared statement that the package showed the council members “recognized the shortcomings of the system as it exists.”

“If enacted and enforced, (the reforms) can go a long way toward restoring the public’s confidence in their elected officials,” Haarar said.

City Atty. James K. Hahn, whose office would be called upon to prosecute matters investigated by the ethics officer, issued a preliminary approval of the proposals through a spokesman.

“City Atty. Hahn thinks that this is definitely a step in the right direction,” said spokesman Mike Qualls, who added that the city attorney will withhold comment on specific proposals until they are fleshed out by council members.

The city’s current code of ethics has been unanimously and sharply rapped in recent weeks as vague and ineffective. Council members and the mayor have repeatedly called for a strengthening of the code, as have members of the ethics commission.

In announcing the plan, council members were nonplussed about the impact their proposals would have on Bradley’s ethics commission. Woo said he hopes to call commission members to testify before his committee.

‘Wanted to Move Ahead’

“If they have something that’s better, we would like to hear from them,” Ferraro added.

“The mayor appointed that committee,” he said. “We wanted to move ahead. We didn’t want to sit around and wait for a period of time that could be several months.”

The proposals suggested by the council members covered a wide range of activities but frequently omitted specifics. In general, they would dictate the conduct of all elected officials as well as the city’s full-time public works commissioners. Other city employees would be affected under certain suggestions.

In the area most closely linked to the Bradley controversy, the package would prohibit any outside income, including honorariums, for elected officials and would preclude service as a director or officer of any business. The mayor received $18,000 last year to serve as an adviser to Far East National Bank. He later returned the money. He also received up to $24,000 a year from 1978 until last year to serve on the board of directors of Valley Federal Savings & Loan.

Outside employment by other city officials would be subject to the approval of department managers and the council.

Gifts and campaign contributions that exceeded a set amount from people or businesses with matters pending before a city body such as the council would be banned for a set period of time before and after a decision on the matter.

The proposal did not stipulate a preferred amount or a time period. “We’ll be working on the details in the committee,” Woo said.

Current, Future Activities

In addition to controlling outside interests, the proposals also sought to limit current and future activities of city officials. Travel that is financed by outside entities would have to be approved in advance by the council. Employees would be barred from negotiating for future employment with any entity that has business pending before a city agency and would be permanently prohibited from lobbying on issues with which they were involved.

A comprehensive ban on all lobbying would also take effect for an undetermined length of time after an employee leaves city service.

All violations will be misdemeanors.

The city ethics officer, a new position, would be nominated by a committee of senior elected officials and confirmed by the council and would take charge of various ethics-related responsibilities that are now spread across a range of city offices.