Religious Leaders Urge Council to OK Ethics Plan

A coalition of religious leaders, concerned that a proposed city government ethics package may be gutted, called Wednesday on the Los Angeles City Council to accept the plan in its entirety and vowed to present it to voters if the council fails to heed their advice.

The 15 religious leaders were introduced at a news conference by Mayor Tom Bradley, who said they had requested a forum to make their appeal. Bradley, whose acceptance of payments from two financial institutions in exchange for serving as an adviser or director helped spawn the proposals, then left without accepting questions.

The ethics package, if approved, not only would outlaw the financial transactions that drew Bradley into controversy, but would also prevent the earning of outside income, all gifts and honorariums, and would order the public financing of city political campaigns. An ethics commission would monitor the behavior of city officials.