Inglewood Mayor to Pay Fine to Settle Allegations

Inglewood Mayor Edward Vincent has agreed to pay the state Fair Political Practices Commission $16,000 to settle allegations that he failed to report thousands of dollars in contributions to a political ally and a proposition that would have nearly tripled his salary.

“It’s incredible to me that they would call me to task for some minor violations,” said Vincent, who plans to run for a third term as mayor in November. “You have to be a lawyer to try to decipher those codes (election laws). I still don’t understand what they’re talking about.”

Vincent, a county probation officer, was accused of not reporting about $14,000 donated to Ervin (Tony) Thomas for his 1987 City Council race. Although Thomas won the election, he was removed from office in midterm after a court found evidence of an illegal absentee ballot campaign. In a court-ordered runoff last October, Thomas lost to Garland Hardeman, a Los Angeles police officer who now holds the council seat.

The proposed settlement agreement, made public Friday, for the first time outlines all of the allegations that the FPPC was investigating against Vincent.

The agreement also alleges that Vincent donated about $2,000 to the salary increase proposition--which was defeated by a 2-1 margin in 1987--without reporting the donations on campaign statements.

“The mayor’s financial support, especially for a measure increasing his mayoral salary, was information that should have been publicly available,” the FPPC report said.

The settlement, if approved by the FPPC on April 3, would resolve eight alleged violations of the Political Reform Act.

Last August, Vincent paid nearly $5,000 in civil penalties but admitted no wrongdoing in a settlement of a lawsuit that accused him of illegally using campaign funds over several years.

The lawsuit, filed by the state attorney general’s office in early 1989, was the first prosecution of an elected official under a 1981 state law that says campaign contributions must be used for political or governmental purposes, not personal benefit.

The suit accused Vincent of spending nearly $5,000 in campaign money for personal uses such as truck repairs, clothes, a veterinarian’s bill, and for trips to Northern California, Philadelphia and Salt Lake City.