ELECTIONS LONG BEACH CITY COUNCIL : Bread-Butter Issues Dominate Campaigns : Serles Admits Votes Violated Law but Calls Actions an Oversight

Planning Commission Chairman Jim Serles has acknowledged that he “inadvertently” voted on two issues in violation of the state conflict-of-interest law, but said two other breach-of-ethics accusations stemmed from clerical errors that have since been corrected.

Serles, a candidate for the 3rd District City Council seat, was accused by his opponent, Doug Drummond, of violating the state Political Reform Act by accepting more than $250 in campaign donations from developers and businessmen, then voting in favor of four projects they brought to the Planning Commission.

City Prosecutor John Vander Lans said he hopes to make public the results of an investigation of the charges before the April 10 election. Serles, a dentist, and Drummond, a retired police commander, are vying for the council seat left open by Jan Hall.

Vander Lans said he has concluded his investigation of four conflict-of-interest allegations, which are possible misdemeanors. But he declined to disclose his findings until a fifth charge--that Serles misrepresented the value of donated office space--is fully examined. A retired Los Angeles County sheriff’s detective was hired by the city to examine that charge, and Vander Lans is pressing for a decision before the election.

“I think the public is entitled to know something about this prior to the election,” Vander Lans said.

In an interview at his Naples home last week, Serles said he did indeed vote on two of his contributors’ projects, but that one was an oversight and the other a misunderstanding.

“I have never been beholden to anyone,” he said. “These accusations are totally without merit.”

Serles said he accepted a $750 contribution from developer Dale Robinson four months before voting in favor of the developer’s plans to build a two-unit condominium. The project was unanimously passed by the commission without discussion, along with several other non-controversial items, according to Serles. He said he was not aware that Robinson had contributed to his election campaign.

Serles also acknowledged voting for a 51-unit townhouse development after receiving a $600 contribution from realtor Larry Agajanian, but that the Planning Commission record identifying Agajanian as owner of the property is in error.

Agajanian said in an interview that he had submitted an offer to buy the land, but has never owned it.

Serles said he was unaware that it is necessary to abstain from voting if the contributor even participates in a project.

“Now that I have been informed that the word participant also is part of the regulation, I would excuse myself,” he said.

A third allegation accuses Serles of accepting $1,000 from developer Robert Kendrick, then voting on Kendrick’s controversial plan to develop some abandoned Pacific Electric right of way.

But Serles said the Planning Commission record was incorrect and that a tape recording of the proceeding shows he actually abstained. “I have never voted on a Kendrick issue,” he said, adding that he returned the $1,000 to Kendrick nevertheless.

“Once the allegation was made, I wanted to make absolutely clear that if there was any potential conflict of interest, the integrity of the Planning Commission was foremost in my mind,” he said.

In the fourth allegation, Serles is accused of voting for the expansion of the Belmonte restaurant on 2nd Street after he reported a $300 donation from its owner. But a check produced by Serles revealed that his campaign disclosure statement was in error, and the contributor was actually the owner’s wife. Contributions by a spouse are not a violation, state officials have said.

The final charge accuses Serles of accepting donated office space with a value that exceeded the $1,000 campaign contribution limit. Drummond said he inquired about the value of the space and was quoted a price higher than the $300-a-month value Serles reported.

Serles said he accepted the value the owner put on the space, which sat empty for more than two years before he moved in.