Planning Commissioners Reportedly Aid Candidate

Two members of the Orange County Planning Commission helped host a private dinner Tuesday where they solicited campaign donations on behalf of an Assembly candidate from Huntington Beach, according to some of those present.

Among those attending were several representatives of South County developers, including at least one who has a project pending before the Planning Commission.

The dinner, on behalf of 58th Assembly District candidate Peter von Elten, took place at a restaurant owned by Planning Commission Chairman Stephen Nordeck and was attended by commission member Roger Slates.

Nordeck, however, strongly denied in an interview that it was a fund-raising dinner, that he hosted the gathering or that he solicited any contributions. He said he was present on and off throughout the evening only because of his duties as owner of the Trabuco Oaks Steak House. Slates declined to comment.

Others at the dinner provided a different account of the evening.

Several of the roughly 15 people present said that the financing of von Elten’s bid for the Legislature was discussed, and that both Nordeck and Slates spoke to the guests on behalf of the candidate, encouraging them to contribute to him.

“Roger obviously and Steve Nordeck--the two of them, they sponsored the dinner--were indicating it would be nice if they wanted to contribute,” said Huntington Beach City Councilman Don MacAllister, who was there. “But there was no pressure.”

Among those who attended were two representatives of the Arvida Corp., which has a phase of its multimillion-dollar Coto de Caza development pending before the Planning Commission. Also present was a prominent lobbyist who has represented other South County developers that have periodic dealings with the commission.

Dave Ellis, von Elten’s campaign manager, said that no money “changed hands” at the dinner. Others interviewed said that guests were encouraged to contribute at a later date.

Sandra Michioku, a spokeswoman for the California Fair Political Practices Commission, said Thursday that state law bars appointed members of public commissions or boards from soliciting campaign contributions of $250 or more from individuals who have matters pending before them.

Michioku stressed that her comments were general and that she could reach “no conclusions” about the dinner at Nordeck’s restaurant without further investigation.

“Generally speaking, they may not accept, solicit or direct a contribution of $250 or more for any campaign if the contributor is involved in a decision which is pending before that body,” Michioku said.

But Nordeck said he didn’t solicit contributions from developers or anyone else at the dinner.

“I have been in politics for years,” said Nordeck, 48, who was appointed to the Planning Commission last year by Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez. “I am not naive enough to ever allow a fund-raiser in my restaurant.”

Reached by telephone, Slates said simply, “I’m not talking to the press.” Slates, a 60-year-old real estate consultant, first served on the commission from 1972 to 1975 and was appointed to a new term last year by Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder.

Von Elten, an executive with the Mola Development Co. in Huntington Beach, did not return calls for comment.

Ellis said that neither he nor von Elten paid for their meals, and that he understood the tab would be divided later between the two planning commissioners and von Elten’s campaign committee.

Richard Harlow, a consultant who represents developers before the Huntington Beach Planning Commission, said that he attended but didn’t pay for his meal, either.

“I didn’t get a chit set in front of me,” Harlow said. “I left money for a tip. . . . You paid for the dinner at your own option.” He said he assumed that he would “settle up” with Slates later.

Huntington Beach Councilman MacAllister said that both Nordeck and Slates spoke to the group on behalf of the candidate and encouraged the guests--most of whom he described as South County businessmen--to contribute to von Elten’s campaign.

MacAllister also said that von Elten was introduced to guests by both Nordeck and Slates and that he then talked about his goals as a candidate and the difficulty of financing a campaign.

Huntington Beach Councilman John Erskine, who also attended, described the dinner as “a very typical political event” where “it’s understood that this is the guy that X, Y and Z is supporting.” Guests at such events, Erskine said, are encouraged to make contributions at a later date rather than writing a check at the dinner.

Erskine said he was driven to the dinner with MacAllister, Slates, and Harlow in a chauffeured white limousine, for which each passenger chipped in $50. Erskine said he paid no one for his meal and assumed that Slates had picked up his tab. Erskine said he plans to report the dinner as a gift from Slates on financial disclosure statements that public officials are required to file under law.

“I was basically asked to go by Roger Slates, who’s a friend and a member of the Planning Commission,” Erskine said.

Campaign manager Ellis refused to disclose who was invited to the dinner, describing the guests only as leading South County businessmen who do not like “politics and publicity.”

Nordeck said he did not know who was invited to the dinner because he was not involved in planning the affair.

But Ellis said that Nordeck invited von Elten.

And Supervisor Vasquez said Nordeck called one of his aides about two weeks ago to inform him of the “meet and greet” dinner that was to be held at his restaurant. Vasquez described it as a courtesy call and said Nordeck did not invite him to attend.

Vasquez said he would reserve comment on the dinner until he learns more about it.

When told of the dinner, Supervisor Wieder expressed surprise. “That’s the first I’ve heard of it,” she said.

Among the guests at the dinner in Nordeck’s restaurant were Irwin R. Schatzman and Kevin A. Canning, both representatives of Arvida. In addition to the sprawling Coto de Caza subdivision near Trabuco Canyon, the corporation is planning the Rolling Hills development near San Clemente, which is under preliminary review by county planners.

Schatzman, a planning consultant who represents the Coto de Caza project before the county, declined to comment beyond referring questions about the dinner to von Elten’s campaign manager.

Canning, a director of governmental relations for Arvida, acknowledged that he attended as a guest of Schatzman, who also attended. He said he paid no one for his meal, but assumed that Schatzman had picked up the tab.

In an interview Wednesday with The Times, Canning at first said there was no discussion at the dinner of von Elten’s campaign and that guests were there simply to watch the Los Angeles Lakers game on television.

When told that others had acknowledged that the campaign’s finances were discussed, Canning said: “There was a general discussion of what it cost him to run a campaign but that was as far as it went.”

On March 5, Canning spoke on behalf of Arvida’s expansion plans for the southern end of Coto de Caza, which includes construction of an additional golf course to be surrounded by 90 single-family houses. The county planning staff recommended against the proposal, according to minutes of the March 5 Planning Commission meeting. The proposal remains under review, county officials said.

Both Nordeck and Slates participated in the commission’s questioning of Canning at the March 5 meeting, according to minutes of the meeting.

Barnard Klein, a lawyer for homeowners who recently filed a lawsuit over the Planning Commission’s approval of another expansion in the Coto de Caza subdivision, said he found reports of the dinner at Nordeck’s restaurant troubling.

“I think that asking someone to do a favor when you’re in a position to do another favor exposes you, rightly or wrongly, to being accused of a conflict of interest.” Neither Schatzman nor Canning live in the 58th Assembly District, which von Elten seeks to represent. (The district includes Huntington Beach, Seal Beach and portions of Long Beach, among other areas. Voter records show that Schatzman lives in Fountain Valley and Canning lives in San Clemente.)

At least one of von Elten’s opponents, Huntington Beach Mayor Thomas J. Mays, said he has questions about the dinner at Nordeck’s restaurant.

“I’m concerned about this race being funded by special interests,” Mays said. “That’s exactly what is happening. He (von Elten) has left Huntington Beach, where the money is tight, and gone down to the South County.”

“It appears to me the Planning Commission is putting the squeeze on the developers. The developers can’t say no to planning commissioners. . . . If they don’t play ball, they don’t get their projects approved.”

Also present at Tuesday’s dinner, according to Canning and others who attended, was Lyle A. Overby, one of the county’s most prominent lobbyists and a representative of the Santa Margarita Co., which has an ongoing development project in South County.

Overby, who ran unsuccessfully for a Santa Ana City Council seat last year, declined to discuss the dinner.

“I was at no fund-raiser. . . . I don’t have anything to discuss with the L.A. Times,” Overby said. “Where I am and what I do is of no concern of yours.”