Hayden Counters Charges of Being Drunk at Meeting

Assemblyman Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica) acknowledged having several drinks with dinner before addressing the Santa Monica City Council earlier this week, but is calling accusations that he was drunk “exaggerated and politically motivated.”

The accusations surfaced after a council meeting Tuesday night at which Hayden testified against a proposal to build a luxury hotel on Santa Monica’s beach.

Supporters of Hayden contend that the hotel’s backers, including some council members, spread the allegations with the intent of discrediting Hayden.

Councilman David Finkel, a Hayden ally, on Friday discounted remarks by his colleague, Councilwoman Christine Reed, that the lawmaker was “drunk as a skunk.”

“The fact of the matter is that whatever the heck people think he was doing, he spoke intelligently and eloquently on the issue,” Finkel said.

Hayden’s statement on the matter, released late Thursday, said, “I had several drinks with dinner hours before the meeting and should not have.

“However, the accusations against me are exaggerated and politically motivated. I stand by what I said in my speech, but regret anything I did to detract from the important debate taking place that evening.”

Hayden’s chief of staff, Adi Liberman, said that the lawmaker’s office received a number of supportive phone calls from people who expressed a “great deal of understanding.”

“It’s nice to see,” Liberman said, adding that Hayden would have no further comment.

In recent weeks, the lawmaker has voiced adamant opposition to construction of the beachfront $300-a-night hotel proposed by celebrity restaurateur Michael McCarty. Also pulled into the debate have been some politically influential members of the private Sand and Sea Club, which the City Council this week voted to evict in 60 days to make way for the hotel.

When Hayden walked into Tuesday’s council meeting about 10 p.m., some of his supporters on the council, including Mayor Dennis Zane, appeared nervous. Hayden was asked if he wished to speak immediately, but declined, saying he wanted to hear some of the discussion.

In addressing the council shortly before midnight, Hayden appeared loud and combative. At one point he accused McCarty of offering him a $50,000 campaign contribution for Hayden’s Big Green environmental initiative in exchange for Hayden’s neutrality on the hotel issue.

McCarty called the allegation “absolutely untrue.”

At another point when Hayden became boisterous, Zane asked the lawmaker to control his “exuberance.”

Hayden apologized, and replied: “I don’t know how to conduct myself except as a defendant.”

Hayden was one of the so-called Chicago 7 defendants who were convicted for their roles in the protests of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The convictions were overturned on appeal.

Residents will be able to see a replay of Tuesday’s meeting today at 11:30 a.m. when Century Cable airs its regularly scheduled broadcast of Santa Monica council meetings.