Galanter Calls for New Prohibitions on Fund Raising

Councilwoman Ruth Galanter on Friday proposed a new city law prohibiting the employees of elected Los Angeles officials from raising campaign contributions for their bosses from anyone with business pending before the city.

Galanter aide Rick Ruiz said the proposed ordinance was expected to be approved by the full council, in part because most of it simply restates existing law.

Galanter said the new city Ethics Commission, which convenes in January, should enact the fund-raising ban if it can move more quickly than the council. She said the prohibitions should be in place before the City Council elections in April.

Ethics reformers praised Galanter for taking the first step toward curbing fund raising by staff members but said she did not go far enough. All city employees should be barred from any fund raising for elected city officials, said the leaders of two reform organizations.

Galanter made her proposal after The Times reported this week that members of Mayor Tom Bradley’s city staff and commissioners raised more than $700,000 for his campaigns since 1985, often from contractors, lobbyists and others they dealt with on official matters. Bradley aides used city staff, equipment and other resources while raising money on behalf of the mayor, records and interviews showed.

It is a violation of the state Fair Political Practices Act for commissioners to raise funds from special interests with matters pending before their agencies. A separate state law makes it a felony for candidates to use government resources, including city staff, to benefit their campaigns.

Galanter said she wants to ban fund raising by the staff of elected city officials only in cases where a potential contributor had a matter pending before the city. The employees of City Council members and the mayor should be allowed to raise funds for their bosses on their own time and outside City Hall, she said.

When a donor is solicited by a city staff member or elected official, the donor should be required to disclose any business that the donor has before the city, or plans to have, Galanter said. Current law provides similar disclosure for contractors and others doing business before city commissions, but the law has not been implemented.

Lisa Foster, executive director of California Common Cause, termed Galanter’s proposal “a step in the right direction” but said it should apply to all city staff, not just employees of elected officials. In addition, she said, a prohibition against soliciting funds from interests with matters pending before the city is not enough.

All fund raising by staffers on behalf of elected city officials should be ended, Foster said. “It’s not just the problem of raising money in City Hall,” she said. “It’s raising money, period. It’s great that she’s taken the ball and run with it (but) what we need to do is talk to council people and see if we can make it a little stronger.”

Bob Stern, co-director and general counsel of the nonprofit California Commission on Campaign Financing, also termed Galanter’s proposal “a good start” but said “it needs to be expanded.”

Both Stern and Foster were reiterating proposals they made earlier in the week.

Many staff members who work for elected officials accepted their jobs because they are interested in politics, Galanter said.

“It’s unrealistic and an infringement on their civil liberties to say they can’t raise money,” she said. “Some of the people who want to rewrite the laws aren’t being very realistic.”