Mayor Bradley’s Appointees and Fund-Raising

In response to “Appointees of Bradley Were Fund-Raisers Too” and “Staff Raised Funds for Mayor Inside City Hall” (Part A, Nov. 11-12):

I read with interest The Times’ article on Los Angeles commissioners’ involvement in raising campaign contributions for Mayor Tom Bradley. It seems to have become commonplace that public officials, whether elected or appointed, refuse to acknowledge the duty that public service imposes to avoid both impropriety and the appearance of impropriety. In this period of declining voter participation, the latter is indeed more important than the former.

In the interviews conducted for your article, commissioner after commissioner indicated that he or she saw no conflict between public responsibility and the promotion of partisan fund-raising events for Mayor Bradley. Each focused on the belief that no laws had been broken. None of the commissioners interviewed appeared ready to acknowledge that their participation in political fund-raising activities will cause the electorate to believe that those solicited will thereby have special influence with that commissioner.

There is no question that Los Angeles city commissioners are public animals, and that, as private citizens, they are entitled to solicit funds for the candidate of their choice. When they accept the mantle of public service, however, they must show more sensitivity to the damage that their participation in the solicitation of campaign contributions will have to an already apathetic electorate.

MARK LUEVANO, Los Angeles