Korenstein Accuses Bernson of Misspending Funds : City Council: The incumbent denies using any campaign money improperly but declines to discuss individual expenditures.

Hoping to capitalize on the fuzzy issue of political ethics, Los Angeles City Council candidate Julie Korenstein charged Wednesday that incumbent Hal Bernson misused his privately raised campaign funds by spending tens of thousands of dollars on travel, meals and entertainment.

Korenstein also revived an allegation--first made two years ago by a political watchdog group--that Bernson tried to dodge city limits on campaign donations by collecting money for a 1994 lieutenant governor’s race he never intended to undertake.

At a news conference, Korenstein, a Los Angeles school board member, was endorsed by Geoffrey Cowan, former chairman of a city commission that proposed a series of tough campaign ethics reforms approved by voters last June. Cowan said she would bring “a breath of ethical fresh air” to the council if she beats Bernson in the April 9 election.

Korenstein is among five candidates challenging Bernson, who is seeking a fourth four-year term in his northwest San Fernando Valley district. If no candidate wins a majority of votes in the April primary, the two with the highest number will face each other in a June 4 runoff.

Bernson denied he spent any campaign money improperly but declined to discuss individual expenditures. He accused Korenstein of mudslinging and groping for a campaign issue.

Politicians commonly stockpile contributions from political supporters in reelection accounts, political action committees, officeholder accounts and “friends” committees. Under state law, use of such funds for travel and related expenses is legal, provided the trips are taken for government or political purposes.

But state regulators say the law is vague and difficult to enforce. They say it is hard to disprove claims by a politician who says his travel was related to official business.

Speaking outside an upscale Northridge restaurant, Cafe Como, where she said Bernson has spent $9,300 on meals for himself and others in the past four years, Korenstein charged that Bernson has unethically used his campaign funds “to live the high life.”

She said that since 1987, Bernson has spent nearly $125,000 in campaign funds on travel, including trips to China, Israel, England, France, British Columbia and elsewhere. Korenstein said Bernson “travels in style, buying first-class tickets, staying in the best hotels and dining at expensive restaurants.”

“His campaign war chest has financed more travel junkets than any city official including the mayor--even more than the governor,” she said.

Korenstein cited one trip in which Bernson, his wife and their three daughters spent more than $24,000 while touring Israel and Italy over 17 days.

Bernson said all his trips have been related to city business or his membership in other governmental bodies, such as the state Seismic Safety Commission and the National League of Cities.

The lawmaker said he could have billed the city for many of his travels, but chose to pay with campaign funds in order to save taxpayer money.

Korenstein also attacked the councilman for using campaign funds “to make himself known at Los Angeles’ finer eating establishments.”

In the past four years, she said, Bernson has spent more than $48,000 on meals with staffers, political supporters and constituents. At Cafe Como, he “regularly ran up bills for over $300,” she charged.

Korenstein also questioned Bernson for spending more than $91,000 over the same four years on “miscellaneous” expenditures of less than $100 apiece. Under state law, such small expenditures do not have to be itemized.

“This is an extraordinarily large sum of money. I think voters . . . have a right to know what their council member is doing with an extra $22,000 a year,” said Korenstein, adding that if elected she will work to require itemization of all expenditures.

Korenstein further criticized Bernson for spending “$8,300 on gifts from Northridge Hills Liquor and $4,181 on honey-baked hams over a four-year period.”

Bernson said that many of the expenditures were for gifts such as Christmas presents and that there was nothing improper about using campaign funds to “remember constituents . . . and contributors and supporters.”

The councilman said Korenstein was attempting to raise ethical questions about him in an effort to divert attention from “her part in the demise of the school system.” He declined to elaborate.

Korenstein charged that Bernson committed another ethical violation by setting up a committee to raise money for a 1994 bid for lieutenant governor.

Bernson, who shut down the committee last year, never intended to make the race and created it only so he could accept $1,000 contributions allowable under state law, rather than be limited to the $500 per contributor allowed by city rules, she said.

Bernson said the charge is “the 10th rehash” of allegations leveled in 1989 by Common Cause, a political watchdog group that he claimed was conducting a political vendetta against him. He said he was serious about exploring the race at the time and was cleared of any wrongdoing by city and state investigators.

Korenstein said many of Bernson’s campaign contributions have come from large-scale developers, such as the builder of the controversial Porter Ranch project. She said Bernson has championed the project at City Hall because its developer and his business associates have given him more than $55,000 since 1982.

Bernson said he supports the project because it is well designed, not because he was influenced by campaign contributions.