LOS ANGELES : Woo Calls on Wachs to End Sales of Limited Artworks
Los Angeles mayoral hopeful Michael Woo on Monday called on a rival candidate, Councilman Joel Wachs, to return about $200,000 in campaign contributions raised through sales of limited edition artworks, saying the fund-raising effort is “blatantly illegal.”
The funds in question came from an unusual gimmick, in which renowned artists such as David Hockney donated original designs to Wachs, whose campaign is producing signed, limited edition lithographs for $1,000 contributors. Some art experts say the designs could be worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars--well over the city’s $7,000 maximum contribution limit.
Wachs said he will meet with the Ethics Commission and maintained that the fund-raising arrangement is legal. He added that he would continue the sale of the artworks.
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