Sheriff Gates Lobbied on Radio Contract, Official Says : Ethics: Orange County administrator charges that the law enforcement chief urged him to give a ‘fair shot’ to a firm that employs a political ally.

Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates has urged county officials to consider awarding an $80-million law enforcement communications contract to a company that employed the sheriff’s political ally and friend Gary Hausdorfer on the project, according to a top county official.

R.A. Scott, director of the county’s General Services Agency, said Gates talked to him at least three times about giving the Harris Corp.--the low bidder--a “fair shot” at one of the biggest contracts in recent county history.

Based on his conversations with the sheriff, Scott said, he believes the sheriff’s preference was that Harris get the contract. On Tuesday, the Orange County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to review a GSA recommendation to award the contract to Harris.

Earlier this week, Gates denied saying anything to Scott on behalf of Harris, adding that he has had little involvement in the details of the contract.

“That is absolutely incorrect,” Gates said. “I’m not a part of the process. . . . I don’t make overtures on things like that.”

The sheriff described Hausdorfer as a good friend, but said he was unaware of Hausdorfer’s relationship with Harris. “Everybody in the world is my friend,” Gates said.

Hausdorfer, a San Juan Capistrano councilman and chairman of the Orange County Transit Authority, said he was hired more than a year ago to serve as a financial adviser on the project. Hausdorfer, who was recently involved in a charity roast honoring Gates, said he has never talked to the sheriff about his work for Harris.

“I have a financial background, and I was asked about overall financial advice,” Hausdorfer said. “I don’t do any lobbying. That’s not my deal.”

Harris has been competing with radio systems giant Motorola Communications and Electronics Inc. to outfit the Sheriff’s Department and every law enforcement agency in the county with a state-of-the-art radio system.

Because of the enormity of the contract, Scott said he took the precaution of instructing lobbyists on the project that they were not to approach members of a technical committee assembled to evaluate the companies’ qualifications.

The restriction, however, did not extend to county department heads, such as Scott.

Scott said that Gates had mentioned his concern for Harris on at least three occasions while the county GSA and the committee studied the qualifications of competing companies.

“(Gates) expressed strong concerns that Harris should get a fair shot at procurement,” Scott said. Since the mid-1980s, the GSA’s communications division has been planning for a replacement radio system.

Scott, who added that the sheriff’s words had no effect in deciding company qualifications, said he had no comment on why the sheriff would have been concerned for Harris’ standing.

But Gates said he was not even familiar with the company. Apart from his concern about how his deputies would be affected by the change in radio systems, Gates said he had little contact with Scott or others concerning the contract.

The sheriff said he did speak with Scott on behalf of other law enforcement officials about delays in getting a radio system ready for implementation.

“The chiefs (of police in local cities) were very concerned about that,” Gates said.

Hausdorfer, whose city is patrolled by sheriff’s deputies and who would be covered under such a contract, said he would abstain from any City Council vote on the issue because of his work for Harris. The contract is to be jointly funded by the cities and the county and will require endorsement from those municipal governments involved.

On Oct. 6, the Board of Supervisors approved a new code of ethics, which in part further restricts lobbying activities by current and former county officials and employees.

According to terms of the code, however, an elected official would only be barred from making a recommendation to the county on behalf of a particular firm if the official had been hired by the company or had a financial stake in the firm. Gates said he had no connection to Harris.

The communications contract attracted the interest of some of the county’s most powerful lobbyists and consultants hired by the competing companies.

Including Hausdorfer, other consultants employed by Harris include Scott Hart of Ellis/Hart Associates in Newport Beach. Motorola is represented by political consultants Randy G. Smith and Don Willet.