Holden Aide Fired After Drunk Driving Arrest

An aide to Los Angeles City Councilman Nate Holden was fired Friday after police arrested him on charges of drunk driving and discovered that he has three prior convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Holden said he conducted no background investigation before hiring Mario G. Cardona because Cardona had held a job with a prominent City Hall lobbying firm for several years.

“We had no idea of the history. When someone comes highly recommended, we don’t check--we take it as a face value thing,” Holden said. “I’ve only seen the boy three times in my life. I gave him a chance, that’s all I could do, and then he blew it.”

The city’s personnel department generally checks police records for all job candidates, but because council aides are exempt from Civil Service protection, their applications are handled directly by the officeholder. Council members have wide discretion over how to staff their offices: They can hire as few or as many people as they like and pay them salaries ranging from $14,699.52 to $87,821.28.

Raymond Allen, assistant general manager of personnel, said three DUI convictions would have definitely raised an eyebrow, particularly because in his job as field deputy Cardona was likely to drive a city car, although he was not driving one at the time of his arrest.

“Since we’re not involved in the selection of exempt employees, we’re just not involved,” Allen said. “I don’t know if there’s a standard practice or not.”

Holden’s hiring practices have often been questioned at City Hall.

While most of his colleagues hire college graduates with government experience, Holden hired a receptionist whom he met when she waited on him at a hotel dinner (in 1995, Holden was exonerated in

a sexual harassment suit she filed); the current director of Holden’s field office first met his boss while hanging out with friends in a supermarket parking lot.

“My job as an elected official is to help people. People who not only are disadvantaged but have all kinds of problems,” Holden said. “We usually help people to move on and do better with their lives.”

Cardona, 31, graduated from the Los Angeles Conservation Corps after working on the “Clean and Green” team picking up garbage in the inner city. He worked for eight years as a receptionist/clerk for the lobbying firm Rose & Kindel before taking the $26,705 job in Holden’s office Oct. 7.

“Mario had served here and had done well. I think he was looking for the next step,” said Fred MacFarlane of Rose & Kindel, a major financial supporter of Holden. MacFarlane said he had not known about Cardona’s driving record.

Los Angeles Sheriff’s Deputy Bob Killeen said Cardona, a Palmdale resident, was arrested about 3:15 a.m. Friday when officers saw him drive repeatedly over a raised median in a fast-food parking lot in Lynwood. Because of his three prior convictions, Cardona faces felony drunk driving charges and is being held in jail with bail set at $50,000.

“All we’re glad about is that he didn’t get in an accident, he didn’t hurt anybody, and hopefully he can get his life together after he pays his debt to society,” Holden said.

“As much as I’d like to help him with his drinking problem, because most people need some counseling, you cannot accept people who drive under the influence. The rule here is if you’re convicted of drunk driving, you’re gone.”