Ethics Panel Levies $1,500 Fine Against Bernson

In the first action of its kind, the Los Angeles Ethics Commission fined Councilman Hal Bernson $1500 Thursday for misspending funds from his officeholder’s account.

After a lengthy hearing, the commission ruled that Bernson had improperly spent $772 on tickets to the Hollywood Bowl, even though he used them to discuss city business with politicians and community activists.

“This is a kangaroo court,” Bernson said during a break in the proceedings. The commission, he said, misread the law, which he said allows such expenditures if they are used in the pursuit of official business.

It was the first time an elected official has been the subject of an enforcement action by the commission, which was formed in 1991, and the first time the body had held an administrative hearing.

“I think the hearing today demonstrated their ability to enforce the law with deliberation and fairness,” said Rebecca Avila, the commission’s executive director. “The decision should reassure those who abide by the law that those who don’t will be held accountable.”

The decision was based on a broad interpretation of a 1994 ordinance that restricts the way elected officials can spend their so-called officeholder accounts. The accounts consist of money from supporters and lobbyists and do not include taxpayer funds, but they are regulated nonetheless to make sure the money is not used to flout campaign finance laws.

The law lists 19 ways that the funds may be used, including sending mailers and newsletters to constituents, buying tickets to charity events and showing appreciation to employees.

It also, however, makes a point of stating that lawful spending is not limited to the 19 listed uses, so long as the money is spent serving, assisting or communicating with constituents.

Bernson and his attorneys claimed that provision made the Hollywood Bowl tickets legal, since Bernson’s companions included former Rep. Bobbi Fiedler and her husband, as well as other community activists and politicians.

“If that’s not legal, nothing is legal,” Bernson said angrily after the decision. He said he has not yet decided whether to appeal the decision.

Discussions during the nearly five-hour proceeding were awkward at times, as commission members and attorneys representing Bernson and Ethics Commission staff members struggled to meld their political roles with the jobs of judge and jury.

Decisions on the length of arguments, for instance, or whether one side or the other was entitled to rebuttals were made on the spot. Evidence was ruled admissible by voice vote of the four members of the five-member panel who were present.

Bernson was accused of misspending $1,140 worth of funds on the tickets, but the commission reduced the amount to $772, saying some of the box seats were used as a gift to an aide, which is permissible under the law.

They refused to believe, however, that his use of the remaining tickets was appropriate.

“We had to send the right message on this,” said Edwin Guthman, a commissioner and retired Times editor. ‘If they can use the officeholder funds for tickets to the Hollywood Bowl, they can use them for anything.”

But Bernson and his attorney argued the commission was reading its own interpretation into the law.

“Some of you have very strong feelings,” Bernson said in his closing statement. “You cannot as a body interpret the law the way you want it to be read. . . . What you really need to do is amend the law, not punish me.”