Voters Asked to Reverse Selves on Office Funds

Overshadowed by other electoral contests, a little-noticed measure, Proposition 6 on the April 8 ballot, could restore the lavish officeholder accounts Los Angeles’ mayor and council members often have used as private slush funds.

The measure was placed on the ballot by the City Council in an effort to avoid compliance with the statewide restrictions on such funds enacted by California voters in last fall’s election.

The accounts are supposed to assist city officials in communicating with and serving their constituents. But, like campaign funds, they also promote the officeholder.

As part of a crackdown on special interest influence in California politics, the state’s voters last fall enacted Proposition 208, a sweeping political reform measure that imposed a $10,000 limit on what can be raised and spent from officeholder accounts during each calendar year. Voters also imposed a $250 restriction on contributions, banned donations from lobbyists and outlawed the use of officeholder account funds to support other political campaigns. The restrictions covered everyone from the governor and legislators to the mayors and council members in the state’s cities.

Before Proposition 208’s passage, Los Angeles officeholders could raise or spend $75,000 per fiscal year, instead of calendar year. Contributions were limited to $1,000.

Proposition 6, which appears on the ballot under the title: “Contribution Limits for Officeholder Expense Funds,” asks the city’s voters to reenact those old limits on contributions and spending and uses of officeholder accounts. Nowhere does it note that the measure weakens the recently adopted restrictions.

A review of current officeholder accounts shows that last year elected city officials collected $863,231. Most of it, particularly contributions to City Council members, came from city employee unions, lobbyists, developers, trash haulers, oil and taxi firms, cable TV, health insurance, towing and billboard companies, parking lot operators and movie studios.

To beat the stricter limits that went into effect New Year’s Day, some of those interests poured tens of thousands of dollars into city officeholder accounts in December.

In some cases, contractors who do business with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority also give to selected city officials who are members of the MTA board. Councilman Richard Alatorre, for example, has received contributions from MTA contractors Woodward-Clyde Consultants, Morrison Knudsen and CRSS Constructors.

Tony Miller, executive director of Californians for Political Reform, which sponsored Proposition 208 last November, called the city measure “an obvious attempt to end run” around the tougher restrictions imposed by the state’s voters.

“The voters of Los Angeles who supported Proposition 208 wanted to end these kinds of abuses of money in the political process,” Miller said.

But Councilman Nate Holden defended the council’s action of putting the officeholder account issue to the voters and sharply criticized those who “poison the minds” of voters by comparing the accounts to political slush funds. “The money is not used for the purpose of running for office,” he said.

Holden said council members, who represent large districts, cannot do mass mailings at taxpayer expense and need a way to communicate with their constituents. “I don’t see anything wrong with it,” he said, arguing that 99% of the money is spent in council members’ districts.

“You’re not buying favoritism. You’re not getting favoritism,” Holden said. “People don’t think of it that way.” In ballot arguments for Proposition 6, Holden along with Councilwomen Jackie Goldberg and Ruth Galanter say, “Los Angeles residents cannot be well served if their elected officials do not have sufficient resources to do their job and help their constituents.”

They say officeholder account monies are spent on such purposes as district mailings, scholarships, flowers for bereavement for dead constituents’ families, and charitable organizations.

“The council chooses not to use taxpayers’ monies to provide these services but instead use monies from private donations,” wrote Holden, Goldberg and Galanter. “There is nothing wrong with helping people when they are in need.”

The review of officeholder accounts showed that elected city officials last year spent $709,482. The money was used to pay for everything from printing and postage to meals and entertainment, Christmas gifts for staff members and donations to charitable organizations and community groups.

But some of it was used to pay for political consultants and advisors, make donations to ballot measures, such as the school bond issue campaign last fall, and support candidates for legislative and other non-city offices.

And in Holden’s case, $119 was spent to pay his traffic tickets. In the first enforcement action against a member of the City Council, the city Ethics Commission last month fined Councilman Hal Bernson for misspending funds from his officeholder account on tickets to the Hollywood Bowl. Although Bernson argued that the spending was allowed, the commission ruled otherwise.

Councilman Mike Feuer, a lone voice against Proposition 6, said the officeholder accounts do serve a legitimate purpose in allowing council members to notify residents of community meetings and events.

But Feuer said contributions of $1,000 do “open the door to disproportionate influence” from interests that have business before the city. And, he said, “the return to $1,000 contributions is completely inconsistent with both the spirit and content of Proposition 208.”

Feuer said the council sent the wrong message to voters by putting Proposition 6 on the ballot. “Our first priority should not be undermining what the voters just passed,” he said.

Backers of the measure argue that the $75,000 limit on fund-raising and spending from officeholder accounts was approved by the Ethics Commission in 1994, when the council agreed to tighten restrictions on uses of the money if the ceiling was raised.

That followed news stories that Councilman Mike Woo used officeholder money for travel and that other council members took trips or paid for meals at costly restaurants with money from their accounts.

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Taking Account

Los Angeles City Council members and other elected city officials maintain officeholder accounts in addition to campaign funds. Last fall, California voters approved a political reform measure that restricts the amount that can be given to any officeholder account to $250 per donor and imposes a $10,000 limit on what can be raised and spent annually. Los Angeles voters will be asked Tuesday whether to override those limits and reinstate $1,000 contributions and a maximum of $75,000 per fiscal year. Shown below are officeholder accounts at the end of 1996, ranked according to funds raised last year. Highest amounts are highlighted in bold.

*

Elected Official: Mayor Richard Riordan

Raised: $136,623

Spent: $60,640

On Hand: $70,691

*

Elected Official: Mark Ridley-Thomas

Raised: $107,893

Spent: $75,392

On Hand: $46,541

*

Elected Official: Ruth Galanter

Raised: $102,879

Spent: $27,006

On Hand: $108,617

*

Elected Official: Richard Alatorre

Raised: $99,744

Spent: $88,477

On Hand: $16,472

*

Elected Official: Council President John Ferraro

Raised: $75,500

Spent: $47,446

On Hand: $551,381

*

Elected Official: Mike Hernandez

Raised: $69,095

Spent: $46,773

On Hand: $24,069

*

Elected Official: Nate Holden

Raised: $57,350

Spent: $27,269

On Hand: $36,839

*

Elected Official: Hal Bernson

Raised: $51m048

Spent: $36,238

On Hand: $34,715

*

Elected Official: Jackie Goldberg

Raised: $41,700

Spent: $47,811

On Hand: $16,973

*

Elected Official: Rudy Svorinich

Raised: $37,514

Spent: $46,290

On Hand: $18,002

*

Elected Official: Laura Chick

Raised: $33,061

Spent: $40,039

On Hand: $76,696

*

Elected Official: Richard Alacon

Raised: $29,700

Spent: $42,677

On Hand: $6,212

*

Elected Official: Mike Feuer

Raised: $10,250

Spent: $26,160

On Hand: $2,296

*

Elected Official: Rita Walters

Raised: $9,374

Spent: $19,634

On Hand: $3,856

*

Elected Official: Joel Wachs

Raised: $1,000

Spent: $25,538

On Hand: $134,163

*

Elected Official: Controller Rick Tuttle

Raised: $500

Spent: $411

On Hand: $871

*

Elected Official: City Atty. James Hahn

Raised: $0

Spent: $45

On Hand: $479

*

Elected Official: Marvin Braude*

Raised: $0

Spent: $51,636

On Hand: $0

* Retiring at the end of his term.

Source: Officeholder account statements