Ethics Watchdogs Do Their Job

The facts involving Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alatorre and his proposed settlements with the city’s Ethics Commission and the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission are these: Alatorre has agreed to pay the maximum possible fines that can be levied by the two watchdog agencies for violating political reform laws that bar elected officials from seeking special treatment from government agencies.

It began with a telephone call Alatorre made to a city charity regulator last year that led to the extension of a city license for a company called Eventfully Yours, founded by his wife, Angie Alatorre. That extension allowed the company to collect at least $13,000 in fund-raising fees despite its failure to fulfill city licensing requirements. At the time, the councilman’s wife was still a key executive of the firm and was earning $36,000 a year, according to the Alatorres.

By agreeing to settle, Alatorre avoided a battle in which the Ethics Commission had sought to subpoena him to testify under oath.

This marked the first Ethics Commission action against a sitting member of the City Council for alleged misuse of office. The panel acted appropriately and fully within its mandate. Meanwhile, separate probes of Eventfully Yours are being conducted by the state attorney general’s office and the inspector general of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which is investigating links between the fund-raising company and two nonprofits backed by Alatorre, a member of the MTA board.

Alatorre says the phone call to the regulator (which he claims he doesn’t remember) was a mistake, that he was motivated simply by a desire to help a children’s charity, not his wife’s employer. “If you’re going to criticize me, criticize all politicians,” Alatorre said defensively.

But Alatorre is not a political rookie. He is as seasoned and savvy as they come and knows what he is doing. Fortunately, the watchdogs were equally aware of what they should be doing in pursuing this case.