Holden Plays Loopholes

Chris Holden, who is running for election as mayor of Pasadena, has received $45,000 from contributors who do business in the Koreatown section of Los Angeles. His father, Nate Holden, who is running for reelection to the Los Angeles City Council, just happens to represent Koreatown. Actually, happenstance has nothing to do with it. Aides to Nate Holden, whose contributions are limited by Los Angeles ethics laws, specifically asked some Koreatown businessmen to give money to the younger Holden. It’s a legal loophole, but it’s not right.

The Pasadena Holden has taken as much as $2,500 from individual donors who are pushing controversial development projects in Koreatown. Los Angeles law limits individual campaign contributions to $500. But Pasadena has no limits on individual contributions. So while a $2,500 individual contribution is not legal in Los Angeles, it is in Pasadena. Some of the contributors say they have no interest in Pasadena politics; some don’t even know Chris Holden. But they do know they need the support of his father to assure that their projects go forward.

Any member of the Los Angeles City Council can make life either miserable or much easier for a business owner facing opposition from neighborhood residents or competing businesses. Without the support of the council member who represents the district, a controversial project is likely to go nowhere.

“All I can say is that we’re playing by the rules,” the elder Holden said. Playing by the loopholes would be a more apt description.