Holden Faces Up to $30,000 in Fines Over Campaign Violations

Los Angeles City Councilman Nate Holden is facing up to $30,000 in fines stemming from allegations that he repeatedly violated contribution limits during his 1995 reelection campaign, according to Los Angeles Ethics Commission documents and interviews.

A commission audit, released in September, alleges that in dozens of instances, the councilman’s campaign committee did not report multiple donations from individuals.

A city source familiar with the Ethics Commission proceedings said that Holden, who is seeking reelection in Tuesday’s primary, has appealed the audit’s findings and is awaiting a public hearing later this year.

City law limits campaign contributions to $500 per person. The Ethics Commission audit alleges that Holden’s campaign received repeated donations from individuals in excess of the limit. Some donors are alleged to have made multiple donations using names of businesses they own or control.

The number of allegations and potential fines Holden faces are several times greater than those against other council members who ran in 1995. According to the audits of Holden’s 1995 primary and general election campaign committees, the campaign received nearly $60,000 in excessive contributions, out of a total of $657,000 raised.

Holden is the only council member still facing Ethics Commission penalties from the 1995 election.

City Council President John Ferraro recently paid $3,300 in fines from his 1995 campaign, and Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas paid $4,200.

Ethics Commission auditors found no potential violations in Councilman Mike Feuer’s campaign.

The commission decided that possible violations found in audits of the campaigns of council members Richard Alatorre, Hal Bernson, Ruth Galanter and Joel Wachs did not warrant any action, according to letters sent to the council members in March.

Holden declined to comment on the matter.

Rebecca Avila, executive director of the commission, also declined to comment on the case.

Explaining commission procedures, Avila said that after audits are completed, they are forwarded to the commission’s enforcement arm, as well as to the city attorney and the California Fair Political Practices Commission.

If the commission’s enforcement staff determines that a fine is warranted, it meets with the candidate to negotiate a settlement. Candidates who do not agree to a settlement can request a public hearing.

If the commission’s audit findings are upheld, Holden’s excessive funds total would be exponentially higher than those of his peers who have been fined. According to the audit, Holden’s excessive contributions in 1995 totaled $59,896.

Ferraro’s fine was based on his raising $2,150 in excessive contributions, while Ridley-Thomas’ settlement was based on excessive donations of $1,850.

According to the audit, Holden’s 1995 primary election committee accepted 18 sets of cumulative contributions that exceeded legal limits by $7,897. Forty sets of aggregate donations to Holden in the primary surpassed limits by $25,449.

In that year’s general election, the Holden campaign failed to keep cumulative contribution totals for 26 people, leading to $12,650 in excess of contribution limits. The audit also found 18 sets of aggregate contributions--those from a single individual using multiple names or addresses--which were $21,900 over the legal limit.

The commission audits were not completed until 1998 because of a staff backlog, according to Avila. Avila said that the commission’s auditors had been held up by money laundering investigations started in 1992, as well as by audits of the 1993 elections. Additional auditors were not hired until 1997 because of city hiring freezes, Avila said.