Riordan Delays Action on Reappointing CRA Chief

Faced with a potential political showdown, Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan delayed a vote Friday on the reappointment of Peggy Moore, president of the controversial Community Redevelopment Agency.

Several City Council members said that before they vote on Moore, they want to ask her what she knew of CRA Administrator Jerry Scharlin’s controversial decision to hire private detectives to investigate allegations of financial improprieties at the agency.

Moore was out of town Friday.

“The mayor pulled the nomination due to procedural issues,” said Peter Hidalgo, a spokesman for Riordan. “It is no reflection on how he feels about Peggy Moore. The mayor has all confidence in Peggy Moore and is proud to resubmit her nomination next week.”

Some council members, including Rita Walters, said they had been prepared to vote against Moore’s reappointment.

“I think there are some problems with the way she has handled the agency,” Walters said.

A union representative for CRA employees wondered whether the mayor’s decision to withdraw Moore’s appointment and resubmit it later was an attempt to let criticism of the private investigator’s hiring blow over before she comes up for a council vote.

The council also delayed a hearing with Scharlin on the private investigator issue until Jan. 5, in part to give the city attorney’s office more time to talk to the district attorney’s office about whether any portion of the private detective’s report can be submitted to the council for review.

City Controller Rick Tuttle has refused to release the private investigator’s report to the City Council, saying he referred it to the district attorney’s office to review whether a criminal investigation is warranted and he does not want to jeopardize that process.

The CRA has been under fire after disclosures that the agency acquired properties by paying more than the value set by its own appraisals.