Padilla Fined for Missing Disclosure Deadline Again

For the second time in three years, Los Angeles City Councilman Alex Padilla was fined Friday for failing to meet state deadlines for publicly disclosing his personal assets, including thousands of dollars in political consulting fees.

The latest fine--$500--was approved Friday by the state Fair Political Practices Commission. The penalty was levied after Padilla, despite repeated warnings, filed his economic interest statement for 1998, when he was an aide to Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar), nearly a year late.

“In order to avoid conflicts of interest . . . the assets and income of public officials which may be materially affected by their official actions should be disclosed,” the commission said. In 1998, Padilla was fined $100 for filing his 1997 economic interest statement 97 days late, also while an aide to Cardenas.

Padilla said that the delay in filing this time was unintentional and that all the information the form contained was also in documents he had filed with the city. A Pacoima resident, Padilla was elected to the City Council, representing the northeast San Fernando Valley, last June.

Delays in disclosing economic interests deprive the public of the information needed to decide whether a government official should be disqualified from acting on a matter, said Mark Soble, senior counsel for the state commission.

In the latest case, Padilla waited until 11 months after the deadline to disclose to the commission that he had received thousands of dollars in consulting fees. In 1998 he was paid for work on the political campaigns of state Senate candidate Richard Alarcon of Sylmar and on Cardenas’ bid for the Assembly, in addition to work as a Southern California field director for the state Democratic Party.

For each of the three positions, Padilla checked a box indicating income between $1,000 and $10,000.

Padilla blamed the violation on confusion about duplicative filing requirements for different agencies, saying he had received bad advice from an unnamed consultant to the state commission.

“I was filing reports left and right,” the councilman said. “I filed as a [city building and safety] commissioner. I filed as a candidate. My assumption based on one piece of advice was that I was covered because it was the same form.

“Technically, you have to file the form separately for each of the different positions,” Padilla added. “I wasn’t trying to avoid reporting.”

But the stipulation signed by the councilman says Padilla was warned four times that he was in violation of the state reporting requirement. He agreed to pay the fine Friday.