Conflict-of-Interest Allegations Leveled

Attorneys for Burlington Coat Factory are demanding the city of Huntington Beach take steps to prevent two council members from voting next week on an eminent-domain project, claiming a conflict of interest.

The project is proposed by developers Ezralow Retail Properties, whose employees donated at least $1,500 to the politicians’ recent campaigns.

Burlington Coat has a 25-year lease on property that could be affected and a Montgomery Ward store could close under the plan.

Council members Pam Julien and Tom Harman received the campaign contributions from Ezralow weeks before they were to vote on whether to use the city’s power of eminent domain. That would allow condemnation of existing businesses in the aging Huntington Beach Mall to make way for newer businesses, said Aviv Tuchman, attorney for Burlington Coat Factory.

Accepting those contributions was in violation of local law, said Tuchman in a letter to Huntington Beach City Atty. Gail Hutton.

“It’s a conflict of interest to accept a campaign contribution in excess of $300 from any individual, or any entity or any individuals acting in concert,” Tuchman said. “And once that conflict of interest is created, they cannot vote.”

Under the state’s Political Reform Act of 1974, public officials may have a conflict of interest if they receive money from companies involved in issues that come before them. As little as $250 received by a council member within the last 12 months can trigger a conflict.

In addition, Huntington Beach law mandates that multiple contributions in excess of the city limit of $300 must not originate from the same source or “group of persons acting in concert.”

Hutton, who helped draft the municipality’s conflict-of-interest laws, said that neither Julien nor Harman appears to have a conflict of interest with Ezralow.

“We haven’t got any specific evidence that that sort of thing [multiple contributions from the same company] has happened. At this time, we have no information or whether there’s some tie that links them all together,” Hutton said. “At this point in time we have no evidence that there was collusion or any kind of money-laundering, aggregate contributions going on.”

Campaign disclosure documents show at least $1,800 in contributions each to Harman and Julien from people identifying themselves as Ezralow employees within one week. Tuchman said an additional contributor who did not list Ezralow actually is associated with that company.

Julien, Harman and Marshall Ezralow, the founder of Ezralow Retail Properties, did not return telephone calls from The Times.

On Nov. 20, the City Council is scheduled to vote whether to permit Ezralow’s eminent-domain plan, which could force the closure of Montgomery Ward, which owns its store along with the land underneath, and Burlington Coat Factory, Tuchman said.

Mayor Dave Garofalo will abstain from the vote because of a conflict-of-interest allegation after he allegedly accepted advertising revenue from the Crossings at Huntington, developed by Ezralow.

If Julien and Harman also abstain, that leaves four council members to vote on the project, which will require five to pass.

The eminent-domain vote should wait until the new council will be seated at the Dec. 4 meeting, said Tuchman, adding, “but Ezralow is afraid that they won’t have the five votes.”

In his letter to Hutton, dated Nov. 6, Tuchman wrote:

“At a minimum ... Pamela Julien and Tom Harman should be advised that they have a conflict of interest ... and that they should not proceed to vote.”