Many of Hahn’s Donors Benefit From City Hall

As his television commercials pointedly remind voters, James K. Hahn has been a fixture at Los Angeles City Hall for two decades. And just like the candidate, much of the money being raised to pay for those expensive campaign ads also has a connection to City Hall.

Hahn has been highly successful at raising money for the Los Angeles mayor’s race from a range of sources--from unions to big business--among them individuals, law firms, construction companies and lobbyists that do business with the city. Hahn and representatives of those firms insist there is no trade-off of support for contributions, but some of his relationships have raised questions.

Nowhere is the connection more apparent than in Hahn’s thick campaign reports detailing donations from law firms and lawyers, many of whom do business with the city.

During the past 10 years alone, Hahn’s office has spent more than $29 million on contracts for outside legal counsel to represent Los Angeles in a myriad of cases involving virtually every aspect of city government. The amount does not include many millions of dollars in outside legal work done for independent city departments.

So it may be no surprise that many of the law firms that have been recipients of those contracts are squarely in Hahn’s corner, both giving and raising money, as he attempts to move into the city’s highest office.

Just last week, attorneys hosted evening fund-raisers for Hahn at a posh club atop a downtown high-rise and at the home of prominent lawyer and City Hall lobbyist Lisa Specht.

Attorneys are perhaps the biggest single group of Hahn donors. “It’s because they know him,” Specht said. “He’s been the top lawyer in the city for 12 years.”

As he left the fund-raiser at the downtown City Club last week, Hahn’s campaign chairman, William Wardlaw, was smiling. “It was a good night,” he said.

At times, however, Hahn’s relationships with Los Angeles lawyers have been a source of consternation. Lawyer Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. is a longtime backer of the city attorney as well as a frequent plaintiff against the city and its Police Department.

In at least two cases, members of Hahn’s staff publicly complained about what they saw as Cochran’s influence over their boss. In a third, some of Hahn’s critics said they believed that Hahn’s office structured a settlement with a Cochran client in such a way that it did not require City Council approval.

Matt Middlebrook, Hahn’s campaign manager, said there has never been any impropriety in any case involving Cochran. The cases that drew complaints from some city attorney officials were handled to protect the city from liability, Middlebrook said, and the settlement cut without council approval was intended to limit risk to taxpayers.

“The relationship between Johnnie Cochran and the city attorney has no relationship to any settlement that has ever happened,” Middlebrook said.

A Times analysis of Hahn’s fund-raising through Feb. 24 shows that a number of law firms--some of them with substantial city business--have played a leading role in his campaign.

One of the city’s biggest law firms, O’Melveny & Myers, through its political action committee and some of its partners, has given $25,000 to Hahn’s campaign. One of those lawyers, Gil Ray, co-hosted an evening fund-raiser last week. The firm’s best-known lawyer, former U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher, has endorsed Hahn, but has not contributed to his campaign.

The prominent law firm has been paid $2.9 million over the last 10 years for work done directly for the city attorney’s office, according to city records. The figure does not include legal work done for other departments, including airports, the harbor and the retirement system.

Ray, who retired last year, said he has known Hahn for years and considers him the best candidate. Like others, he pledged to reach out to friends and associates to raise funds to support Hahn’s candidacy.

Seth Aronson, head of O’Melveny & Myers’ Los Angeles office, said he “cannot imagine any connection at all” between the legal business the firm does with the city and the support for Hahn. He noted that the firm’s PAC has donated to three candidates for mayor: Hahn, former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa and a lesser amount to commercial real estate broker Steve Soboroff.

O’Melveny & Myers is not alone. Some of the partners in another firm--Lewis, D’Amato, Brisbois & Bisgaard--have given at least $19,000 to Hahn’s mayoral campaign. The firm does legal work for the city attorney’s office, handling cases involving the airport, the Community Redevelopment Agency and the Housing Authority, records show.

Campaign reports also indicate that a number of attorneys for Christensen, Miller, Fink, Jacobs, Glaser, Weil & Shapiro have given at least $16,500 to Hahn’s campaign. The law firm is the single largest recipient of legal work from the city attorney’s office.

Documents show that Christensen Miller has been paid $5.8 million for legal work done for the city during the last 10 years. Those figures do not include work for certain divisions of city government, including the Harbor Department, as well as fire and police pensions.

Terry N. Christensen, managing partner of the firm, said Hahn has been “a terrific city attorney” and some of the firm’s partners “just feel very close to him.” So, Christensen said, he hosted a Hahn fund-raiser. Though there are other candidates in the race whom he respects, Christensen said the choice was clear. “Jim Hahn is a really decent, fair and good man.”

Meanwhile, Manatt Phelps & Phillips, a law firm with powerful connections at City Hall, has chipped in to Hahn’s effort as well. It was George Kieffer, one of the firm’s partners, who gave an overview of the campaign at the $500-per-person reception downtown and Specht, another partner, who hosted the $1,000 event last week at her home. Both are registered lobbyists.

Kieffer, policy chairman of the Hahn campaign, said the fund-raising is easier because people involved in city politics know Hahn and are “more comfortable with him” than other candidates. He will “not surprise them with his viewpoint or behavior,” Kieffer said.

Manatt Phelps and its partners or spouses have given at least $10,000 to the Hahn campaign. The firm has been paid more than $1.6 million over the last decade for legal work done on behalf of the city.

The reach of the city attorney’s office extends far beyond law firms to a broad array of other companies that do business with the city.

At Los Angeles International Airport, contracts involving tenants and businesses must be reviewed and approved by the city attorney’s office.

Atlanta-Based Firm Among Donors

Among the biggest donors to Hahn’s campaign are executives of W.H. Smith, an Atlanta-based company, which operates newsstands and gift shops at LAX. Along with their spouses, W.H. Smith officials have given at least $22,000 to Hahn. Almost all live in the Atlanta area, but they are writing checks for up to $1,000 each to support him in the Los Angeles mayor’s race.

Shelia Trappier Edwards, vice president of corporate affairs for W.H. Smith, said the British-owned company has a policy of not making corporate political contributions, but employees can make such donations.

Speaking for herself, Edwards said she has met and been impressed with Hahn and his vision for the city. “I believe in good government,” she said.

Edwards said she understands that fund-raising is basic to politics. “Folks have to raise money to run campaigns. Because the system is the way it is, they don’t have a choice but to raise funds,” she said.

Hahn acknowledged that his campaign--like others--sifts through the Ethics Commission’s lists of campaign contributors, lobbyists and businesses “looking for opportunities.”

“Fund-raising for office is a fact of life,” Hahn said. “If I want to be mayor, I have to communicate my message.”

To raise the financial resources to do so, he calls friends and asks them to call their friends and associates. “You start out with people you know and ask them to help you expand the base.”

He denied any link between contributions and the actions of his office. “Most of the people who have been in the political arena for a long time contributing to candidates understand these contributions don’t guarantee anything.”

While law firms and airport vendors have existing ties to the city attorney’s office, some of the region’s major construction companies have their own interests in the selection of a new mayor: The city’s chief executive can help set the pace of development and can weigh in on major public works projects.

Tutor Saliba Corp., one of the area’s biggest and most politically connected construction firms, its executives and key employees gave at least $13,000 early in the campaign.

The company was the biggest contractor on the Metro Rail subway, having received nearly $1 billion from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Tutor Saliba is building the Alameda Corridor, a rail link between the ports and rail yards east of downtown Los Angeles.

The next mayor will be the most powerful member of the MTA board in determining mass transit priorities and will play a major role in city decisions on airport expansion.

Hahn has received at least $15,000 from executives and officials of a large architectural and engineering firm, HTNB Corp., and its family members. The Southern California District Council of Carpenters also has backed Hahn financially.

Backed by those firms and scores of others, Hahn has amassed more than $3 million in his mayoral bid. He has defied those who predicted that he would come up short financially--a prediction based on his past record of lackadaisical solicitations. This time, he has assembled a professional fund-raising team, and has held more than 275 events to raise money.

At one of them recently, Dominick Rubalcava, an attorney, lobbyist and Water and Power commissioner, surveyed the crowd and saw not conflicts but opportunities.

“These are people who care about Los Angeles, people who have investments in Los Angeles,” he said. “Jimmy is safe for the business community.”

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Help for Hahn

City Atty. James K. Hahn, a candidate for mayor, has been highly successful raising campaign money from individuals, businesses, law firms, construction companies and lobbyists who do business with the city. Some of the largest contributors to Hahn’s mayoral campaign:

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O’Melveny & Myers PAC and some of the law firm’s partners: $25,000

Executives of W.H. Smith, operator of newsstands and gift shops at LAX: $22,000

Some partners in the law firm Lewis, D’Amato, Brisbois & Bisgaard: $19,000

Some partners at Christensen, Miller, Fink, Jacobs, Glaser, Weil & Shapiro: $16,500

Executives of the architectural and engineering firm HTNB Corp. and their relatives: $15,000

Executives of construction company Tutor Saliba: $13,000

Manatt Phelps & Phillips and some of the law firm’s partners: $10,000

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Source: Campaign contribution reports to Feb. 24.

Researched by JEFFREY L. RABIN/Los Angeles Times