GOP Legislators Praise Villaraigosa for Bipartisan Work as Assembly Speaker

A group of prominent Republicans is voicing their admiration for Antonio Villaraigosa’s leadership as former Assembly speaker and his ability to work across the aisle, bolstering his mayoral campaign’s efforts to appeal across the political spectrum.

The statements of support from half a dozen Republican figures, released Thursday by Villaraigosa’s campaign, could help ease worries among moderate and conservative voters about the former legislator’s liberal voting record.

In fact, the Republicans’ praise for Villaraigosa may show up in campaign mailers, according to his consultant Parke Skelton.

Some of them, like state Sen. Jim Brulte of Rancho Cucamonga, have all but officially endorsed his candidacy.

“Villaraigosa was a true bipartisan leader who brought Republicans into the legislative process as partners,” Brulte said in a statement. “He asked for our advice, and frequently took it. I can’t say enough good things about him. He’ll be a great mayor.”

Republican consultant Ken Khachigian compared Villaraigosa’s approach to President Ronald Reagan’s ability to work respectfully with people of all stripes.

Other Republicans who offered positive words about the former legislator included Reagan’s campaign manager and GOP consultant Stuart Spencer, former Assembly Republican Leader Scott Baugh and Jerry Perenchio, head of Univision.

Kam Kuwata, consultant for James K. Hahn, said the GOP backing would have little impact on the race because the Republicans offering praise of Villaraigosa are not well-known in Los Angeles.

To counter, Hahn offered his own list of Republican supporters, including former Los Angeles Dist. Atty. Robert Philibosian, City Councilman Hal Bernson, former Rep. Bobbi Fiedler and former Assemblywoman Paula Boland.

“I think the choice in this race is clear,” Philibosian said in a statement released Thursday. “Jim Hahn has a long record of fighting gangs, domestic violence and slumlords.”

Meanwhile, Villaraigosa’s mayoral campaign filed two complaints with the city Ethics Commission charging Hahn’s campaign with violating election laws.

In a letter to the commission Wednesday, Villaraigosa’s campaign said that the city attorney failed to properly disclose how $2.6 million in media advertising was spent and that Hahn backers had illegally helped set up an independent expenditure committee.

Hahn Political Aide Disputes Charges

Luis Lavin, enforcement director of the Ethics Commission, said he could not confirm whether the commission is investigating the complaints, citing its confidentiality policy.

“It’s all nonsense,” Kuwata said of the complaints. “We reported fully the way it was supposed to be reported.”

Kuwata called the complaints trumped-up charges to divert attention from an ordinance before the City Council today that would require political parties and other groups to disclose their contributors and spending in communicating with their members in city elections. Villaraigosa has benefited from big spending by the Democratic Party on his behalf. Both candidates have voiced support for the ordinance.

Skelton said Hahn’s financial statements before the April 10 election showed that the campaign transferred about $2.6 million to a media firm, but did not detail how that money was spent on TV and media expenses as required by law.

“Everyone knows money to a media firm goes to television advertising,” Kuwata said.

In the second complaint, Skelton said the involvement of Hahn supporters including Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) and city union leader Julie Butcher in a Friends of Jim Hahn independent expenditure committee violated an election law that states that those committees may not be coordinated with the campaign.

Kuwata said there is no coordination between the campaign and the committee.