Secession Foes Tap Execs for War Chest

By JEFFREY L. RABIN and PATRICK McGREEVY

July 26, 2002 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITERS

Tapping some of the city’s wealthy and powerful business interests, Mayor James K. Hahn has raised nearly $2 million this year for his campaign to defeat measures that would break off the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood from Los Angeles.

The mayor’s L.A. United campaign collected $1.93 million in the first six months of the year, with $1.87 million still on hand at the end of June for an expected all-out campaign against the twin secession proposals. Those measures will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot. To win, they must carry a majority of the voters in each area, as well as a majority of voters citywide.

None of the groups supporting secession have filed campaign contribution reports. But Anne Dunsmore, fund-raiser for the organizations promoting Valley and Hollywood secession, said they had raised $300,000 by last week. She said Hollywood club owner Gene LaPietra gave $70,000 and Ferris Wehbe, former president of Hollywood VOTE, gave $23,000.

Leaders of those efforts said Thursday that the concentration of money fighting secession reflects the determination of powerful interests to hold onto their influence in the city of Los Angeles.

In papers filed Thursday with the city Ethics Commission, Hahn’s group showed that it received money from interests with a vital stake in what happens at City Hall. They include city employee unions, developers, law firms, banks and companies that do business with the city, particularly at the airport and port.

By far the biggest contribution--$250,000--came from Majestic Realty Co., headed by Ed Roski, one of the builders of the Staples Center and promoter of a plan for a hotel, retail and entertainment complex adjacent to the arena. Roski also was a principal in a now-dormant proposal to build a football stadium downtown. Hahn has embraced both projects and offered the city’s assistance.

Roski was among those who attended Hahn’s anti-secession fund-raiser last month at the posh City Club downtown. At that time, Roski explained that keeping the city together is one of the most important issues of his lifetime.

“We support the city,” he said.

A San Fernando Valley resident, Roski said it would be a big mistake for voters to split off from Los Angeles and create another layer of government. He vowed to be active in the campaign against secession.

Billionaires Eli Broad, who made much of his money in home building and retirement services; and Jerry Perenchio, chairman of Univision, the nation’s largest Spanish-language broadcast network, gave $100,000 or more.

BP Corp., which acquired Los Angeles-based Arco, and Casden Properties, a Westside developer, also gave $100,000 each.

At a downtown campaign event Wednesday evening, Hahn said intensive fund-raising is necessary to ensure that the city stays together. The mayor said that the companies and individuals contributing to the effort against secession have a big stake in Los Angeles.

“What’s at stake here is very sizable for the whole future of the city,” he added.

The heavy concentration of dollars from major business interests immediately sparked criticism from secession backers.

“This confirms there is a relatively small group of very powerful interests from downtown Los Angeles who want to hold on to power,” said Richard Katz, chairman of the San Fernando Valley Independence Committee. “They will spend any amount of money to do that.”

Katz said voters should ask themselves: Do they really think people “contributing a quarter of a million dollars or $100,000 a pop” have their best interests at heart?

The roster of contributors to the L.A. United campaign includes a number of major Los Angeles developers. Douglas Ring, the husband of City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, gave $50,000. Catellus Development Corp., which built the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s downtown headquarters, contributed $25,000. So did Robert Voit, a principal builder of Warner Center and the city’s new office tower in Van Nuys.

The developers of the Playa Vista project on the city’s Westside gave $25,000 and downtown developer Maguire Partners gave $10,000.

The campaign against the breakup also received large contributions from organized labor, which is fighting secession partly because of concern that a new Valley city might contract out work or cut payrolls.

Labor contributions included $50,000 from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which represents many city Department of Water and Power employees, $25,000 from the Southern California District Council of Laborers, and $10,000 each from the Los Angeles Professional Managers Assn. and United Teachers of Los Angeles.

Two major concessionaires at Los Angeles International Airport that recently received extensions of their leases from Hahn’s appointees on the city’s Airport Commission each gave $25,000. W.H. Smith operates newsstands and bookstores and HMS Host is the largest operator of food and beverage concessions at LAX.

The anti-secession campaign also received $5,000 checks from the City Hall lobbying firm Rose & Kindel, whose client list includes Playa Vista, HMS Host and United Airlines.

Other lobbyists contributing to the mayor’s effort include Clark Davis and Ron Gastelum.

Several major San Fernando Valley companies contributed heavily to the anti-secession effort. Sylmar-based Tutor-Saliba Corp., one of the nation’s biggest construction firms, gave $50,000, as did Zenith Insurance Co. of Woodland Hills. Biotech businessman Alfred Mann of Sylmar, who received city help opening new facilities in the Valley, gave $10,000.

The campaign also collected $20,000 from P & O Nedlloyd, a New Jersey-based international shipping company that ships about 300,000 containers annually through the Port of Los Angeles, according to company executive R.A. Agresti.

The firm uses a wharf leased from the city by another shipping firm, NYK, he said. It decided to get involved in the cityhood campaign because of concern that a divided Los Angeles could hurt the local economy and affect the firm’s business.

Other contributors include public relations firm Fleishman-Hillard Inc., which gave $10,000. The City Council this month gave the company an $800,000 extension on a $15.3-million multiyear contract to provide marketing and advertising for the city DWP.

The extension lasts through Sept. 30, but the firm is one of the bidders for a new, one-year contract to provide the same services to the DWP.

That contract could be worth about $3 million.

Hahn’s committee also received $5,000 from developer Christopher Hammond, whose firm Capital Vision Equities is relying on City Hall for funding of projects.

The firm was part of a partnership that received a $2.8-million city loan in 2000 to build a 56-unit housing project in Lake View Terrace.

In December, Hahn reported the first contributions to the anti-secession effort. HNTB Corp. gave $25,000. The firm recently won a contract to plan for the expansion of city-owned Ontario International Airport. Public relations firm Fleishman-Hillard gave $5,000.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Anti-Secession Funding

Mayor James K. Hahn has raised nearly $2 million for his campaign against secession, tapping some of the city’s wealthiest and most powerful businesses and corporate leaders. Labor unions, developers, construction and insurance firms, and companies that do business with the city are among the largest donors to the mayor’s L.A. United campaign.

Raised: $1,925,951

Spent: $90,589

Cash on Hand: $1,872,266

Major contributors:

Majestic Realty Co. -- $250,000

Eli Broad -- $101,935

BP Corp. -- $100,000

Casden Properties -- $100,000

Jerry Perenchio -- $100,000

Beverly Hills Construction Management -- $50,000

Douglas Ring -- $50,000

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers -- $50,000