Riordan Might Look Out for Dickens’ Ghosts

Richard Riordan ran for governor as Mr. Fiscal Responsibility, but, nearly seven months after his loss, some of his campaign’s unpaid creditors are calling him Scrooge.

After spending more than $9 million and losing the Republican primary in March, Riordan reported in July that his campaign had unpaid debts of $305,000.

Many of those owed money are flabbergasted that they cannot get paid by Riordan, a venture capitalist and multimillionaire.

“They offered me 50 cents on the dollar, which is ludicrous, given the man’s net worth,” said Walter Lukens, president of Lukens Cook Co., a Virginia firm owed $11,000 by Riordan’s campaign for direct mail services.

Lukens has hired an attorney who has been talking to an attorney for the Riordan campaign about getting the bill paid.

“I hate to see someone with a fiscally responsible public point of view stiff people who worked so hard on his campaign,” Lukens added.

David Gould, Riordan’s campaign treasurer, said many creditors have accepted settlements in which Riordan is paying 50 cents on the dollar out of his own pocket.

“On a legal basis, he does not have a legal obligation to pay for the debt of a committee,” Gould said. “Usually in campaigns, if the money isn’t there, people get stiffed.”

Gould, who was unsure how much the debt has been reduced, blamed the red ink on the failure of some Riordan supporters to come through on their commitments to help fund the campaign.

Randy Spradlin, president of a Virginia direct-mail firm, said he’s owed $39,000. He submitted his bill to the Riordan campaign in February and has followed it up with several calls, he said, but to no avail.

“They have not paid me a penny,” Spradlin said. “When we took the job in the first place, they were quick to point out that Riordan was wealthy, so we should not worry about getting paid.”

Simon Engineering New Jabs at Davis

Not all the jabs Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon Jr. takes at incumbent Gray Davis are in his television commercials.

At Simon campaign headquarters in Sacramento, the staff has put up a display in the front entrance that plays off the recent railroad industry fund-raiser that Davis canceled to avoid the appearance of impropriety after he signed a railroad bill.

It’s a battery-powered toy train with paper money and plastic coins taped all over it. The train goes round and round a circular blue plastic track on the floor. In the middle is a hand-written sign: “Davis Money Train.”

Not that Simon has escaped critical attacks, even in places that used to be safe for him.

Conservative radio talk shows have served as a kind of refuge for Simon, allowing him to convey his message without the distraction of Democratic attacks. But as the election looms closer, even conservative radio cannot guarantee Simon safe harbor.

That was evident last week when he appeared on the “Mark & Marino” show on KRLA-AM (870) in Los Angeles. Midway through the show an unfriendly caller slipped through.

He identified himself as Mike from Sherman Oaks, then started taking Simon to task for fines against his family’s municipal bond firm in New Jersey.

“We’re not idiots,” Mike told Simon. “We know you’re not governor material. Run for council.”

The host, Mark Larson responded: “I think he’s getting his talking points from Garry South,” a reference to Davis’ chief strategist.

Assemblyman Takes Questionable Credit

The mailer arriving at households in Assemblyman Tom Harman’s Huntington Beach-based district crowed, “Your Nest Egg Just Got Bigger!”

It outlined changes to bring state law into conformity with federal Roth IRA limits, allowing tax breaks for larger annual contributions. Except Harman didn’t vote for the IRA bill.

And most people’s retirement accounts didn’t grow--they shrank, thanks to a tanking stock market fueled in part by corporate fraud, charged Harman’s Democratic opponent, Bill Orton.

“Mr. Harman didn’t vote to reform the tax laws or clean up corruption,” Orton said.

A Harman staff member confirmed that his boss didn’t vote for the IRA bill, but not because he didn’t support the idea. Democrats amended $402 million worth of tax increases into the bill, which led to Harman’s “no” vote. It passed anyway.

Back on the Beat for Dennis Zine

Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine, a former LAPD cop, returns to the force this month as a reserve officer. But before he could become a man in blue again, Zine had to travel outside city limits to get his uniform--a Long Beach company is the L.A. Police Department’s supplier.

“Why are we giving business to Long Beach when we need business in the city?” he wondered.

Pulling out his receipt last week for a reporter, Zine also questioned why he had to shell out $125 for two short-sleeve shirts--in polyester, no less! There’s got to be a cheaper deal, he said.

One question, Councilman: If you still have the LAPD uniform you wore before you retired, why do you need a new one? Has the cop-turned-councilman--how do we say it--taken on a new “stature” in his loftier office?

“I’m basically the same size,” Zine replied. Moving from being a sergeant on motorcycle duty to a weekend substitute in a patrol car requires a different style of pants, he said, and different patches on the shirt.

‘Quack’ Charge Sparks Free Speech Debate

An Orange County political mail house has found itself dead center in a court fight over Nevada’s political ethics commission.

Picture Perfect Campaigns of Irvine did two pieces for the Nevada Republican Liberty Caucus that were critical of GOP Assembly candidate Earlene Forsythe, who lost her Las Vegas-area primary by nine votes to former congressional aide Francis Allen.

One piece referred to Forsythe, a nurse practitioner, as a “quack”; the other called her a carpetbagger from Reno. Forsythe filed two complaints with the state ethics commission, which can levy fines up to $5,000. The commission threw out the complaints unanimously, ruling that a group’s members “have a constitutional right to free speech that can’t be bridled by state ethics laws.”

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Nevada Press Assn., however, are suing to challenge the commission’s right to exist.

Liberty Caucus spokesman Dan Burdish says the group called Forsythe a quack because she “flew down” from Reno to run, not to malign her professionally.

Picture Perfect’s Jim Bieber, meanwhile, said, “All of my best hit mailers have an animal theme.”

Constituents Not Ready for Such Openness

Public exposure is usually welcomed by politicians, but it isn’t necessarily a pleasant thing, according to Ventura County Supervisor John Flynn.

Flynn and his colleagues were recently discussing how to fill a vacancy on a county treasury committee. Supervisor Judy Mikels was bemoaning how difficult it is to get people to sit on boards because they are required to disclose finances.

That’s when Flynn, a 29-year officeholder who knows a thing or two about conflict-of-interest statements, jumped in.

“It’s kind of like taking your clothes off in public,” he said.

Points Taken

* A group of nine Los Angeles downtown hotel managers met last week with members of the city’s Convention & Visitors Bureau board to discuss their complaints about bookings by the bureau. The hotel managers, who are furious about the lack of conventioneers to fill their rooms, gave the bureau board until Oct. 15 to address their leadership concerns.

* Mary Polanco, Concepcion Molina and Lupe Padilla may not be household names in Southern California politics, but their offspring are. The three women will be honored at a benefit Thursday for La Posada, a shelter for teenage mothers. The women will be accompanied by their grown children: state Sen. Richard Polanco, Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina and L.A. City Council President Alex Padilla.

* With a debate over secession raging in Los Angeles, it probably was a good idea that the League of California Cities decided to instead hold its annual event this month in Long Beach, especially given this year’s theme: “Strength in Unity.”

* San Fernando Valley mayoral candidate Mel Wilson often uses sports metaphors in his speeches. It comes naturally. Wilson was a Kodak All-American football player from Cal State Northridge who went on to play in the pros as a defensive back for the New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs and Calgary Stampede before a knee injury ended that career.

You Can Quote Me

“I would pay some good money to see Oscar whip your butt.”

Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti publicly kidding former amateur boxer and Councilman Nate Holden after Holden said welterweight boxing champion Oscar De La Hoya’s last big paycheck may inspire him to get back in the ring.

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Mark Barabak, Michael Finnegan, Jean O. Pasco, Catherine Saillant and Massie Ritsch contributed to this column. Regular columnist Patt Morrison is on assignment.