Parks Is Sued Over Towing Contract

Accusing Los Angeles city councilman and potential mayoral candidate Bernard C. Parks of political favoritism, an Alhambra towing company Friday sued the councilman and the city for illegally denying the company a city contract to tow and impound vehicles for the Police Department.

In the suit, which also names the City Council, Al’s Towing contends that Parks violated city contracting laws to help a less qualified firm with long-standing ties to the city’s black community.

That firm, Los Angeles-based Keyser Towing, has provided towing services in the Los Angeles Police Department’s 77th Street Division in South Los Angeles for more than three decades. The company and its lobbyist have also made campaign donations to Parks.

Parks, who three weeks ago kicked off an exploratory campaign to challenge incumbent Mayor James K. Hahn, said he did nothing wrong by stopping a contracting process he believed was flawed.

“There was nothing unethical,” Parks said. “We’ve done it in the past.... That’s what we’re here for. And the fairest way when it’s viewed to be an unfair process is to do it over.”

Al’s Towing and Keyser Towing were among 13 companies that bid for a contract to tow and impound vehicles that are unregistered, wrecked, illegally parked or involved in crimes.

City staff and the Los Angeles Police Commission ranked Al’s Towing as the top bidder by a wide margin over Keyser, which city staff said had received numerous complaints while the company held the contract.

Keyser’s lobbyist, McClaine-Hill Associates, and a member of Parks’ staff fiercely disputed the city’s conclusions, accusing officials of unfairly penalizing Keyser for the complaints.

Subsequently, the city’s chief legislative analyst looked into the contracting process and concluded there had been no problems. A City Council committee recommended that Al’s Towing be awarded the contract.

But when the contract came before the City Council 2 1/2 weeks ago, Parks lobbied hard for Keyser.

“The criteria for this [request for proposals], in my judgment and the judgment of many, was not fairly applied,” Parks said. “When you know that 18 companies went forward on the RFP and one, only one, was deemed to be unacceptable ... the only black-owned company of this type west of the Mississippi River, you have to sit back and wonder.”

And after a lengthy debate, the council voted 13 to 2 to deny Al’s Towing the contract and order a new contracting process.

Councilman Tony Cardenas said Friday that he voted with the majority because Parks persuaded him that city officials were “either unfair or weren’t treating all the contractors equally.”

But an attorney for Al’s Towing said Friday that the City Council’s actions were illegal and unfair.

“This was literally the 59th second of the 59th minute of the 11th hour when this was taken away from Al’s Towing,” Eric Nishizawa said.

“We believe that this decision was made solely because certain City Council members, namely Bernard Parks, disagreed with the recommendation,” he said.

Parks received $500 from Keyser in 2002, and $500 in both 2002 and 2003 from Keyser’s lobbyist, according to campaign finance records. Al’s Towing also has made political donations to several council members, although none to Parks.

Korey Keyser, vice president of Keyser Towing, said the company donated to Parks for the same reason it gives to charitable causes.

Keyser would not say whether the firm specifically sought Parks’ help in contesting the contracting process.

“We did ask for political help from several people,” he added.

Keyser praised Parks and the council for its actions.

“Councilman Parks brought up several very, very poignant points that the Police Commission did not consider,” Keyser said.

*

Times staff writer Patrick McGreevy contributed to this report.