Westside Council Candidates Fighting to the End

Candidates for the Westside seat on the Los Angeles City Council spent their final day on the stump Monday trading barbs over the massive Playa Vista housing project, which has become symbolic in a campaign largely about development and traffic.

The latest exchange between the camps of Bill Rosendahl and Flora Gil Krisiloff ignited after three men with ties to the sprawling development south of Marina del Rey reported spending a total of $45,000 since Friday in support of Krisiloff, according to the city’s Ethics Commission.

The independent expenditures included $10,000 from Douglas Moreland, a Playa Vista senior vice president; $10,000 from Randy Johnson, the project’s chief financial officer; and $25,000 from Robert Maguire, one of the original owners who is now involved with commercial property at Playa Vista.

The Ballona Wetlands Committee to Stop Playa Vista has spent $11,406 in support of Rosendahl.

An independent expenditure is money spent in support of a candidate by individuals or groups. Candidates are not allowed to coordinate such spending with donors.

The City Council last year approved Playa Vista’s second phase, which includes 2,600 housing units, 175,000 square feet of office space and 150,000 square feet of retail.

Rosendahl has said he wants to slow down or stop the second phase. Krisiloff has said that she wants to see how litigation involving the phase is resolved before taking a stance.

“Playa Vista is trying to buy the election,” said Mike Bonin, Rosendahl’s campaign manager. “We’ve been trying to make clear for months now that there is a huge difference between the candidates on Playa Vista and this clearly underscores that Flora Gil Krisiloff is Playa Vista’s choice.”

Rick Taylor, Krisiloff’s campaign consultant, said:

“This is a woman who developers feared the most in the town when she was on the Planning Commission because she held them up to a very high level. She’s been a community activist for 20 years while [Rosendahl] has been representing special interests as a cable television lobbyist. He’s trying to reinvent himself.”

Playa Vista official Moreland said that he got tired of Rosendahl spreading misinformation about the development.

“I spent several years of my life working on Playa Vista and I believe it’s great public policy for Los Angeles,” he said. “I’m very proud of my work and I’m proud of this project, and I decided to stand up and defend it.”