Shining a light on appointees

Hoping to turn a spotlight on the special interests that influence public policy, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel called Friday for a new law that would require commissioners who oversee the Planning Department and other city agencies to disclose when they have been contacted by lobbyists and other interested parties.

Greuel and four other council members introduced a motion asking the Ethics Commission to come up with a plan for requiring the city’s more than 300 volunteer commissioners to report the occasions when they have been contacted regarding a matter before their commission.

Such a law would allow the public to know who is seeking to influence Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s appointees at dozens of agencies, including the Department of Water and Power, the Recreation and Parks Department and the Housing Department.

“We want everything to be in the light of day,” Greuel said. “No backroom deals -- just the information that is provided to [the commissioners] in a transparent manner.”

One neighborhood council member argued that such a rule should apply not just to mayoral appointees, but to every elected official in the city. That would show the public the cozy relationships between lobbyists and council members, said Doug Epperhart, president of the Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council.

“If it’s good for the goose, then it’s good for the gander,” he said. “The City Council is always good at making rules for people that don’t apply to themselves.”

Greuel said she is open to the idea but would like to focus on volunteer commissioners first.

The city has a patchwork of rules governing contact between commissioners and various special interests. At the Los Angeles World Airports, each of the Airport Commission’s seven members must fill out a form when they are contacted by phone or in person by a contractor or business interest, according to airport officials.

At the Port of Los Angeles, each of the Harbor Commission’s five members take time to report when they have had an “ex parte communication” -- an outside conversation with private companies, nonprofit groups or other entities seeking to influence a decision. In fact, the Harbor Commission Web site shows ex parte communications in its posted minutes.

But no citywide disclosure rule exists, said LeeAnn Pelham, executive director of the Ethics Commission, who hopes to look at disclosure rules in other cities. “We’re eager to take a look at it,” Pelham said of the proposal.

Greuel said she was spurred to create the new rules after a fight in her district over Home Depot, which hired a handful of community organizers and lobbying firms. The councilwoman said she also heard from commissioners at the Planning Department and elsewhere who wanted help in dealing with lobbyist and business contacts.

Lobbyist Steven Afriat said he would have no problem with the rules planned by Greuel. But he argued that in some cases, homeowner groups that oppose development projects have far more access than the companies that come before City Hall.

“It’s not easy, even for the best of us -- and when I say us, I mean lobbyists and community leaders -- to get access to commissioners,” he added. “They just don’t like the contact.”

Greuel said she sees nothing wrong with lobbying but wants the public to have a clearer picture of how often it occurs.

“Lobbyists have a job to do. Community activists have a job to do. My point in this is that it all should be transparent,” she said.

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david.zahniser@latimes.com