Mike Feuer won’t release his campaign’s contract with consultant
Citing pending litigation, Los Angeles city attorney candidate Mike Feuer on Tuesday said he won’t release a copy of his unusual “win-bonus” contract with campaign consultant John Shallman.
The Times had requested copies of both the original contract and modifications Feuer said he made after coming in first in the four-way primary last month. He has since been sued by a supporter of incumbent City Atty. Carmen Trutanich over the contract.
“Following discussions with our counsel, given the pending litigation, we aren’t releasing the contracts at this time,” Dave Jacobson, Feuer campaign spokesman, said in an email.
The original contract, which called for Shallman to be paid only if and when Feuer won the post, has generated controversy. Critics said it hid the true cost of the campaign and helped Feuer stay under the spending limit required to get $300,000 in matching taxpayer funds during the primary.
At least two complaints about the contract have been filed with the city Ethics Commission, and a supporter of Trutanich, whom Feuer is challenging in the May 21 runoff, has filed a lawsuit challenging the contract.
Feuer said he checked with the Ethics Commission and was told such a contingency-type contract was acceptable under city campaign finance laws. He said that he did not ask for that advice in writing because he did not feel it was necessary.
After the primary, in which he received 44% of the vote to Trutanich’s 30%, Feuer said he reworked the contract to arrange for three installments of $15,000 each to be paid over the duration of the runoff campaign.
For the Record, 1:42 p.m. April 10: An earlier version of this post incorrectly said the contract with campaign consultant John Shallman included a $50,000 win bonus, to be paid after the first-round election.
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Twitter: @jeanmerl
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