Mayor's Reform Plan Is Getting a Cool Reception
Three weeks ago, amid calls for local campaign finance
reform, Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn curtly assessed a
proposal to ban fundraising by city commissioners. "I don't
know what the argument for it is," the mayor said.
By Friday, Hahn's position had evolved so radically that he
was calling on city leaders to make Los Angeles a national
leader in efforts to change the way political campaigns are
financed. "We are going to set the standard," Hahn said as
he unveiled his own sweeping plan to restrict local
fundraising, lobbying and political giving.
But the mayor, who has raised more than $1.3 million for
his 2005 reelection campaign, received a rude reception
Friday at City Hall.
Many questioned his sincerity. And although a few reform
advocates lauded his proposal, some observers suggested it
was the move of a desperate politician struggling to clear
the cloud that has hung over his administration since
prosecutors opened investigations into alleged
improprieties in city contracting.
"There is a disingenuousness," said City Councilwoman Cindy
Miscikowski, who for months has been pushing, over mayoral
opposition, a more modest proposal to prohibit fundraising
by members of city boards and commissions.
"Why the flip-flop?" Miscikowski asked.
Hahn's plan would place new bans on political giving by
city contractors, developers and lobbyists, further
restrict fundraising on behalf of local political
campaigns, and prohibit campaign consultants from lobbying
officials for whom they have done political work.
The mayor said he has come to believe Los Angeles city
leaders should do what they can to restore citizens' faith
that government decisions are not for sale. "This is in
response to people saying to me: 'What do you think? What
are your ideas?' " he said.
His proposal would position Los Angeles at the front of
national efforts to pass so-called pay-to-play laws
limiting campaign contributions from city contractors, said
Craig Holman, a political scientist with the nonprofit
group Public Citizen.
The broad outlines of the plan have won praise from
good-government advocates and others. Councilwoman Wendy
Greuel, who has been working to pass the ban on fundraising
by members of city boards and commissions, said Friday she
would support the mayor.
"I am for anyone who would like to continue our efforts to
have the toughest campaign-finance laws in the country,"
Greuel said.
But the prospective effect of a ban on political giving by
many who do business in and around city government remained
unclear.
Hahn's office said the mayor did not calculate what
percentage of his own campaign contributions had come from
the people he would now ban from giving.
City Controller Laura Chick, who has been strongly
advocating for new fundraising restrictions, estimated that
a ban such as Hahn proposed would eliminate 50% to 60% of
donations to local political campaigns â€" and
thus might be too drastic.
"It has the potential for shutting down local elections,
disallowing campaigns from going forward," Chick said.
The mayor argued that public financing and donations from
other sources would ensure that local campaigns were
adequately financed.
Many observers and elected officials said Friday they did
not trust the mayor's motives. A common theory was that he
wanted to be perceived as a crusader against political
corruption, but at no cost to his own rich campaign
fund.
"It sounds to me like it's life-raft time for the mayor,"
said longtime political consultant Larry Levine, who worked
with Hahn on the 2002 campaign against San Fernando Valley
secession.
Levine is a staunch opponent of campaign finance
regulations, which he believes undermine free speech while
doing little to curb corruption.
Going into the mayoral campaign next year, Hahn has been
facing questions over whether his fundraising practices
have opened the door to corruption in the way city
contracts are awarded, particularly at the airport, port
and Department of Water and Power.
In recent months, the Los Angeles County Grand Jury has
begun hearing testimony on contracting at the airport, and
federal prosecutors have subpoenaed thousands of
contracting documents.
At the same time, several prominent local politicians have
been monitoring the investigations closely as they assess
how vulnerable Hahn could be to a challenge next year.
One Hahn advisor acknowledged Friday that the mayor's
proposal was born amid concern that the criticism is
gaining momentum and threatening to overshadow the work of
his administration and dominate next year's reelection
campaign.
In moving out front with a dramatic proposal, Hahn
"disarms" his critics and political opponents, said the
administration insider, who spoke on condition of anonymity
because he did not want to jeopardize his relationship with
the mayor. The proposal also shifts pressure from Hahn to
the City Council, the advisor said.
But if Hahn is serious about reform, he may have to
overcome critics on the council who are questioning his
motives and methods.
Hahn had pledged this year to work closely with other
elected officials to build consensus for important city
priorities, such as a budget. But he did not discuss his
reform proposal with council members or other elected
officials before he leaked it Thursday evening
â€" a strategy some officials said they found
baffling.
The mayor provoked even more criticism by refusing to
return donations from those whose political giving would be
banned in the future under his proposal. Hahn said other
candidates have had months to announce their candidacies
and raise money, just as he has.
His critics appeared unmoved by that explanation.
"It's one thing to propose ethics legislation after you've
raised over a million dollars," Councilman Jack Weiss said
Friday. "It's another thing to root out the allegations of
corruption that have been made and show the public the city
has been run appropriately."
See the article on Los Angeles Times website
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.)