PR Execs Hold Fundraisers for Hahn's Challengers

Inside Politics

By Patrick McGreevy, Times Staff Writer

Mayor James K. Hahn's ban on public relations contracts at Los Angeles City Hall has been followed by a flurry of political fundraisers presented by PR executives for candidates who are not Hahn.

Mayoral candidates Bob Hertzberg, Bernard C. Parks and Antonio Villaraigosa, as well as City Council President Alex Padilla, are getting fundraising help from public relations executives.

Some of the execs are concerned that the industry has been unfairly tainted by allegations that the city was overbilled by Fleishman-Hillard, which led to the ban.

Pat Tobin, head of Tobin & Associates, said she held a fundraiser for Parks at the Regency West supper club Jan. 12 because he is looking out for her community.

An African American woman, she said her firm was shut out of city contracts that went to big public relations firms, including Fleishman, during Hahn's first term.

"Anything would be an improvement," she said.

Padilla benefited from a fundraiser two weeks ago by Steve Sugerman, head of Sugerman Communications Group and a former Fleishman executive, and Lisa Gritzner, vice president of Cerrell Associates, which was one of the firms that lost a city contract when Hahn implemented the ban last April.

Ron Rodgers, who owns a PR firm, held a fundraiser for Hertzberg.

And public relations firm owner Oralia Michel and Katherine Alvarado, with Michel's company, held a fundraiser for Villaraigosa on Wednesday at the San Antonio Winery; another PR exec will co-host a Villaraigosa fundraiser Feb. 13.

Michel said she held a Villaraigosa fundraiser because she supports his policies and not because she thinks he will reopen the door for public relations contracts. She did say she found the Fleishman controversy and Hahn ban annoying.

"My concern comes from an overall perspective that public relations is getting a bad name," Michel said.

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