DAILY NEWS

Changes sought in finance laws

By Harrison Sheppard
Staff Writer

A coalition of campaign finance reform advocates and political groups Tuesday called on the city of Los Angeles to revamp its campaign contribution laws to ban donations from firms and lobbyists that have pending business before the city.
The group, which includes Common Cause and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, said a small number of companies conducting business with the city gave at least $250,000 in the last three months of 2000 alone, primarily to three mayoral candidates. Such contributions, they argued, lead to
improper influence on city government decisions.

The group singled out candidates Steve Soboroff, James Hahn and Antonio Villaraigosa as receiving the most contributions from groups with pending city business.

"We believe any organization or business which tends to profit from their relationship to the city should not be allowed to make campaign contributions," said coalition founder Jim Mangia, the former national
secretary of the Reform Party.

While the city places $1,000 contribution limits on individuals and businesses, "bundling" -- in which multiple individuals at one firm contribute at the same time -- is one of several loopholes allowing
organizations to skirt those limits.

Among the firms with city business giving thousands to mayoral candidates are law firms Latham & Watkins and O'Melveny & Meyers, both of which had employees who contributed to all three candidates; and accountants Ernst & Young, which gave $7,500 to Soboroff.

Spokesmen for all three candidates said they were following the city's campaign finance laws and said there was nothing wrong with accepting money from people with city business. All three also said their candidates would not be beholden to contributors.

Soboroff's press secretary Phil Paule said, "I think he is running as a person who is an outsider, a person who gets things done in Los Angeles. I don't think his history shows that he is beholden to anybody."

"When people support candidates, they're doing it because they believe in the candidate and what he stands for," and not to buy influence, he added.

A Latham & Watkins spokeswoman said there is no organized effort to get attorneys to support a particular candidate.

"We do not have a centralized political contribution operation," said spokeswoman Pearl Piatt. "All attorneys are free to contribute to whomever they want to."

LeeAnn Pelham, city Ethics Commission executive director, said the commission plans to examine several campaign finance issues at its April meeting, included those raised by the coalition.

"Our laws are very comprehensive, and we want to make sure whatever laws the commission approves are strong, workable and effective -- meaning they're enforceable," Pelham said.

The newly created Coalition for Political Reform also included representatives from the Green, Reform and Natural Law parties and former California Secretary of State Tony Miller.