Aide Slaps Gag Order on Bradley Office Staff

In a move to exercise more control over the information that comes out of Mayor Tom Bradley’s office, Deputy Mayor Tom Houston has sent a memo directing staff members not to answer questions from reporters.

“No one on staff is authorized to speak to the media concerning events or issues in the office or to respond to questions from the media,” according to the memo sent to senior staff members last week.

The memo directs staff members receiving media phone calls to refer them to the press office “unless special permission is specifically granted by myself (Houston) or (press deputy) Ali Webb. . . . Henceforth, the press office will seek information from staff and relay that information to the media organization.”

Webb said the memo, which she drafted, was a reiteration of the press policy of the mayor’s office. It was “merely a reminder to old staff and to new staff members who might not have known the policy,” she said.

Memo Called ‘Nonsense’

Some staff members received the memo coolly, one calling it “nonsense” and another “paranoid.” Houston said in the memo that the procedures will make for better coordination and “assure that the mayor’s positions are accurately explained and conveyed.” Webb said she believes “standardized answers will better serve the public and certainly will better serve the mayor.”

Webb said the memo was not prompted by any specific incident. However, some high-level Bradley advisers who expect the mayor to run again for governor expressed unhappiness recently over comments made by some staff members regarding a raw sewage spill in Santa Monica Bay. The various comments by staff members made it appear that the “mayor wasn’t on top of things,” one grumbled.