LOS ANGELES : Judge Rejects Holden’s Bid to Get City Funds for Race

A Superior Court judge Tuesday handed a political setback to City Councilman Nate Holden, denying his bid to receive up to $125,000 from city coffers to underwrite his reelection campaign.

Superior Court Judge Diane Wayne ruled that Holden was not eligible to get the money under the “plain language” of the matching funds provisions of the city’s ethics law. Holden initially refused to accept such funds during the primary election, relying entirely on private contributions to finance his campaign. But after he was forced into a runoff election by attorney Stan Sanders, who got nearly $100,000 in matching funds in the primary, Holden switched gears and applied for the money in the runoff to supplement his private contributions.

But Wayne ruled that the ethics law gave candidates for this year’s municipal election season a January deadline to accept or reject the financial help. Having rejected the money once, Holden had no second chance. Wayne’s ruling was hailed by Sanders, who claimed that Holden’s lawsuit--filed against the city of Los Angeles’ Ethics Commission--was an example of how the incumbent was wasting tax dollars to satisfy his reelection quest. Holden said the ruling did not faze him. “We got the most votes and raised the most money in the primary, and we did it without the matching funds,” he said. “Still, the more money the merrier, and my attorney says this case should be winnable.” Holden said no final decision to appeal has been made.