Conflict of Interest Costs Riordan $3,000 Fine

Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan has agreed to pay a $3,000 fine for violating the state’s conflict of interest law, his attorney said Wednesday.

In a proposed settlement reached last week with the staff of the California Fair Political Practices Commission, Riordan acknowledged that he had a conflict of interest when he twice acted on matters involving a tenant in the Fine Arts Building, a historic office complex in downtown Los Angeles.

The multimillionaire mayor owns a 13% share of the building, and one of the tenants, the architectural firm of A.C. Martin and Associates, has a contract for seismic reinforcement at City Hall. The mayor signed a budget for the project that included the A.C. Martin contract and then forwarded contract amendments involving the firm.

After press inquiries about his actions, the mayor’s office last spring called it an inadvertent, honest mistake. Riordan’s attorney, Colleen McAndrews, said the commission staff shaved $1,000 off the standard penalty because the “mayor had come forward and cooperated fully” in what she called a “very thorough investigation.”

The five-member commission is expected to vote on the staff’s recommendation during its next regular monthly meeting on Sept. 5.