Ethics Panel Weighs Impact of Lobbyists

The Los Angeles Ethics Commission moved Tuesday to consider barring elected officials from voting on issues involving lobbyists who also serve as their political consultants.

The commission, the city’s watchdog on political ethics, also decided to consider restricting lobbyists’ contributions to and fund-raising for candidates.

The commission directed its staff to research how to reduce undue influence by lobbyists and special interests at City Hall.

“We have mapped out what I’m sure will be an ambitious area to pursue and I think it’s important,” said Commission President Miriam Krinsky.

A major concern was the practice of political consultants doubling as City Hall lobbyists and attempting to influence the officials they help elect.

The Times reported last month that two-thirds of the City Council members have, at one time or another, hired political consultants who also worked as lobbyists seeking council votes.

“One could either restrict the lobbyist, or one could restrict the officeholder from voting on something that involves an individual that the officeholder has hired to work for them,” Krinsky suggested. “Those are both ways to deal with the issue,” which Krinsky defined as “undue access or undue influence.”

The commission also agreed to consider proposals to restrict or ban registered lobbyists from contributing to or fund-raising for city candidates.

City Hall lobbyists directly made $219,831 in contributions to city candidates last year, including $72,911 to candidates for mayor, according to a new commission report. The report said lobbyists also delivered $222,620 in contributions to candidates, often from the lobbyists’ clients.

City Atty. James Hahn, a candidate for mayor, received the most contributions from lobbyists, $22,835, followed by Deputy Mayor Rocky Delgadillo, a candidate for city attorney, who received $22,581 in lobbyist contributions, the report said.

Councilman Mike Feuer, another candidate for city attorney, testified Tuesday in favor of leveling the playing field at City Hall for residents who cannot afford lobbyists.

“Everybody should be able to effectively lobby their government,” Feuer told the panel. “When lobbyists contribute, and particularly when lobbyists fund-raise, there develops an inequality of access to elected officials, which is troubling.”

Later in the day, a Feuer spokesman explained a $1,000 contribution from the law firm of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, which is registered to lobby at City Hall. The spokesman said the contribution, which was disclosed in the commission report, was inadvertently accepted and will be returned.

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The Ethics Commission also agreed to revisit earlier proposals that would ban lobbyists from fund-raising for political officeholder accounts, and ban city commissioners from fund-raising for city candidates. Officeholder accounts contain contributions to cover office-related expenses such as educational mailers, but may not be spent to promote reelection. The panel will also look into fund-raising for legal defense and independent expenditure campaigns.

“Those are all kinds of related areas where the concern arises that an officeholder might be in some way sort of engaging in a sale of influence or access,” said Krinsky, who is also a federal prosecutor.