ETHICS QUESTIONS HIT MAYOR AGAIN HAHN SPEAKS OUT AFTER REPORT ON FUND-RAISERS.Byline: Rick Orlov and James Nash Staff Writers Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Mayor James Hahn For the Iowa politician, see . James Kenneth "Jim" Hahn (born July 3, 1950) is an American politician from the Democratic Party. He was the Deputy City Attorney (1975-1979), City Controller (1981-1985), City Attorney (1985-2001) and Mayor of Los Angeles, California , again insisting he had followed all city laws, found himself on the defensive Friday with regard to political fund-raisers. ``I have followed all the city laws and I expect my supporters to do so as well,'' Hahn said during an impromptu City Hall news conference after questions were raised about two fund-raisers held on his behalf. The events at the homes of former Airport Commission President Ted Stein and current Harbor Commissioner Nick Tonsich raised some $80,000 from donors who included current and prospective city contractors, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a report in the Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times Morning daily newspaper. Established in 1881, it was purchased and incorporated in 1884 by Harrison Gray Otis (1837–1917) under The Times-Mirror Co. (the hyphen was later dropped from the name). , which questioned whether the fund-raisers skirted the city's campaign rules. Under the city's ethics laws, city officials are prohibited from soliciting donations from firms or individuals doing business with the city. However, the issue of what is considered a solicitation is murky. ``To me, it is someone asking directly for a donation,'' Hahn said. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. what was done in these cases.'' Invitations to the fund-raisers included the names of Tonsich and Stein as hosts, but it was not clear whether that would be a violation of the law. Bruce Aoki, assistant executive director of operations for the Ethics Commission In the United States, an Ethics Commission is a commission established by State law to discourage dishonest practices by their public employees and elected officials. Almost all American states have such a commission. , said he would not be able to say whether such invitations violated city law. Because of the controversies involving the mayor's past fund-raising activities, the city adopted more stringent rules in April prohibiting commissioners from any fund-raising activities. The mayor said he has other proposals on eliminating contributions from contractors that would address the problems. ``There's a simple way to resolve this, and that's for the City Council to adopt my recommendations for reforming the city's ethics laws,'' Hahn said. ``Then, there wouldn't be any question. I have said all along that I will abide by the laws.'' Councilman Bernard Parks and other challengers to the mayor's re- election said the news report showed continuing ethical problems in the Hahn administration. Two grand juries are investigating allegations into whether there is a ``pay-to-play'' system in operation in which companies believe they need to make political contributions to win city business. ``I think it's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a for this mayor to come clean,'' Parks said. ``So far, all we've seen is allegation after allegation coming out in dribs and drabs dribs and drabs Noun, pl Informal small occasional amounts . I want the public to know everything that's going on.'' Stein resigned his post on the Airport Commission as a result of the controversies, and Parks said he believes Tonsich also should step down. Hahn has said he has done nothing wrong and pointed out that the contributions were for his fight against the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. and Hollywood secession efforts, and not for his own political campaign. Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. , who lost to Hahn in a runoff Runoff The procedure of printing the end-of-day prices for every stock on an exchange onto ticker tape. Notes: If the "tape is late" then it can take a long time to print off all the closing prices. election in 2001, said the new fund-raising questions also concern him. ``It sends the wrong message and doesn't speak well of the mayor with all that has been going on,'' Villaraigosa said. State Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-Van Nuys, said while Hahn might not be in technical violation of any laws, the transactions undermine public confidence in city government. ``Mayor Hahn is splitting legal hairs,'' Alarcon said. ``He forgets that his judgment day on election day will not be before a legal court - it will be before the voters.'' Former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg said he believed Hahn knew he had acted wrongly and was trying to cover up the problems. ``Unfortunately, that's the way the game has been played for years at City Hall, and we shouldn't expect someone who has been part of the problem to begin solving the problem.'' Rick Orlov, (213) 978-0390 rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com |
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