HAHN TAKES ACTION IN PROBE CONTRACT RULES SET FOR COMMISSIONERS.

Byline: Rick Orlov and Beth Barrett Staff Writers

Facing mounting criticism over ethics in his administration, Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn issued an executive order Monday barring all city commissioners from evaluating or recommending contractors they would later vote upon.

Hahn's action comes amid a District Attorney's Office probe, including possible links between Airport Commission President Ted Stein's role in fund raising for Hahn and awarding millions of dollars in contracts, and as the City Council considers much tougher curbs on what critics see as ``pay-to-play'' practices.

Critics applauded the mayor's action but said it would do nothing to curtail efforts to investigate contracting practices under Hahn or impose a strict ban on commissioners raising funds for political campaigns.

Hahn - without mentioning the airport controversy or Stein - said in his statement that commissions are made up of ``citizen volunteers who are not paid but provide countless hours of service to the city'' and that the city must maintain ``high procedural standards.''

He said the directive was intended to make sure commissioners are not put in positions of potential conflict or any appearance of impropriety.

``All city commissioners have performed to the highest ethical standards. This directive ensures that there will be uniformity of the process across department lines,'' Hahn said.

Hahn has no plans to ask Stein, a top adviser and campaign fund-raiser, to step down, according to an aide.

``The mayor has talked with Mr. Stein and was assured nothing improper occurred,'' spokeswoman Shannon Murphy said. ``The mayor has no intent to ask Mr. Stein to step down. The mayor is looking to deal with a problem and make sure there are no questions on the role of commissioners.''

Stein, who has issued a statement denying any wrongdoing, did not return calls Monday.

Airport officials said the order ``speaks for itself.''

``As with all mayoral directives, Los Angeles World Airports will implement it immediately,'' said airport spokesman Paul Haney,

The Airport Commission was unique to the extent a system was created for commissioners to sit on evaluation panels. Commissioners defended the practice, citing a legal opinion by City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo.

Delgadillo spokesman Eric Moses said the mayor's order was a positive step, adding that ``anything that strengthens our ethics laws and prevents conflicts of interests is a good thing.''

Some questioned the mayor's action as not going far enough, and in not addressing campaign fund raising by commissioners.

City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski said she was ``surprised'' by the order, calling it a ``nice first start,'' but said it doesn't address commissioners' campaign fund raising on behalf of the elected officials.

``I give the mayor credit for recognizing there were concerns over some commission involvement as revealed in (City Controller Laura Chick's) audit last month, and that we have to do something,'' she said.

Chick in December released a scathing report on an audit of the airports department, and called for its contracting practices to be investigated by city, county, state and federal authorities.

She said materials relating to the airports' contracting practices were turned over to District Attorney Steve Cooley in October.

A published report in the Los Angeles Business Journal also quoted a senior city official saying Stein asked a contractor for a campaign contribution. Stein, in the statement, said the story was based on unsubstantiated and erroneous information.

While praising the mayor's action Monday, Chick said she had no plans to ask that the inquiries be halted.

``I applaud Mayor Hahn for his swift action and implementing one of the most important recommendations in my audit,'' Chick said. ``This is a first step in making real and significant action.''

Chick spokesman Rob Wilcox added, ``The mayor's action is about the future. The investigations are looking into what happened.''

The audit singled out 10 contracts for which commissioners sat on selection panels, saying that in every case recommendations for awarding millions of dollars in work were made without written justification, and that commissioners later voted on them.

Miscikowski, a co-sponsor of the council motion for tougher rules, said the audit underscores that there needs to be a total ban on fund raising by commissioners. At present, they are barred only from raising money from people with business before them.

Since June, at least three commissioners from different commissions, including Stein, have sponsored, or had a key role, in $1,000-a-plate fund-raisers for Hahn. At least four others have sponsored events for council members, according to records.

Such a ban would affect high-profile commissioners like Stein, one of Hahn's top fund-raisers. Miscikowski said she and her husband, Doug Ring, a Community Redevelopment Agency board member, also would be barred.

Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, who chairs the council's Audits Committee and is a co-sponsor of the measure, said the mayor's action takes care of a major immediate problem, but that the order now needs to be made into a law.

``What we have to do now is look to codify this so that the issue doesn't come up in the future,'' Greuel said.

She said the next step is a ban on commissioners' fund raising for politicians, saying any perception of ``pay-to-play politics'' is unacceptable.

``That's an area where the council will make a policy decision,'' Greuel said.

The executive order, numbered MO-1, defends the commission style of citizen oversight of city government. There are some 300 citizen commissioners, all serving in unpaid roles, who help determine city policy and oversee government operations.

``It is a system that should be preserved and protected,'' Hahn said. ``One important role of those commissions that have management responsibility for the department is the authority to select contractors and approve contracts on behalf of the department.''

The mayor said he also wanted to streamline the contracting process, in which the department staff does the basic work and commissioners come in at the end of the process in determining who should perform the city work.

Rick Orlov, [phone]

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com