Hahn appointees leave to enlist in Hertzberg camp.

Four city commissioners, all with political ties to Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn, resigned late last week and announced their support for former Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg's nascent mayoral campaign.

Though representing a small fraction of the city's 350 commissioners, the four rank among those with the most political connections.

Lisa Specht, who co-chaired Hahn's mayoral bid in 2001, resigned from both the Coliseum and Recreation and Parks commissions and will become a co-chair of the Hertzberg campaign.

Doug Ring, who resigned his seat on the Community Redevelopment Agency, is married to L.A. City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski. Initially appointed in 1999 by Mayor Richard Riordan, he was re-appointed by Hahn earlier this year and was the only real estate developer on the seven-member commission, which oversees development in the city's blighted areas.

Also resigning to back Hertzberg are Dennis O'Sullivan, a commissioner on the L.A. Homeless Service Authority, and Victor Sampson, who serves on the city's Police Permit Review Panel.

In response to a request for comment from the mayor, Hahn spokeswoman Julie Wong said, "the mayor appreciates their service to the city."

Hertzberg implied more defections from the Hahn camp were coming.

"I'm gratified that people who have such experience in the city and who want change are joining my campaign," he said.

Bolstering position

The addition of well-connected former Hahn backers comes as Hertzberg jockeys for position in what has become a crowded field of challengers.

In March, state Sen. Richard Alarcon, a former L.A. City Councilman, became the first to declare his candidacy. Last week, former L.A. Police Chief and current City Councilman Bernard Parks entered the race after more than three months seeking community input on whether he should run.

Also last week, former Assembly Speaker and current L.A. City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa strongly hinted he would seek a rematch against Hahn (see page 11). Villaraigosa sought the mayor's post in 2001, placing first in the primary but losing to Hahn in the general election.

As of last week, Hahn held a huge fundraising advantage over his challengers, with more than $1.3 million in the bank. Hertzberg reported earlier this month he had raised $200,000 since he entered the race in April.

Each of the former commissioners said their decision to resign was prompted by Hertzberg's entrance into the race. Specht said she otherwise would have continued to support Hahn.

Commissioners, particularly those overseeing the city's three revenue-generating departments, have come under increasing scrutiny over the last year.

The political fundraising activities of several have led to allegations of pay-to-play in the awarding of city contracts. County and federal prosecutors are investigating whether political contributions play a role in contracts awarded by the city's three proprietary departments, the airport, harbor and water and power. Investigators began subpoenaing city officials and commissioners soon after City Controller Laura Chick released an audit in December critical of airport contracts.

Miscikowski was one of three council members who pushed a ban on political fundraising by city commissioners through the City Council earlier this year, and Ring called the result "the right way to operate the system."

"But," he added, "that means that I, and anybody else who wants to be involved in the process, needs to step down in order to do so."

Ring did not back Hahn in 2001, though late last fall he said he would support his reelection bid. "Since then, I've had a change of heart," he said. "It's important that the city begin to move in a new direction."

His company, the Ring Group, has investments in California, the Northwest, the Midwest and Virginia. Ring is also an attorney of counsel at Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP.

Specht, a land use attorney with Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP, has a roster of high-profile private clients that include Playa Vista and Casden Properties LLC. She has represented the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power and the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Her ties to L.A.'s political elite date to the administration of Tom Bradley. She was rewarded with appointments to the two commissions, which she chaired, for her work on behalf of Hahn in the 2001 election.

O'Sullivan, a commissioner on the L.A. Homeless Service Authority Commission, said he resigned because he had planned to back Hertzberg. "Ethically, I think it was the right thing to do," he said. "It's hard to serve two masters."

Director of programs at People in Progress Inc., a social service agency serving the homeless and indigent with drug and alcohol problems, O'Sullivan had served on Hertzberg's public safety commission from 1999 to 2002.

He was appointed by Hahn to the Homeless Service Authority Commission in 2002 and would have been its president next year.

Sampson, chief financial officer of Coldwell Banker Real Estate in Porter Ranch, was among 25 people appointed to commission posts in a controversial move by City Council President Alex Padilla in September 2003. Padilla exercised powers granted the council president in the City Charter to appoint commissioners if the mayor does not fill vacancies within 45 days.

Sampson resigned his post on the Police Permit Review Panel, which oversees the granting of permits for bars, nightclubs and other establishments, saying he is supporting Hertzberg. Sampson's other commission post, at the North Valley Area Planning Commission, came after Hahn's nomination in 2002.

Hertzberg called himself a personal friend of Specht, Ring and Sampson, though he stressed that he did not approach any of them for endorsements.

"They came to me," he said.