RIORDAN DECIDES NOT TO VETO FUNDS INITIATIVE.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer

Fearing that the City Council would override his veto, Mayor Richard Riordan allowed a council-backed measure to go on the April ballot that would raise the contribution limit on political officeholder accounts from $10,000 to $75,000.

The account limit was reduced by Proposition 208, the campaign reform initiative overwhelmingly passed by voters citywide and statewide in November. The council is pressing for the higher limits despite widespread criticism that officeholder accounts are little more than political slush funds.

``We would have liked the mayor to have vetoed it,'' said Elizabeth Lambe of Common Cause, a Proposition 208 co-sponsor. ``If anything, it would have made clear that he was sincere about upholding the will of the voters.''

Riordan said he opposes the ballot measure, but feared that a veto would be overridden by the council, so he allowed the ordinance putting the measure on the ballot to take effect Monday without his signature.

``Although the state measure gives local voters the right to make this change, I believe the council's action to reverse the voters' decision is premature and that the proposition passed last November should be given a chance to work,'' Riordan wrote to the City Council.

The council voted 12-3 on Jan. 15 to place the measure on the ballot and only 10 votes are needed to override the mayor's veto.

``It is apparent that sustaining a veto of (the measure) is unlikely,'' Riordan wrote. ``Therefore, the measure will go to the ballot without my signature. I intend to make clear to the voters of Los Angeles that I oppose this measure and that I support the decision they made last November regarding officeholder accounts.''

Proposition 208 was approved by 61 percent of state voters and 57 percent of voters in Los Angeles County setting the $10,000 limit, cutting per-person contribution limits from $1,000 to $100, and banning the acceptance of contributions from lobbyists.

The mayor's decision not to veto the measure was criticized by state Sen. Tom Hayden, Riordan's main re-election opponent, as showing a lack of leadership.

``One of the symptoms of Richard Riordan's failed leadership is his backing away from decisions where it's time to stand up,'' Hayden said. ``He should take a stand. Neutrality is not leadership.''

The senator charged that Riordan does not want to upset the council as he prepares to ask it to consider the mayor's budget for next year.

``It's acquiescence. It's going along,'' Hayden charged.

In response to the criticism, mayoral spokeswoman Noelia Rodriguez said Riordan is clear about where he stands and that, in the end, the voters will have a chance to decide the matter.

The officeholder accounts are financed by political contributions to pay for some, nonpolitical expenses of elected officials, such as constituent mailers, donations to community groups and supplementing city office budgets.

Backers of the initiative, including California Common Cause, charged that the accounts were political ``slush funds'' that were often abused to promote politicians and subsidize their higher standard of living.

However, council members complained after the election that the limits would interfere with their ability to serve and communicate with constituents and noted that Proposition 208 specifically allowed city voters to set their own, different standards.