RIORDAN STANDS BY KEELEY : COUNCIL CASTS NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE.

Byline: Patrick McGreevy and Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writers

After a two-hour closed-door meeting, the Los Angeles City Council cast a no-confidence vote in Deputy Mayor Michael Keeley on Tuesday after Keeley apologized for his ``bad judgment'' in releasing confidential legal documents.

Riordan - who accompanied Keeley into the council session - stood by his chief operating officer after the 10-3 vote of no confidence.

``The actions the council took are part of an appropriate review process of a difficult matter,'' Riordan said in a statement. ``The council's motion regarding Mr. Keeley is of concern to me, and a disappointment. I plan on discussing this with members of the council.''

Keeley met with the council to explain his decision to provide a legal strategy paper prepared by the City Attorney's Office to an attorney for California Energy Co., which later sued the city to challenge the award of a contract for a geothermal power plant near Mammoth Lakes.

Several council members, speaking on condition of confidentiality, described the closed-door session as ``polite and dispassionate'' - consisting largely of Keeley explaining his actions.

But council members said Keeley's defense - that he was trying to head off costly litigation - was not satisfactory.

``I believe there's a serious breach of trust,'' said Councilman Richard Alarcon, ``and after two hours of hearing from Mr. Keeley I felt he did not appreciate the seriousness of it, nor did he understand the complications of it, nor do I believe he understood the political ramifications of what he did.

``I believe the mayor should accept Mr. Keeley's offer to resign,'' Alarcon said.

The three council members opposing the no-confidence vote were Joel Wachs, John Ferraro and Rudy Svornich. But while he supported the mayor, Wachs said the vote signaled a new low in council-mayor relations that Keeley may not be able to survive.

``I think in this action more City Council members came forward and expressed a dissatisfaction with the mayor than have done in the past,'' Wachs said.

Earlier Tuesday, Riordan made it clear that he sees the current battle over Keeley as having significant implications for his administration.

``I think (losing Keeley) would be a tremendous blow to the city of Los Angeles,'' he said, adding ``My administration is part of the city of Los Angeles.''

Deputy Mayor Robin Kramer, Riordan's chief of staff, said the mayor planned to meet with individual council members over the next several days in hopes of resolving the council's concerns.

In the meantime, she said, the budget presentation to a special ad hoc council committee will be made by budget director Chris O'Donnell - not Keeley.

Keeley, Riordan's chief operating officer, told the council members that he shared the legal opinion in an attempt to convince California Energy not to sue the city.

``My motivation throughout my involvement in this case was to get the best deal for the taxpayers of Los Angeles,'' Keeley said in a news conference after his council session.

The deputy mayor gave the council a copy of a letter he had given to Riordan in which he states, ``I serve at your pleasure and offer to resign at this time or any other time, on your request.''

Keeley said the mayor told him over the weekend that the resignation was ``premature,'' given that Keeley's actions still are being investigated by Kramer.

``I shared that letter with the council, and also told them that I was sorry for any embarrassment this matter has caused the council, the mayor or the city,'' Keeley said at his news conference. ``In several respects, I exercised bad judgment.''

Among those errors, Keeley said, was his letter asking opposing lawyer John Shiner of Morrison & Foerster not to reveal that Keely had given him the memo.

Keeley also said he should have informed the mayor of his actions.

``Did I make mistakes? Yes,'' Keeley said. ``Did I break any laws? No. Is my license to practice law in jeopardy? No. I am confident that the mayor's investigation will reach the same conclusions.''

In addition to the vote of no confidence, the council asked the Mayor's Office to turn over any documents and correspondence regarding the incident. They also instructed the City Administrative Office and Chief Legislative Analyst to conduct their own reviews of Keeley. In addition, the council ordered Hahn to provide information on which city officials are authorized to release information in any lawsuit.

Wachs said he opposed the vote because he believes Keeley is an asset to the city. He also claimed he has seen other council members provide information to opposing attorneys in ways that helped in litigation against the city.

Wachs refused to identify colleagues who had taken such action but said he will turn over a written report on his charges to the proper authorities for investigation.

Before the closed session, Riordan accompanied Keeley on the walk from the mayor's office to the council chambers and made a brief statement of support to the council.

Riordan emerged from the closed session after 15 minutes to say he told the council he still has confidence in Keeley and any further decision on whether to discipline his aide will await an investigation by his office.

``What I told the City Council was that Mike Keeley is a person I have known for 13 years as a hard-working person of the highest integrity and that he's been an incredible asset for this city,'' Riordan said. ``An error was made but I'm convinced that that error was made with the best interests of the city at heart. I was there to support a person who I have a lot of respect for.''

Councilwoman Laura Chick said she saw the council's action as a message to the mayor.

``There were many of us who felt that this was a decision on the part of a staff person that he knew better what was right and he chose to act on it,'' Chick said. ``In his letter to the mayor, he offered to resign. I think our vote of no confidence is a message to the mayor he should accept it.''

Chick and Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas said they also were prepared for a showdown with Riordan over the release of documents, including seeking a subpoena if the mayor refuses to comply.

After his news conference but before the council vote was announced, Keeley said in an interview he hopes for a speedy conclusion to all the inquiries, including one by the city Ethics Commission scheduled for Tuesday. Ethics Commission officials would not comment on it.

Keeley also said he has not been contacted by the State Bar, but was confident he had done nothing to jeopardize his standing as a lawyer.

But Keeley said he has hired an attorney, Christopher Caldwell of Hedges and Caldwell, to assist him.

``A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client,'' Keeley said.``There were some technical questions that he is helping me deal with.''

EXCERPTS OF KEELEY LETTER

The following are excerpts of Deputy Mayor Michael Keeley's April 21 letter to Mayor Richard Riordan, in which Keeley offered to resign. Riordan refused to accept his resignation.

``My paramount goal is to serve the city and you to the best of my ability. There have been allegations that my actions were motivated by factors other than the city's best interests. This is not true.''

``My only objective was to assist in the resolution of a multimillion-dollar contract dispute. I believe the investigations will ultimately conclude that I was at all times acting in the city's best interest.''

``I also recognize that I have made mistakes in my work . . . especially in the way in which I handled intra-city communications. I serve at your pleasure and offer to resign at this time or at any other time, on your request.''

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Photo, box

PHOTO Mayor Richard Riordan accompanies beleaguered De puty Mayor Michael Keeley to Tuesday's City Council meeting.

Hans Gutknecht/Daily News

BOX: EXCERPTS OF KEELEY LETTER