Donors to Garcetti’s 2000 campaign included developers like Nathan Shapell who seek city approval for construction projects; lobbyists like Mark Armbruster, Neil Papiano and Cerrell Associates Inc.; fallen airport and harbor commissioner Leland Wong; and a host of city contractors like Tudor Saliba. Garcetti hired fund-raiser Charlotte Dobbs, and in the financial disclosure he had to file as a city official, he lists a $2,000 gift from Dobbs. One of Dobbs’ most effective lieutenants was Troy Edwards, who eventually left for Hahn’s office and took charge of the Airport, Harbor, and Water & Power departments before resigning during the still-ongoing probe by Cooley’s office and federal prosecutors.
When you place a call to the contact number for Garcetti given out by the Ethics Commission, you get Dobbs’ office.
But to some in the reform community, the most troublesome aspect of Garcetti’s leadership is the private meetings he has had with elected officials and campaign professionals to sound them out about the commission’s work. It’s fine to get their opinions. But some critics wonder what kind of countervailing insights he seeks from the public, which the commission is sworn to protect.
“The commission is not supposed to be [the elected officials’] friend,” one observer says. “They are not supposed to curry favor.”
“I don’t think there are any appearance problems,” Garcetti said. “I was district attorney and I handled cases that involved people I know, and I handled them appropriately, without any conflict. I did it as D.A., and I will do it as president of the Ethics Commission.”
Garcetti’s presence on the commission raises the question whether any former Los Angeles officeholder can serve on the Ethics Commission. If the answer is no, it means the commission is doomed to carry on without the valuable experience and insights of a person who actually has been through the process and understands what candidates and campaign workers deal with to comply with the city’s laws and regulations.
If there is room on the commission for a former pol, what should the public make of that person’s long history of connections with the people he regulates? Boyarsky and other commissioners scoff at the notion, often raised in the panel’s discussions, of “the appearance of impropriety.” The commission is there to deal with real corruption, the argument goes, and not mere appearances. But conflict of interest, and shoring up public confidence, is inherently a matter of appearance.
With Garcetti there is, at least to some extent, a shift in appearance, in large matters, like his relationship with Eric Garcetti, and in smaller matters. Like the way his office telephone is answered.
“Campaign office,” says the voice on the other end of the line.
In the 14-year history of an independent commission charged with scrutinizing and regulating local elections, that is undoubtedly a first.
