That's a key to successful lobbying: Try not to get noticed. Don't take credit. When the fight is over, do your best to sweep away your tracks.
"Part of being a good lobbyist is not having people write stories about you," says Steve Afriat, a veteran City Hall lobbyist. "We're about raising the profile of our clients, not raising our own profiles."
Through all the public hearings on LAX concessions, Ek never stepped to the microphone. Even some of those with a personal stake in the outcome still don't know the sound of his voice. For all the city's reporting requirements, sometimes his opponents don't even know he's there.
To those who know him well, Ek does not come off as a dark lord, perhaps because he's from Minnesota. He has close-cropped gray hair and a doughy face, and he can lapse into his Midwestern accent if prompted.
He is a family guy — three kids, house in San Pedro. He's been known to hurry home to catch American Idol with his daughter.
He has a wry sense of humor and an unhealthy addiction to his BlackBerry. He is, by all accounts, nice, normal and boring.
His firm, Ek & Ek, is a family business. John and Esther Ek met in traffic school. After they married, they worked together for a time at Rose & Kindel, one of the city's top lobbying firms in the 1990s. In sedate San Pedro, they are a power couple.
John Ek started small. In 1993, he was just a few years out of college and a relative minnow in terms of City Hall. He was the L.A. representative of the Air Transport Association when Richard Riordan came along and tried to swallow him up.
The mayor was looking for cash, and he found it at LAX. His plan was to balance the city's budget by forcing the airport to turn over the landing fees it collects from airlines. The airline industry then would be paying for librarians and tree trimmers.
Ek said it was a money grab. To stop it, he needed a lobbyist.
He turned to Maureen Kindel, a City Hall veteran whom newspapers used to describe as a "Tom Bradley crony."
Ek "interviewed every lobbyist in town," Kindel says. "He hired us because we were the only people in town that would take on the mayor."
After several years, the city relented and returned the landing fees. And Ek, having gotten a taste of big-time City Hall lobbying, went to work for Rose & Kindel.
"He sort of trained under me," Kindel says.
From the start, he had a knack for devising winning strategies for Rose & Kindel's clients.
"He's very, very talented," Kindel says. "He works hard. Second, he's very smart. Third, he's very personable. You don't need much more than that."
Like the advertising firm on television's Mad Men, Rose & Kindel was sold to a British PR conglomerate in 2004. Most of the principals left and, over the next few years, Rose & Kindel fell out of the top ranks of L.A. lobbying firms.
In anticipation of the sale, the Eks went out on their own, establishing Ek & Ek in San Pedro in 2003.
San Pedro is the home of Croat fishermen and the children and grandchildren of Croat fishermen. For a lobbyist, just as for a longshoreman, there's one really good reason to be there — the Port of Los Angeles, which looms across the Main Channel and generates hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of contracting opportunities every year. (The port is also the reason that, unlike in most coastal towns, home prices in San Pedro go down the closer you get to the water.)
Just as Ek & Ek was getting started, Ek's career was nearly derailed by the "pay-to-play" scandal that plagued the administration of Janice Hahn's brother, Mayor James Hahn.
The scandal, roughly, was this: While at the time it was legal and indeed customary for city contractors to give money to campaigns, it was not and is not legal for city officials to require a political contribution to do business with the city. Giving money to politicians was considered a good idea, like making the suggested donation at a museum. But if it ever became mandatory, people could go to jail.
(In March, voters changed this by passing Measure H, which bars city contractors from giving to campaigns.)
The pay-to-play scandal kicked up a lot of allegations but resulted in only one prosecution. It did, however, contribute to Mayor Hahn's defeat in 2005.
Ek's piece of the scandal involved one of his airport clients, URS, which complained to investigators that he had urged them to donate to Hahn's anti-secession campaign. This was supposedly done at the behest of Hahn's appointee to the Airport Commission, and Ek allegedly warned of the consequences of not contributing.
Ek denied the allegation.
"I don't do business that way," he told the L.A. Times. "Never have. Never will."
He was called as a witness before the grand jury, and sought counsel from a well-known local defense attorney — Carmen Trutanich, now L.A. city attorney. Ek was never charged.
"Ek is so close to Councilwoman Janice Hahn that he practically serves as a freelance chief of staff. Hahn's staff members bring their problems to him, and he offers solutions that work for her, and for his clients."
And to think, there are actually voters out there who support Hahn.
Maddaus seriously got the facts wrong on the taxi stuff. Authorized Taxicab Supervision has been at LAX for over 30 years, not 20. They've been there that long because they've done a great job. The "scathing" audit by Laura Chick over four years ago was simply mildly critical, as anyone can see if they bother to read the original audit, which is on line at the LA City Controller's website. Hamid Kahn is a gadfly. The "LA Taxi Workers Alliance" is a farce with no support among taxi drivers.
This article is about a person (Ek) who is perceived to have won the right of the nursing home to install solar panels on their property. In fact, this organization did everything legally, checking every step of the way to make sure that what they were doing was within the law and permits could be obtained. They didn't do it to beat a deadline, they did it to "go green" and to save an enormous amount of money on their electric bill every year. They didn't go around the laws but took each step in good faith. What they did wasn't wrong or deceitful and it causes no harm to anyone, but may even be a forward step in the use of solar energy in the very near future.The only reason they ultimately called a lobbyist was because they did not really have experience working with the city. And the whole complaint was initiated by only one neighbor.
We all have rights. My next-door neighbor wants to add a second story to his house, and one of his neighbors has complained loudly. Yet, he needs the additional space for his family and has done everything to follow the law, and even tried to talk to these people. Should his rights be forfeited because someone else just doesn't like what he is doing?
We may disagree with our friends and neighbors but let us respect their rights as we would hope they would respect ours.
So the next time you are passing through LAX and you spend 50% of the cost of your ticket on a cup of coffee and a stale muffin, just thank Carmen 'the Clown' Trutanich for preserving "lousy" food and high prices.
Good job Gene you covered and touched on almost everything out there. I know you held back... more to come I guess?
John Ek was the "lobbyist" the Autry Museum hired to try to get its permits to expand in Griffith Park instead of renovating the National Register of Historic Places Southwest Museum building in the Arroyo Seco to exhibit the Southwest's collections. There are times that the overwhelming voice of the people can overrule even the most influential of lobbyists -- and that was the case. That time Ek did not "get his way" -- and the Autry's grandiose plan to destroy the Southwest Museum was defeated. Even Janice Hahn voted against her "little chief of staff."
It is people like Ek that create the aura of corruption at City Hall. He can take all of his money and power, but it won't keep him from going to hell when his time on earth is over.
I also question Rosendahl's sincerity on this matter - He tried to have it both ways by criticizing the proposed Football stadium, but walking out for the City Council vote on the Stadium so that they would have enough votes to expedite through without a second vote one week later.
That action along with Koretz and Rosendahl's vote on Playa Vista warrant an investigation.
Although I find the article very believable that Rosendahl was being a mouthpiece for a lobbyist in the same way that Zine and several of his colleagues were for Ron Tutor in his attempt to upset a contract for LAX, I am also concerned about the out-in-the-open, corrupt nature of AEG's relationship with the Mayor and some members of the City Council.
The City of Los Angeles should really be investigated for its handling of Land Use approvals and the use of Federal funds by an outside agency such as the FBI. In the end, the City Council should be operating under a consent decree much like the LAPD was operating under in the 1990s after a series of criminal activities were exposed.
This article is as ignorant a piece of reporting as most newscasts presented by Fox News.
In essence, the author has created a nexus of evil shrouded behind those those big, menacing closed doors of government with zero solution to the systematic problem in local politics. I am slightly more stupid after reading this garbage.
You want the real story??? Most people are stupid. Period. That's the story.
When I say most people, I am including our elected officials. They are human and can't possibly maintain the bandwidth to know everything about everything. They don't have the insight as to things like the debt side of the equation (construction costs, finance/Time Value of Money), nor the equity side. They DON'T have the information at hand to make informed business decisions. (You offered that little tidbit at the end, thx for the crumb).
Ready for the punchline? We need lobbyists. Yup, sometimes we can't find enough talent to put up w/ working in the City sector, so we need to import private to keep it raining. I don't know Elk or the Elks and I don't need to know them. But, I respect the guy's hustle. Your report says that he knows how to play the game and abide by their rules to effect change. Well I like creative people and deal with them as just that, people who solve problems.
Majestic has gone out of their way to take every possible step to address every shred of minutia related to building a stadium in the City of Industry. Hell, they even choose a site with little to zero envirnomental impacts in an 'industrial zone' where a Stadium SHOULD be placed. On the other hand, AEG has a history of using all our (tax payer) funds at their disposal, while also, diverting municipal, CRA and even lobbying for dollars set aside for affordable housing for street improvements along Fig. - Fact check me, go for it.
Majesic has site control (owns their land) while AEG would be GIVEN land from City of LA. Well, now they're talking land lease. Hah! What a joke! Wonder what this stadium looks like the final 30 years (the time frame on a capital budget depreciation schedule)? It will have zero AEG dollars invested for the final third of the investment horizon (based on standard 99Yr LL).
Here's an argument anyone should understand: What. is. the. worst. that. could. happen?.
What. if. the. downtown. stadium. fails?. It would set back all the work we've put in as Angelinos from the mid 90s onward, right back to when it was a wasteland. Don't be fooled AEG didn't create the resurgence of our downtown core, 'adaptive reuse' ordinance and a rising RE market did. We (Angelinos) get stuck with worthless Bond financing, we get stuck w/ servicing infrastructure on a failed project and we destroy our City Center with a hunkering stadium that impedes further growth to the East, on a SoCal - Macro level.
What. if. the. City. of . Industry. stadium. fails? Who the hell cares? We don't live there, its an industrial zone, there is little housing and that's the way industrial zoned land should remain.
I am an Angelino. I was born and raised in this City, traveled the world and I still love it. I want the best for it. What do you want for it?
Why haven't any of the losing bidders on the airport bidding sued? The process was obviously a sham ...
If you are talking about Tutor-Perini Corp, they can't sue. They entered into a settlement agreement with the City of Los Angeles because they were caught red handed cheating on their bid with LAWA for a new mechanical plant by changing a temperature constant in their bid.
In actuality, Tutor-Perini should be investigated by the LA County DA for their efforts in influencing the outcome of the Contract award after signing a settlement agreement.
But that won't happen because the LA County DA is too busy or too chicken to investigate. That is why the FBI should be involved in this type of investigation.
Three powerful people; Trutanisch, Hahn and Ek working hard fand successfully or causes not in the public interest. Wouldn't it be great to see what they could accomplish in the people's interest???
Although I find it difficult to read your comment, I do agree that Janice Hahn is very corrupt. Lobbyist Ek is no saint, but that is not his problem, it is a matter of good law enforcement and good reporting to expose this behavior - Thank you LA Weekly!
And Trutanich earned points with me when he went after AEG only to be knocked down by the corrupt and kiss-up Councilwoman Perry and her colleagues who joined her.
But Trutanich lost me when he announced his interest in running for DA and in his cooperation in protecting the Corrupt City Council, Mayor, CRA, and others when they clearly violate the law.
I also live in Monty Heights, the array is not that bad of an eye sore, especially if it contributes to lessening of one's carbon footprint. I think it's more about sore feelings than anything for the MHIA to still be harping on this; find something new and move on.
It's endlessly annoying to read that the Montecito Heights Improvement Association continues to denounce our beautiful solar array. How unfortunate that Ron Peyes views the world through such a narrow lens. I live in Montecito Heights and I see the installation as art that also functions to save energy. Christo could not have done it better.
You are missing the point. L.A. has very, very few protected hillsides. Why didn't the nursing home put the panels on their roof like every other 'clean energy' project? Secondly - I'm a member of MHIA - we objected yes to the 'eye-sore' and met with and tried to find a solution for the solar panels that didn't completely disrupt one of the few remaining open hillsides in L.A. After all, EVERYONE is all for solar energy - that isn't the point at all - Third - MHIA was also concerned about the 'process' or lack of process that Broadview took with this project. Not one single neighbor was notified that this was happening. I live next door to Broadview - No one knocked on my door. I stepped outside my door one day and bam - no more coyotes or rabbits on the hills, but big chunks of metal. Broadview claimed to want to be a good neighbor in MH, yet they never contacted one single person to say 'hey guys a gigantic installation of panels is going up on the hillsides that you worked so hard to protect'. The point of this article also highlights how intent Broadview was on destroying the hillside. Hiring a lobbyist to push it thru? Better to ruin a hillside that hundreds enjoy instead of placing the project on their roof? Nice work, Broadview how selfish can you get.
And you're (intentionally?) also missing (part of) the point. Some of us think it's beautiful, not an eyesore, not a ruined hillside. I enjoy that hillside more now than before. And, as I understand it, Broadview hired Ek because if the project got held up past a certain date, it would miss out on some government (or maybe utility) subsidy.
I live in Montecito Heights and I think the solar array is beautiful! I want to see much more solar power everywhere.
If the nursing home owns the hill side property, then they have the right to do what ever they want. It's there land! The rest of the people need shut the Hell up and mind their own business. The other thing is that lately most people have been bashing Union workers for their salaries and benefits, but yet this guy gets 30K for "two meetings, two letters and some emails". And they say Union jobs pay too much. Go figure?
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