CommentsKPCC SPECIAL REPORT--Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti — a longtime critic of big money in local politics — has set a surprising city record requesting large contributions, using a little-known and largely unregulated process called “behested payments,” KPCC has found.
Since his election as mayor, records show Garcetti has used the mechanism to raise $31.9 million in large donations to his favored causes from individuals, businesses and foundations, some of which have won sizable contracts and crucial approvals from the city in recent years.
That amount is a new record for the city of Los Angeles, which first began tracking the payments in 1997.
Garcetti has raised more than twice as much in behested payments as California Gov. Jerry Brown and more than 40 times the amount of Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom over the same time period, according to a KPCC analysis of reports filed by the politicians.
Most of the donations Garcetti raised went to a charity he helped create after his election, the Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles, according to reports he filed with the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission.
Other contributions given at his request benefited other efforts, including two that are dear to his heart: LA's Olympic bid and The GRYD Foundation, which runs a summertime park program Garcetti has supported for years.
“It strikes me that he’s taking advantage of the law more than anybody else has ever done,” said Bob Stern, a former California Fair Political Practices Commission general counsel who helped write the state's 1974 Political Reform Act.
Among Garcetti’s behested donors are telecommunication giants Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. as well as entertainment behemoths Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios, all of which have had dealings with the city through contracts or key development approvals, public records show.
“Corporations or special interests will look for ways to throw money at the feet of the lawmakers,” said Craig Holman, a campaign finance and government ethics lobbyist for the nonprofit consumer rights group Public Citizen. A behested payment “provides an ideal opportunity for the very wealthy and the lobbyist to buy access to lawmakers.”
Charitable foundations and private individuals have also made donations large and small, according to Garcetti’s reports. (Read the rest.)
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