Janice Hahn’s little conflict of interest problem in deciding to step in as the unbiased mediator of a dispute between Gambol Industries and LA Harbor officials over a $50 million shipbuilding project offers a window into the way City Hall so often does business.
It’s not what you know but who you know.
In the Councilwoman’s case, the person she knows and knows well is Gwen Butterfield, president and CEO of Butterfield Communication, a public relations firm. They have been friends
a long time, good enough friends that acquaintances say Janice was maid-of-honor at Gwen’s wedding.
When Hahn was sworn into office on July 1, 2001, at the same time her brother Jim was sworn in as Mayor, it was Butterfield who the LA Times found worthy as voice of the community to put the event into perspective.
“I think it is truly history in the making,” said Gwen Butterfield, close friend and campaign +volunteer for Janice Hahn. “She’s so excited . . . to have her brother swearing her in.”
Butterfield’s own life took a decided turn upwards with the arrival of Janice became chair of the powerful committee that oversees the Harbor Department.
She’s doing a lot of business and has been a registered City Hall lobbyist for the last six years, with five clients showing up on her disclosure statement.
It should come as no surprise that are all about the Harbor: Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway, Cabrillo Beach Yacht Club, Pacific L.A. Marine Terminal, LLC, Wallenius Wilhelmsenn Logistics and most of all, Gambol Industries which port insiders say has made her a very well-to-do woman, turning a modest living as a community organizer and part-time advocate into a PR/lobbying business with a half-million-dollars in billings.
The friendship also has been good for the Hahn’s fund-raising efforts.
I
n breaking the story on Hahn’s conflict-of-interest, Art Marroquin of the Daily Breeze reported
Gambol’s president, Robert Stein, contributed $6,500 to Hahn’s lieutenant governor campaign account last October and $500 to her City Council officeholder’s account last August.
“Additionally, the Los Angeles-based law firm of Jeffer, Mangels, Butler and Marmaro is representing Gambol Industries in the ongoing negotiations with the port and contributed $5,000 to Hahn’s campaign for lieutenant governor last September.”
“That’s $!2,000 worth of conflict,” the Daily Breeze editorialized after Hahn reluctantly backed out of serving a mediator for the Gambol proposal which Harbor officials opposed because it would seriously delay a critical dredging proposal.
“The perception — one of bias — would be everything. Always there, it would cast a pall not only over the deal at the port but also over the support and opposition she has in the Harbor Area communities where she is best known. And that would cast shadows over her own future ambitions, which are, right now, pretty big. “
Butterfield herself has contributed nearly $13,000 over the years to Hahn and more than half a dozen other Butterfield clients have been equally generous in backing Hahn’s political ambitions generously, according to city ethics records.
Like so much of what goes on the threads of relationships and the role of money casts a shadow over so much of what goes on. They call it “access” — the access routinely denied the public or limited to two minutes of public comment — but really it’s corruption whether it’s just in appearance, whether it’s criminal or not.
In this case, the threads reach the LA Conservancy, which too benefited from Gambol’s money, and sent to bat for the company in its fight with the Harbor Department.
Back in January 2009, the Conservancy’s Michael Buhler urged the Harbor Commission in an email letter to
delay the $96 million dredging project to reconsider its rejection of
the berths Gambol wants as part of this historical preservation zone.
“The
Southwest Marine Shipyard , including the slipways proposed to be
filled with contaminated dredge spoils, is the last remaining link to
Terminal Island’s significant role in the World War II emergency
shipbuilding program,” he said.
Harbor officials rejected the arguments for
delay showing that a study was already conducted to protect the parts
of the shipyard that were worthy of protection on the National Register
of Historic places.
Three months later on April 14, 2009, Hahn, in her official capacity, wrote the commission in response to the Environmental Impact Report urging delay and further study.
“This
project certainly deserves some further consideration and review by the
Part, and for that reason request that the Board delay its action on
the Channel Deepening EJR, and request staff to look at alternatives
that may Include a partial fill of those slips, In addition, I hope
that the Board will take another look at using this location for
economic opportunities including this proposal by Gambol Industries,”
she wrote.
Harbor officials also rejected
her efforts, noting: “The site is currently secured by a caretaker,
Gambol, whose duties include site security and promoting the site for
use by the movie industry as an interim use.”
Gambol’s proposal
just two months earlier, after the EIR was released and the comment
period closed, included a long series of steps and proposed uses –
“commercial fishing, filming, and handling liquid bulk, along with
using the site as a shipyard ” — that would lead to long delays in the
dredging plan needed to allow large container ships to enter the inner
harbor.
By summer, under pressure from Hahn and threat of a
lawsuit from Gambol, Harbor officials agreed to a mediation process to
resolve the dispute and see if both plans could work.
With that
Memorandum of Understanding about to expire, Hahn stepped in as the
impartial mediator and almost got away with it — until the Daily
Breeze exposed her conflict of interest.
The Cunningham Report,
which closely follows port area issues, said the Corps of Engineers is
ready to start the dredging project by the end of the month.
With
Hahn recusing herself and unable to directly influence the process,
Gambol is on its own with whatever other political influence or legal
strategies it has at its disposal.
In the grand scheme of things
where City Hall lobbyists and influence peddlers have such unlimited
access to elected officials, their staffs and top bureaucrats, the
fight over the Southwest Marine Shipyard is small potatoes.
The limits on public disclosure of documents, calendards and contacts limits our ability to see very far below the surface.
But
the images we do get of what really goes on ought to wake people up to
the need for full disclosure in real time and public access that is at
least equal to that of those seeking personal advantages.
Terrific reporting, Ron.
Horrible facts, but terrific reporting.
We need honest, competent people to step up to the plate and run for office. They don’t have to agree with us on every single issue. At this point, but honesty and competence would be enough.
Terrific reporting, Ron.
Horrible facts, but terrific reporting.
We need honest, competent people to step up to the plate and run for office. They don’t have to agree with us on every single issue. At this point, honesty and competence would be enough.
The whole City Hall is a basket of rotten apples. It just now started to smell.
PR contracts, campaign contributions, accusations of influence peddling and the Hahn family. Stop me if you’ve heard this before…
We all hoped that local Neighborhoods Councils would fill that gap and need to be community watchdogs. What a sad and wasteful experiment this has become. They are just political lapdogs and wannabes, and those are the better ones. The others just want to eat dinners and snacks to pass a few evening hours.
Hey there 4:09, while I agree Gwen Butterfield’s success smells, Laura Chick’s McCarthy-like accusations of pay-to-play in the Hahn administration turned into a big nothing. Nothing.
Ron, just make sure you get all the facts when whoever feeds you stuff does so.
Just be careful not to get pulled into someone else’s fight here.
Look into Butterfield’s clients, some of them have been completely raked over the coals by Hahn in the past…In fact, Hahn was sued by one of Butterfield’s former clients because she essentially shut them down for bad operations.
Also, wasn’t the ILWU on the other side of this issue? Geez, they have given Hahn tens of thousands over the years…
I`m sure the anti-establishment fever that has engulfed D.C., prevails locally. Where are the brave souls to take on the bums?
The only way this is slightly different than most City Hall shenanigans is that at least Butterfield registered as a lobbyist. Most dont.
Anonymous at 4:29 said: Hey there 4:09, while I agree Gwen Butterfield’s success smells, Laura Chick’s McCarthy-like accusations of pay-to-play in the Hahn administration turned into a big nothing. Nothing.
By “nothing” do you mean one guilty plea, two convictions now on appeal, a $5.7 million civil settlement and the incumbent mayor’s derailed re-election? Or am I
reading this wrong?
7:27, none of the parade of horribles you mentioned resulted from Laura Chick’s multimillion dollar mudslinging “pay-to-play” fiasco. The convictions did not result from her “audits” at all, but for entirely different reasons. The innocent officials Chick viciously hounded were never convicted or fined, just slimed. Get your facts straight.
“Driveby Chick” and others trying to discredit Laura Chick are Trutanich Troll(s), because she outed him as “a liar and demagogue, who never meant to keep his promises, they were just fancy speeches and soundbites,” to getting what he wants and now, after using her, they’re abusing her.
Typical of this Trutanich troll(s) from what we’ve seen in various cases – some say it’s some sort of “Serbian thing,” look at the “former Yugoslavia.”
“Be for me OR you’re against me and I’ll spend the rest of my days trying to ruin you” is the clear motto of their leaders. But do we want to be LIKE “the former Yugoslavia” in terms of grudges forever, to the grave?
9:31, nice try on changing the subject. Where’s that fine or conviction resulting from Laura Chick’s spending millions of taxpayer dollars on slimeball audits, eh? City hall insiders don’t believe anything that self-serving demagogue says.
What’s curious about all this is that Janice might be right about trying to protect a historical usage, and maybe the port is wrong in turning every square inch into service to the container cargo industry. It’s too bad, though, that Janice couldn’t be right for free. Or perhaps we should rephrase that — it’s too bad that she couldn’t do the right thing for the $180,000 a year that we pay her as salary.
The routine payment of tribute to elected officials, even when you are doing something honest, is the political culture and has been that way for many decades. It’s ugly and should be replaced with a system of full public financing of elections.
4:29 pm: Doug Dowie or Steve Sugarman of the pay to play scandal at City Hall. Steve avoided jail time by singing for the feds. What a man….
Excellent points Bob G. Thank you.
I agree with your campaign financing comment. The present way invites corruption.
What is the difference between elected offcials funneling money to special interest groups and fenneling money to non profit gang intervention groups, $24 million gang intervention program.
ORGANIZED CRIME. According to Sgt. Valdemar, a retired L.A. County Sheriff and Gang Specialist, said that by paying gang members it will ASSIST THE GANG MEMBERS IN FURTHERING THEIR ORGANIZED CRIME.
Full Disclosure “the news behind the news”
http://www.fulldisclosure.net/Programs/530.php
Issues Wire
http://issueswire.com/releases/Gangs_OrganizedCrime/Intervention_Enforcement/prweb2008634.htm
10:12am is right on the money. Those gang programs are a waste of time. Beck is the new ACLU kid on the block doing everything to make nice with the idiot Gerald Chaleff who supports everything against LAPD.
Ronnie look what I read “”"Nothing official yet, but San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is putting together a campaign team for a possible run for lieutenant governor and will probably submit a ballot statement today to go in the state voter guide.
Janice should be shaking in her boots.,
As bad as Newsom probably is, I would GIVE MONEY!!! any day to get Hahn out of office.
Having been one concerned with the illegal activities going on in City politics for years….it is ONLY Laura Chick that EVER tried to do ANYTHING to investigate. When Cooley’s office thwarted an investigation on a very public issue…it is Chick who pushed him back on track. Chick is the only political figure that has a fiber of integrity left. God bless Laura Chick! Just because Jim Hahn’s group escaped justice doesn’t mean that the crimes didn’t occur. Most of us know better. Look at OJ Simpson! DUH!
The previous thread’s post regarding the 3 parites (Ports/Citizenry, ILWU, and Gambol) was brilliant in portraying the divided loyalties in this seaside soap. Startling it is to see David Freeman atop the addressees for LA Conservancy and Janice’s gambits…
Could it be that his stewardship led to the denial, diligently looking beyond the same type of ‘job creation’ facade pointed out in the Weekly’s excavation of Perry’s Goodyear site redevlopment switcheroo?
Not seeing his name on the report, and noting the well researched response, it’s easier to presume that someone in the trenches rebuked to request to delay.
Great job Ron, in pulling this together!
Once again El Q, nobody knows what the fuck you’re trying to say
A complicated web. I wish Hahn would pull the rest of the crooks into the tangle with her. One of Butterfield’s clients is the company involved with the Marine Oil Terminal. This new recently approved (huge!) oil tanker and storage facility will take a slice of “Energy Island” (now called Pier 400). This is the landfil in the Harbor built with federal $ for the purpose of relocation of the hazardous facilities in our neighborhoods. Nothing was relocated; cranes and containers cover it. Rep. Harman procured this $, was okay with this B.S. and the most proactive thing Hahn (Chair of City Council Trade..Committee)did was to buy a house miles away from her former home near a huge butane and propane facility. Hang them all.
Money laundering pure and simple
These are simple sentences for the anonymous critic of 10:50.
First, apologies are due for presuming everyone would have followed the links above and read the associated comment threads.
The Daily Breeze Forum for Art Marroquin’s article includes a witty analysis of divided loyalties.
http://www.topix.net/forum/source/daily-breeze/TUU8LCVUONH3O0P4H/post37
That poster suggested that the Port (and Janice Hahn) should be most concerned with citizens’ best interest.
ILWU and Robert Stein (and Gambol’s law firm) have donated to Hahn, but have opposing interests regarding this issue.
Next, it is startling that the correspondence to the Harbor Commission from Buhler and Hahn are addressed to David Freeman.
Gambit is a play on words, since the requests to delay dredging cited Gambol’s plan.
Many people in these circles have been skeptical of David Freeman’s folksy deflections of concerns for transparency.
This is because his concern for taxpayers and dwp ratepayers has been questioned.
So, it is ironic that the linked port responses was detailed and well thought out.
And since they do not bear Freeman’s signature, one might think someone else drafted them.
Especially since the responses appear to coincide with the people’s best interest.
This is an example of how a “redevelopment” project may benefit one applicant unfairly.
On another topic here, Sandy Sand included a link to the L.A. Weekly.
http://ronkayela.com/2010/02/no-layoffs-no-payoffs-no-sello.html
http://www.laweekly.com/2010-01-28/news/is-l-a-creating-phantom-jobs
It talks about another “redevelopment” project, involving excavation and cleaning up the toxins (left by Goodyear).
Comment number 3 suggests that Jan Perry and the CRA may be disingenuous in their efforts at that site and elsewhere.
Someone in the trenches, such as an employee other then David Freeman, was another play on words.
Please feel free to skip over these posts without swearing if they are too long, too short, of if there is something you don’t understand.
Hopefully other readers will get it.
Can those defending Hahn simply answer one question that gets to the core of Ron’s article:
How can anyone claim to be a fair arbiter between two parties when they have already taken money from one of them?
5:14, she would not be an arbiter, she’s a mediator. Accepting a campaign donation does not guarantee bias but even if it did, mediators are not all neutral; they don’t decide cases, they assist in negotiations. Don’t confuse a mediator with an arbitrator.
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