Developers Get A Pass Under Proposal That Would Ban City Hall Contractors From Giving Cash To Los Angeles Candidates
It looks like you'll soon be able to vote on a law that will make life hard for city contractors who give money to city politicians in L.A. Only thing is, the law would give a huge exemption to the biggest pay-for-play contributors in town: Developers.
That's according to our reading of David Zahniser's piece in the Los Angeles Times about the proposed ballot measure for March, which got the blessing of the City Ethics Commission this week.
Now, why would law firms, taxicab companies, airport concessionaires and construction firms doing business with the city get a special rule against padding the pockets of city officials when developers could keep on contributing?
It's a good question, one that Zahniser put to Yusef Robb, spokesman for City Council President Eric Garcetti, who supports putting the measure before voters in March.
Preventing real-estate types from giving cash to city candidates would be more complicated than just barring a taxi service that has a city contract from enriching its favorite city official. It would be "extremely complex," Robb says.
Development decisions are made almost everyday the City Council is in session and involves "a larger number of players," as Zahniser puts it.
Players with lots of money -- perhaps more than any other City Hall interest -- to spend.
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