Los
Angeles; Cardenas Denies Getting Tribes to Back Hahn Bid; Ethics: Assemblyman
says he did not play a behind-scenes role in getting Indian groups to aid
mayor's campaign.
The Los Angeles
Times; Los Angeles, Calif.; Feb 8,
2002; PATRICK McGREEVY;
Abstract:
During
the call, [Tony Cardenas] had said "[Daniel Weinstein] would provide the
tribes with information on how to defeat Villaraigosa," according to the
report.
The prosecutor's report does not provide evidence that Cardenas was
acting on behalf of Hahn and his campaign, which would have violated the law.
Cardenas said he was acting alone.
During the investigation, the report said, Hahn staff members said
they had no knowledge of Cardenas' involvement with the tribes, which spent
$350,000 to help defeat Villaraigosa. The report also said Weinstein told
investigators he had never informed Cardenas of Weinstein's contacts with the
tribes.
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(Copyright,
The Times Mirror Company; Los Angeles Times 2002 Allrights reserved) |
Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Panorama City) said Thursday that
he did nothing wrong in encouraging out-of-town American Indian tribes to get
involved in last year's mayoral race, in which they paid for radio spots and
mailers attacking Antonio Villaraigosa.
A report by the Los Angeles County district attorney's office
said there is evidence that Cardenas played a behind-the-scenes role in
enlisting help from the tribes that aided Mayor James K. Hahn's winning
campaign against Villaraigosa.
The report, released Wednesday, said information on Cardenas'
actions has been referred to the city Ethics Commission for review.
"I'm vindicated by that report," said Cardenas, a
2nd District candidate for the City Council. "It says there was no
criminal wrongdoing. I have not done anything wrong."
But his opponent in the March 5 council race, Wendy Greuel,
said in a statement that the report shows Cardenas is "engaging in a
repeated pattern of hide-and-seek with respect to campaign finance and
disclosure rules."
Greuel noted that the Ethics Commission had fined Cardenas in
December for late disclosure of fund-raising activities.
Cardenas has contested and not paid the $1,560 in fines, even
though the commission denied his appeal.
An investigation by the district attorney's office found
insufficient evidence to file criminal charges over links between Hahn's
campaign and the spending by three Native American tribes.
But the report cited "serious questions" on whether
Hahn fund- raiser Daniel Weinstein improperly directed the tribes to send
mailers attacking Villaraigosa.
A law that imposes spending limits on campaigns allows
expenditures by independent groups or individuals, provided there is no
coordination between them and the candidate.
The $1,000-per-person cap on campaign contributions does not
apply to independent efforts.
In April 2001, Cardenas told The Times he was not involved in
the independent campaign by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians against
Villaraigosa.
The district attorney's report said "the investigation
uncovered some evidence that Assemblyman Tony Cardenas also may have been
involved in encouraging the three tribes to get involved in the Los Angeles mayoral
race, even though none of the tribes are located in Los Angeles."
In addition to the Morongo Band, the tribes are the Soboba
Band of Mission Indians and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.
The report said there was evidence Cardenas participated in a
May 21 conference call to tribal leaders, who had gathered at a Coco's
restaurant.
During the call, Cardenas had said "Weinstein would
provide the tribes with information on how to defeat Villaraigosa,"
according to the report.
The report also said investigators had information that
Weinstein, in a later conference call to the same meeting, discussed defeating
Villaraigosa.
Cardenas confirmed Thursday he had talked with the tribal
leaders by phone on May 21, but said he did not recall mentioning Weinstein.
"They asked me about the mayor's race. I told them that
Jim Hahn was a great guy. I said he's the best guy to lead Los Angeles,"
Cardenas added.
The prosecutor's report does not provide evidence that
Cardenas was acting on behalf of Hahn and his campaign, which would have
violated the law. Cardenas said he was acting alone.
During the investigation, the report said, Hahn staff members
said they had no knowledge of Cardenas' involvement with the tribes, which
spent $350,000 to help defeat Villaraigosa. The report also said Weinstein told
investigators he had never informed Cardenas of Weinstein's contacts with the
tribes.
Greuel said the report will be an issue in the race for the
east San Fernando Valley council seat. She questioned whether Cardenas had been
honest about his role.
Cardenas said he was truthful when he denied, before last
April's primary, that he had lobbied any tribes to become active in the mayor's
race.
Credit: TIMES STAFF WRITER
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Sub Title: |
[Home Edition] |
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Edition: |
Record edition |
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Start Page: |
B.3 |
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ISSN: |
04583035 |
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Subject Terms: |
Political campaigns |
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Geographic Names: |
Los Angeles California |
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Personal Names: |
Cardenas, Tony |