State Investigates Campaign Donations to Mayor Garcetti and City Council

LOS ANGELES, CA -- Political donations associated with the developer of a $72 million apartment complex in the Harbor Gateway area are being scrutinized by the California Fair Political Practices Commission.

The investigation by the FPPC, which oversees campaign finance laws, comes after the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced in November it was reviewing the donations.

Some City Council members this week also introduced a motion that would ban donations to elected officials and candidates by developers with active projects under review by the city or within a certain time frame afterward.

Jay Wierenga, communications director for the FPPC, confirmed the investigation was opened after the commission received a complaint letter on Oct. 30, but declined to provide any other details.

The Los Angeles Times reported in October that donors identified as being connected to developer Samuel Leung gave more than $600,000 in campaign funding to several members of the City Council and an independent campaign committee that supported Mayor Eric Garcetti.

The donations were made from 2008 to 2015, when Leung was seeking city approval for his 352-unit Sea Breeze complex, according to the newspaper.

Garcetti and the City Council overruled planning commission officials in changing zoning rules to allow the project to move forward.

The Times investigation identified some of the donors as being working- class residents without the obvious financial means to pay $500 or more to a political campaign.

Some denied having made any contributions, and at least one woman said she had been reimbursed, suggesting campaign finance laws may have been broken.

Leung told The Times he did not reimburse any campaign contributions and declined to comment further.

City News Service; Photo: Shutterstock