Donations to LA Mayor’s Charity Present Policy Question

The Los Angeles Times is running a piece that calls into question the creation and use of charitable nonprofits by political leaders to raise money funding activities that accomplish the leaders’ agendas.  The focus of the article is the charity established by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles.  There is no allegation that the fund is intervening in political campaigns or otherwise unlawfully influencing the political process.  The concern is that big donors to the fund can obtain influence by supporting the Mayor’s pet projects.  The story explains:

The contribution is one of dozens the Mayor’s Fund has received, from companies with a stake in City Hall decisions and from charitable foundations, according to records reviewed by The Times. Modeled on similar nonprofits in New York and other cities, the fund provides a financial boost for civic programs — as diverse as environmental initiatives and summer jobs for thousands of inner-city kids — that might otherwise fall victim to city belt-tightening.

 

But the nonprofit, which took in about $5.2 million between its formation in June and last month, can also offer a discreet destination for special-interest money that is not subject to campaign finance restrictions. City law caps contributions by individuals or businesses at $1,300 per election for mayoral candidates. By contrast, the average donation to the Mayor’s Fund has been $111,000.

According to the Times piece, “Garcetti’s fund has benefited from donations of as much as $1 million from prominent charities as well as manufacturing, engineering, telecommunications, software and financial firms, or foundations linked to those companies.”  The Times also reports that “some donors to the fund said they had enjoyed one-on-one meetings with the mayor and dinner receptions at his official residence.”  The mayor, for his part, is reported to have insisted that “he keeps his distance from the organization’s operations and that donors are dealt with by the nonprofit’s staff.”

JRB