Alatorre Looks Forward to End of House Detention

At the peak of his Los Angeles City Council career, Richard Alatorre could be found on any given night at political events and social soirees all over the city.

So it has been a humbling experience these last eight months. Alatorre has been under house detention for evading income tax in 1996 on $42,000 in payments from people who sought political influence.

Alatorre’s sentence ends Friday, and he is looking forward to having more freedom to go about his life.

“It was very difficult, because you are really limited in what you can do,” he said. “I accepted responsibility when I was put under house detention, and I’m glad it’s over.”

Under the terms of his sentence, Alatorre was required to wear an electronic monitoring device 24 hours a day and was permitted to leave his home only to go to work or buy groceries--as well as getting special permission for a few other forays. Other than that, he’s been home, working from there.

“I’ve been working and I’m going to continue to do some consulting work,” Alatorre said. He declined to identify clients, saying only that he provides advice to businesses.

Alatorre served in the state Assembly from 1973 to 1985, and on the City Council from 1985 until 1999.

He is still angry over losing two consulting contracts--one with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and the other with Compton College--which he blames partly on publicity in The Times. “I just want to stay below the fray,” Alatorre said.

Former Foes Join Simon Campaign

Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan tanked at the polls in the gubernatorial primary, but his fund-raising ability apparently impressed Republican winner Bill Simon Jr.

Simon last week hired a bunch of former top Riordan aides to get his campaign into second gear.

Among those appointed to his campaign team were Charissa Abbay, who was deputy finance director for Riordan’s gubernatorial campaign; Kristen Hueter, who also did fund-raising for Riordan’s primary campaign; and Alice Borden, Riordan’s finance chief for his city elections.

Simon also appointed former Riordan aide Fred Beteta as deputy campaign manager.

The appointments appear to be paying dividends already. Hueter and Borden coordinated Simon’s recent Los Angeles and Silicon Valley fund-raisers featuring President Bush. The events raised a combined $4.5 million.

Surfing Into Some Cyber Surprises

Internet surfers who think they are going to get the party line when they type in voteforgray davis.com are in for a surprise. What they find is a picture of Davis next to a corporate logo for Enron.

The site goes on to criticize Davis for accepting campaign contributions from Enron before the firm filed for bankruptcy.

Davis’ Republican challenger in the November election does no better on the Web site votebill simon.com.

The site criticizes Simon, saying he has hired “radical right-wing activists” from the Traditional Values Coalition.

So who is behind the Web sites? Manhattan Beach Internet entrepreneur Ben Padnos, who snatched up the domain names for 10 bucks apiece before the candidates could act.

Padnos said he has made it clear to the campaigns that he is willing to sell the sites, but denies that is the main reason he put them on the Web. The registered Republican, who plans to vote for Simon, said he also wanted to make a point to the campaigns.

“In the spirit of ‘equal time,’ I set up the sites to show campaigns what happens when they disregard the Internet as a vehicle to mobilize voters, raise money and efficiently distribute their campaign messages, opposition research, etc.,” Padnos said.

Both campaigns have Web sites already and have not expressed any interest in Padnos’ domain names.

Basketball Mania Invades the Capitol

No matter which team takes the NBA Western Conference finals, members of the state Legislature will be in for a show.

As part of the tradition of good-natured political betting on sports, Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson (D-Culver City) agreed to wear a Sacramento Kings jersey on the Assembly floor and ring a cowbell to start the day if the Kings win.

But if the Lakers take the series, Assembly Republican Leader Dave Cox of Fair Oaks, a Sacramento suburb, will have to wear a Laker jersey on the Assembly floor and lead the house in singing “I Love L.A.”

“We already know that Dave Cox looks good in a Lakers jersey--and I can’t wait to hear him sing,” Wesson said.

Countered Cox, “You know my good friend Herb Wesson spends so much time in Sacramento I could have sworn he was a Kings fan. I’m looking forward to seeing him in purple.”

Preemptive Strikes Against Villaraigosa

Seems no one wants Antonio Villaraigosa, the former state assemblyman and Los Angeles mayoral candidate, in their political domain.

During last year’s state redistricting, legislators redrew Villaraigosa’s Mount Washington district to make it harder for him to run for state Senate.

Then last week, Los Angeles Councilman Nick Pacheco and other members of a council committee ratified plans to exclude Villaraigosa’s block from Pacheco’s 14th Council District. Pacheco has worried for months that Villaraigosa intended to run against him for council next year. Villaraigosa has yet to decide whether he will enter the race.

Ouch! A Logical, and Biting, Play on Words

There was a rare moment of laughter last week during the Joint Legislative Audit Committee meeting on the controversial $95-million Oracle software contract that was pushed by a Northrop Grumman subsidiary called Logicon.

Barry Keene, who was director of the Department of General Services until he resigned April 26, was asked by state Sen. Chuck Poochigian (R-Fresno) why the agency felt forced to sign a deal by May 31, 2001.

Keene started to answer: “The logic was....” He paused and said, “I hate to use the word ‘logic’ anymore.”

Poochigian hardly missed a beat: “Because of the ‘con’ part?”

It Seems Just Like Old Times in Downtown

The proposal to build a pro football stadium in Los Angeles may bring some old foes together again at the bargaining table.

When Philip Anschutz and Ed Roski Jr. were trying to get millions in public subsidies to build Staples Center, the city hired hard-nosed real estate attorney David Farrar, who played a role in getting them to reduce their demands significantly. Farrar sat across the table from Anschutz’s attorneys, including William Delvac. Now Anschutz and Roski are back, and with Delvac’s help are asking the city redevelopment agency to help finance the football stadium.

Coincidentally, Farrar was appointed by Mayor James K. Hahn in February to head the city redevelopment board. Farrar said his experience with the Staples negotiations prepared him well for dealing with any new proposal.

“I would say they are tough but fair,” Farrar said of Anschutz and Co. “They had an astute understanding of the economics of arenas, which allowed them to conclude the deal without significant public subsidies.”

Points Taken

* Police officers love action-oriented acronyms. Just think of SWAT, DARE, CRASH and CLEAR. Such was the case when Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine, a former LAPD sergeant, decided to line up west San Fernando Valley residents to canvas neighborhoods to report graffiti and illegal signs. The name: People Organizing Safe and Secure Environments--POSSE.

* Leslie Townes Hope, known to the rest of us as Bob, was honored by Congress last week when the chapel at the National Cemetery on Sepulveda Boulevard was officially renamed the Bob Hope Veterans Chapel. Renaming the church--located at the “Arlington of the West,” where 85,000 veterans are buried--is a fitting tribute for Hope’s 60 years of service entertaining American GIs and veterans, said Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), who co-sponsored the House resolution with Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) that passed unanimously.

* There is a move afoot to expand the Los Angeles Unified School District board from seven to as many as 15 seats. Councilman Ed Reyes, who is behind a motion to study the idea, said many people feel “not adequately represented by their board member due to the size of each district.” The current board members each represent 635,000 people. If there were 15 members, each would represent 293,334 people, Reyes said.

You Can Quote Me

“I’m trying to spin the story as best as I can.”

--Jeff Flint, a campaign strategist for gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon, overheard at the Disneyland Hotel, where Simon was questioned about a $10,000 fine against his family’s now-defunct municipal bond firm.

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This week’s contributors include Tina Daunt, Michael Finnegan, Jean O. Pasco and Nancy Vogel. Columnist Patt Morrison is on vacation.