His Firm Makes Millions by Running the Marathon

A dispute over the rights to the name “City of Los Angeles Marathon� has been settled in a way that should pay off handsomely for William Burke, the husband of County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke.

William Burke is the president of Los Angeles Marathon Inc., which puts on the annual foot race under a contract with the city.

That contract says the city “retains sole and exclusive rights to the name� of the sporting event.

So city officials were surprised to learn recently that Burke’s firm had applied for a U.S. trademark registration for the official logo of the marathon, which is basically a circle containing the name and some laurels.

The city filed a formal opposition to the trademark application, and there were threats of a lawsuit over the intellectual property rights.

Now, a settlement has been approved unanimously by the City Council.

Under the agreement, Burke and his firm will receive a license to use the name and logo on T-shirts, coffee mugs and any other product they can think of, as well as in television and radio programs.

In exchange, Burke’s firm agrees to pay a royalty to the city, starting next year, equal to 7.5% of any gross income received above the $3.86 million in gross income expected in 2004.

The pact opens the door for Burke and his firm to earn millions of dollars more in future years by marketing the logo and name, said Robert Kadomatsu, a senior administrative analyst for the city.

Burke did not return calls about his income from the race and is not required under the contract to disclose his net income.

The list of products and events licensed under the agreement runs two pages long and includes clothes, cameras, drinking glasses, Epsom salt, luggage, paper products, snacks, teddy bears and credit cards.

Councilman Eric Garcetti said many cities do not stand up for their trademark rights, so the deal was embraced as an example of a municipality finally getting something in return. “There is a recognition that the people of Los Angeles don’t give away our name for free,� he said.

But the settlement raised some eyebrows last week, especially given Burke’s political connections.

In addition to the clout he gets from his marriage, Burke’s firm has given city officials $64,000 in political contributions in the last decade, including the campaign of Councilman Tom LaBonge, who presented the motion to settle the dispute, and Councilman Bernard Parks, who voted for the settlement. Parks also has been endorsed for mayor by Supervisor Burke.

“It is suspicious,� said Ernie Dynda at United Organization of Taxpayers. “I would think the city would have negotiated for a bigger share of the money.�

Some city officials have complained for years that Burke has been making money off city taxpayers. Los Angeles Marathon Inc.’s contract, which extends through 2005, requires the firm to pay $130,000 each year to the city for the right to hold the marathon, but the city spends more than $500,000 annually on traffic control, street closures and extra policing for the race.

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One Anonymous Vote Stirs Much Interest

Despite the hundreds of votes cast in the last week of the legislative session, Sacramento insiders are obsessed with only one: that of the anonymous Democratic senator who betrayed Sen. Martha Escutia.

In the second round of secret balloting to replace John Burton (D-San Francisco) to become the next Senate president pro tem, Escutia (D-Whittier) was tied with Don Perata (D-Oakland), with 12 votes apiece within the Senate’s Democratic caucus. On the third round, Perata won, 13-11.

Suspicions abound. Both camps said it was clear that a number of senators made commitments to both sides in the months-long campaign.

Much clearer is that Perata’s ascension gives some of his closest advisors new clout. Top among those are Miguel Contreras, the head of the Los Angeles County AFL-CIO, credited with helping win over some Southern California senators; political consultant Sandi Polka and public affairs man Jason Kinney, who together ran Perata’s outside campaign for the job.

And you should have seen the swarms of people showing a new interest in Perata’s chief of staff, Erin Niemela.

Another likely beneficiary is Sen. Gloria Romero of Los Angeles, an early supporter of Perata from Escutia’s power base of L.A.-area lawmakers and the Latino caucus.

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Collectors Still Love Reagan Memorabilia

More than two months after Ronald Reagan’s death, memorabilia involving the former president and California governor were the star attraction at last week’s convention of the American Political Items Collectors in Reno.

The highest price paid in an auction was $1,300 for a rare button issued to California’s Reagan delegates to the 1980 Republican National Convention, said Adam Gottlieb, a board member for the collectors group.

Buyers also snapped up cards signed by Reagan and other items from a personal secretary to Reagan when he was governor.

The event also featured a display of political buttons and memorabilia featuring California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Gottlieb predicted buttons and other items involving the former actor would soon be a hot commodity.

Not everything sold for a premium price.

One of the lowest-priced items sold was a box of macaroni and cheese with a donkey on the front. It was produced by Kraft Foods and handed out to delegates at the recent Democratic National Convention. The box drew a bidder, but only for $4.

“We had everything, from the sublime to the ridiculous,� Gottlieb said.

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Points Taken

* The Republicans are headed to New York City this week for their national convention, but not all of the politicking will be about the presidency. A group of Orange County pols, including Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, is hosting a reception at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Wednesday to kick off a bid by Pringle’s city to host the 2008 Republican National Convention. To attract GOP decision-makers, the invitation to the reception promises some “special Caleeforneeya cameos.�

* Speaking of the governor, a “substantial� sum of money will be paid to charity by an Ohio car dealership as part of a settlement in which the business also apologized for using a small photo of Schwarzenegger as the “Terminator� in a newspaper advertisement. Schwarzenegger has signed off on the settlement with Fred Martin Motor Co. of Ohio. The payment goes to Arnold’s All-Stars, which Schwarzenegger founded in 1991 to give inner-city youths an alternative to drugs and gangs.

* A political and literary figure in Sacramento has died. Capitol Kitty, a feral black cat that hung around the state Capitol for 13 years and was befriended by officials, was euthanized by a veterinarian after she was diagnosed with a fatal disease. The cat was so popular that former First Lady Sharon Davis featured the animal in her children’s book, “The Adventures of Capitol Kitty: An Almost True Story.� A plaque is planned.

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You Can Quote Me

“What happens in San Pablo won’t stay in San Pablo.�

Twisting the slogan used by Las Vegas, the tag line in a faux movie poster sent out to the press by supporters of Proposition 68, the non-tribal gaming initiative, to blast Gov. Schwarzenegger’s proposal to allow a high-rise casino to be built in San Pablo. The full-color movie poster advertises “The Casino that Ate California� and features a picture of panicked women in 1950s attire fleeing an enormous casino with the warning: “You’ll Watch in Horror -- As Thousands of Union Jobs Are Lost.�

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Contributing this week was Times staff writer Jordan Rau.