L.A. Chamber Taps Big Names, Adding Heft to Remade Board

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L.A. Chamber Taps Big Names, Adding Heft to Remade Board

POLITICS

by Howard Fine

The L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce is finally moving into the big leagues of local politics.

Last week, the chamber announced that veteran political operative Bill Wardlaw has joined its board. Wardlaw, of course, was the mastermind behind Richard Riordan’s two successful mayoral campaigns and was chair of James Hahn’s mayoral campaign.

Wardlaw is the second political heavy-hitter to join the board. Attorney George Kieffer, who is Hahn’s chief economic adviser, is also a member; he will be the chamber’s chairman next year.

“These political heavyweights now see the chamber becoming a force in the local political world. That’s why they want to join,” said chamber president and chief executive Rusty Hammer.

The move to add Wardlaw comes just as the chamber is gearing up its campaign against secession. But Hammer said there was no connection. The chamber approached Wardlaw to join the board early last fall, before Hahn’s anti-secession effort got underway. Furthermore, Hammer said, Wardlaw has not played a role in the chamber deliberations on secession.

Wardlaw, a partner with the investment firm of Freeman Spogli & Co., was on vacation last week and couldn’t be reached for comment.

Opening Day

L.A. city councilmembers past and present flocked to Dodger Stadium last week for the Opening Day game against the San Francisco Giants.

Of course, Hahn was there, sitting in one of the luxury boxes. Also present: Council President Alex Padilla, councilmembers Eric Garcetti, Nate Holden, Tom LaBonge, Jan Perry, Ed Reyes, Jack Weiss and Dennis Zine. Newly elected councilwoman Wendy Greuel was also in a luxury box.

As has become tradition, few of the councilmembers stayed for the full game which was just as well, since the Dodgers got shelled 9 to 2.

Before the game, a special tribute was held for the 40th anniversary of the opening of Dodger Stadium. One of the honorees was former City Councilwoman Rosalind Wyman, who was instrumental in bringing Walter O’Malley and the Dodgers to L.A. from Brooklyn back in 1958. And there were cheers for former Dodger’s owner Peter O’Malley. Seems fans have fond memories of the O’Malley era now that Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Sports owns the Dodgers.

Business Tax Motion

It’s long been estimated that the City of Los Angeles is missing out on $60 million in business tax collections every year. Thanks to the passage of state legislation last year, L.A. city officials now have the power to track down scofflaw firms that don’t pay their gross receipts taxes.

Assuming that city debt collectors can get these scofflaw companies to pay up, what happens with the money? City Councilmember Tom LaBonge has an answer: he introduced a motion last week to permanently earmark 75 percent of these newfound revenues for relief for businesses that do pay up. The remaining 25 percent would go to the newly established Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

If this sounds familiar, it should. A similar proposal came to the council a couple of years ago. But because the state Legislature hadn’t yet passed the bill allowing the city to access state income tax files, that motion died before Mayor Richard Riordan left office. In the meantime, the council approved a similar measure earmarking funds from last fall’s business tax amnesty program.

Now there’s a new wrinkle: the Valley Industry and Commerce Association has proposed eliminating the gross receipts tax and replacing it with an assortment of alternative revenue sources.

Staff reporter Howard Fine can be reached by phone at (323) 549-5225, ext. 227, or by e-mail at

[email protected].

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