When the Los Angeles City Council torpedoed a high-level political candidate last week, it all happened quickly and quietly.

No one on the council on Friday gave a reason for the swift, and some say brutal, 14-0 vote against Jamie York, who was nominated by city manager Kenneth Mejia to serve on the city’s five-member Ethics Committee.

But after days of complaints from York’s allies and some neighborhood council leaders, the statements have come out.

City Council President Paul Krekorian said Monday he was concerned about York’s past professional work soliciting political contributions for candidates, including former mayor Eric Garcetti, U.S. Representative Nanette Barragn.

(D-San Pedro)

and state senator Henry Stern

(D-Calabasas)

. Among other things, the Ethics Committee issues sanctions for violations of the city’s campaign finance laws.

A day later he wondered if York, an outspoken supporter of stricter ethical laws, would be willing to consider opinions that differed from hers, “without falling into swear words.

Councilor Tim McOsker said he was too concerned about York’s fundraising past and the fact that neither Mejia nor York had contacted him about her appointment. Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez advanced yet another argument, saying through a spokesperson that he disagrees with her about the types of lobbying restrictions that should be placed on union leaders seeking to influence city decisions.

The councilor does not think unions or their employees should be treated in the same way as corporate lobbyists, so he decided not to support Jamie York’s nomination,” said Soto-Martinez spokesman Nick Barnes-Batista.

York, president of the Reseda Neighborhood Council, has been an outspoken representative on urban issues, giving his say on the 2021 redistricting process and spearheading efforts to strengthen the city’s ordinance lobbying. In an interview, she said she deserved to reveal her nomination in full at last week’s meeting.

York described her fundraising knowledge as an asset and said her experience with neighborhood councils shows her ability to work well with others. She linked her advocacy for ethical laws, including her call for city lobbying rules to be applied to organized labor, and the vote to reject her nomination.

“The system that was used to block my nomination is the shadow lobbying system that I have railed against for so long,” she said.

The council’s treatment of York was highly unusual for the Town Hall. Political nominations are rarely rejected outright, and when controversy arises around a nominee, these nominees tend to withdraw from consideration.

The vote against York comes as the council is considering major changes to the city’s lobbying ordinance, including a recent proposal from Krekorian that would reclassify union workers seeking to influence the city’s decisions, placing them in a new category with a number of rules that differ from York’s. imposed on lobbyists.

York helped organize neighborhood councils against Krekorian’s proposed changes and submitted a letter calling for an ordinance “that leaves no loopholes for special interests.”

Mejia and his team have denounced the council’s rejection of York’s nomination. Diana Chang, a spokesperson for Mejia, told The Times that Mejia’s office was “dazzled by the city council’s decision, just as our candidate and the public were”.

Still, according to one account, Mejia received at least one last-minute warning.

York said Soto-Martinez aide Josh Androsky told her that Soto-Martinez warned Mejia at Friday’s city council meeting that York did not have the votes to be confirmed in committee. Androsky provided that information several days after the vote, she said.

Neither Soto-Martinez nor Androsky would comment on this claim.

Chang, the controller’s spokesman, said Mejia’s team sent York’s nomination “through appropriate official channels”.

York’s biography, a copy of which was placed in the official council file, stated that she was responsible for raising “a record $3.9 million” during Garcetti’s reorganization in 2017.

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election campaign. The biography also stated that York was involved in raising $150,000 for Garcetti’s account.

Mejia, in his letter nominating York, presented her previous fundraising work as a benefit, saying it was “an eye-opening experience for her”.

“Having witnessed firsthand the power and pitfalls of money in Los Angeles politics, Ms. York left that work to lead a citywide coalition in support of strengthening law enforcement. area of ​​urban ethics,” wrote Mejia.

The Rejection of York York’s Rejection

has prevented the Ethics Committee from meeting as there are currently insufficient members to obtain a quorum

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There, President of the Commission. There called the council’s treatment of York disrespectful and said she attended Friday’s council meeting on the assumption that her nomination would be approved.

There said it’s typical for a committee candidate

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to meet with the councilor representing the neighborhood where they live prior to their confirmation vote on the council.

York said she asked Councilman Bob Blumenfield, who represents the western San Fernando Valley district where she lives, to support her nomination at a July 4 event in Woodland Hills. Blumenfield said he would, York said.

Blumenfield confirmed he had had such a conversation and intended to vote for York when he walked into the council meeting on Friday, despite some reservations about her nomination. During the meeting, he said, he became aware of his colleagues’ opposition and came to the conclusion that she was too “divisive”.

Blumenfield said “a number of working-class groups” also expressed concern about York’s nomination ahead of the vote.

Councilor Eunisses Hernandez, who represents part of the Eastside, was the only councilor to express regret for voting against York, saying she has a background that would benefit the Ethics Committee. She apologized for what happened to York last week.

Hernandez said Friday’s vote came very quickly, right after she and her team spent hours focusing on a high-profile issue: the city’s purchase of a hotel in her district that will be used to house homeless residents of

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ouch.

“I wish we had more capacity. I wish my team had more capacity. But we were very stuck with that situation,” she said.