August 24, 1992

IF CLINTON WINS, COULD L.A. CADRE GARNER KEY POSITIONS?

And would that make any difference for L.A. firms?

By CHIP JACOBS AND TIM DEADY

Staff Reporters

With the race for the White House entering the home stretch one scenario is quickly crystallizing: if Bill Clinton wins in November, Los Angeles could have some heavy hitters in a new administration.

Precisely how that would bolster local industry is unclear, though many government watchers believe it could produce, at the least, access for big corporations and greater sympathy for Southland economic troubles.

"What it will mean is that California will have a major seat at the table," said Joseph Scott, editor of California Eye, a political newsletter. "That can only help business."

Topping most lists of potential Clinton appointees is Mickey Kantor, the savvy Westside politico-lawyer who is serving as the Arkansas governor's overall campaign manager. Another in line for a high-level slot is Warren Christopher, the Los Angeles attorney and veteran Democratic adviser who headed Clinton's vice presidential selection committee. Others mentioned, probably for lower positions, include an Occidental Petroleum Co. executive, a local college economics professor and an attorney at Kantor's politically-connected, Century City-based law firm.

In an interview from Little Rock last week, Kantor dismissed talk about his future as pure "speculation," noting other campaigns have been derailed by such conjecture.

"Frankly, the only thing we're focused on is Nov. 3," said Kantor, now a nameplate partner at the firm Manatt, Phelps, Phillips & Kantor. "Everything else just isn't interesting to me."

Nonetheless, many believe if President Bush is not re-elected, Kantor will become Clinton's chief of staff, U.S. Attorney General or even special White House counsel. Besides being the Democratic nominee's lead planner and tactician, the 52-year-old is also heading an incipient campaign team looking at transition and personnel issues.

Meanwhile, Christopher, the 67-year-old chairman of downtown Los Angeles old-line law firm O'Melveny & Meyers may be secretary of state or presidential special adviser.

"The speculation certainly hasn't died down" about the two, said Joe Cerrell, a well-connected local political consultant. "Mickey is ambitious and he has taken a relatively obscure politician and made him into a potential president. The question is not whether he'll be offered a job but whether he'll prefer to stay in the private sector."

A native of Nashville, Tenn., Georgetown University law school graduate Kantor joined Manatt in 1975, where he quickly began juggling corporate representation with political strategizing. On the campaign side, Kantor chaired the drive that first put Alan Cranston in the U.S. Senate, ran the unsuccessful presidential bid of ex-California Gov. Edmund "Jerry" Brown Jr. in 1976 and spearheaded the failed Golden State White House drives of both Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale. Also a confidante to state and city Democrats, Kantor even defended Mayor Tom Bradley against conflict of interest allegations when they first surfaced in the late 1980s.

Back at Manatt, Kantor has been the hired gun for behemoths like Northrop, Lockheed and Mobil corporations and led tobacco company fights against proposed restaurant smoking bans laws in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. A central figure in Santa Fe International's $500 million sale of commuter rail rights-of-way last spring, he is also well known for his role in Occidental Petroleum Co's ill-fated attempt to drill off the Pacific Palisades in 1988.

If Kantor is known for his strategic prowess and southern charm, Christopher is considered stoic, detail-driven and emblematic of downtown's button-down corporate establishment.

Kantor, who met Clinton when he and the candidate's wife served on a non-profit legal aid group in 1978, said he only recently introduced the governor to Christopher, who gained notoriety for leading the commission studying the Los Angeles Police Department after the Rodney King beating. Shortly before the Democratic convention last July, the North Dakota native was reportedly instrumental in advising Clinton to tap Sen. Albert Gore, D-Tenn., as his running mate.

However, unlike Kantor, Christopher has served in Washington, D.C., before, first as deputy attorney general in the 1960s during Lyndon Johnson's term and later as deputy secretary of state in the Carter administration, where he participated in the drawn-out negotiations to get the U.S. hostages out of Iran. Because of his age and past high-level experience, some reckon Christopher is less likely to move back to Washington to take a full-time position.

"I'm not so sure that he is interested in a top post," said Scott. "The feeling is that he will play more of an informal role."

An O'Melveny spokesperson said Christopher, who declined comment for this story, has given no indication of his plans, except that he intends to step down as chairman of the law firm's management committee next February for a less active role. Now that Gore has been picked, Christopher has severed his "formal role" with the campaign.

Larry Berg, director of USC's political science department, believes the region would "benefit enormously" because there would be specific knowledge of Los Angeles' plight and a counterweight to the Washington perception California is a sinkhole for federal funds.

Besides, "look how our defense industry fared in the 1980s under Reagan and the loads of Californians he brought in," said Berg, adding that Texas won several big federal projects and oil-industry regulatory relief in Bush's term.

Added Los Angeles planning consultant Norm Emerson, who served in the Carter administration, "The reality of doing business in Washington is that access is always the key. We're going through a major economic transition out here" and need federal help dealing with issues like displaced aerospace workers and jumpstarting a homegrown transportation industry.

For his part, Kantor said he "had no idea" if the Southland would be aided by having local executives who had the president's ear. "What will help Los Angeles is our economic and investment plan to get us out of the slowest growth since the depression -- that's what matters."

Less prominent than Kantor and Christopher but still among the list of potential appointees is Gerald Stern, general counsel and executive vice president of oil giant Occidental Petroleum and Clinton's finance chairman for the Western states. Others likely to be considered for lower posts, according to sources, are: Los Angeles City Attorney James Hahn; his deputy city attorney John Emerson, chairman of the Democratic nominee's California campaign and a former Manatt lawyer; Occidental College professor Derek Shearer, who is mapping out Clinton-Gore positions on trade, the federal budget and industrial policy; and Phil Recht, another Manatt attorney.

All of them either declined to comment or were unavailable.

copyright Los Angeles Business Journal

Money Train, published in Los Angeles City Beat. Why would U.S. Congressman Ernest Istook from Oklahoma come to Los Angeles to raise money? Perhaps because he holds the purse strings to critical federal transportation dollars.
March 10, 2005

MOVING DOWN THE ROAD, Pasadena Weekly
http://chipjacobs.com/a_movingdown.html
Moving Down the Road, published in the Pasadena Weekly. The Caltrans 700,000 square-foot tower owes its existence to the 1994 Northridge earthquake, union muscle, and a tincture of politics.
July 10, 2003

TUNNEL VISIONS, Pasadena Weekly, Caltrans Tenants Association
http://www.caltranstenants.com/tunnel.html
Tunnel Visions, published in Pasadena Weekly. Caltrans may dig deep to find a way out of its 710 Freeway debacle.
(Part III of Corridor of Shame series)
May 22, 2003

THE UNTOUCHABLES, Pasadena Weekly, Caltrans Tenants Association
http://www.caltranstenants.com/slumlord.html
The Untouchables, published in Pasadena Weekly. Slumlord Caltrans uses legal immunity to hold tenants and the cities of Los Angeles, Pasadena, and South Pasadena at bay, as long-needed repairs to homes the agency owns along the proposed 710 Freeway route fester. (Part II of Corridor of Shame series)
May 15, 2003

NO EXIT, Pasadena Weekly
http://chipjacobs.com/a_noexit.html
No Exit, published in Pasadena Weekly. Once stately properties that Caltrans bought 30 years ago to complete the still unfinished Long Beach 710 Freeway stand as a testament of neglect by one of the most powerful agencies in California. (Part I of Corridor of Shame series)
May 8, 2003

SOME MTA DRIVERS GET PHYSICAL, Daily News of Los Angeles
http://chipjacobs.com/a_mtadriversphys.html
Some MTA Drivers Get Physical, published in Daily News Los Angeles. Attacks on Metropolitan Transportation Agency riders not always punished and nearly 20 cases remain unsolved or lost due to poor record keeping.
June 24, 1996

SUBWAY TUNNEL WALLS AT RISK, REPORT WARNS, Daily News of Los Angeles
http://chipjacobs.com/pdfs/subwaytunnelwallsatrsk1.pdf
Subway Tunnel Walls at Risk, Report Warns, published in Daily News Los Angeles. Just three years after the first segment of the Metro Red Line was opened at a cost of $1.45 billion, the Army Corps of Engineers says the subway’s concrete walls are at risk of being eaten away by chemical-laced ground water.  MTA officials say water-damage threat small. 
April 11, 1996

MTA SPENT BIG TO SUGARCOAT TUNNELING, Daily News of Los Angeles
http://chipjacobs.com/pdfs/mtaspentbig1.pdf
MTA Spent Big to Sugarcoat Tunneling, published in Daily News Los Angeles. During the 1994 holiday season, the Metropolitan Transportation Agency spent about $400,000 in public funds to bring a Yule-tide bonanza to Hollywood boulevard. Opponents say humbug to mitigation efforts, labeling it as pork barrel or misguided.
September 24, 1995

HOMES OWNED BY CALTRANS NOT KEPT UP, RECORDS SHOW, The Los Angeles Times
http://chipjacobs.com/a_homesowned.html
Homes Owned by CalTrans Not Kept Up, Records Show, published in The Los Angeles Times. Dozens of homes the state acquired along the un-built Long Beach (710) Freeway pathway sit in such disrepair they either can’t be leased or whip up renters’ complaints about slumlord practices. Twenty-seven homes still part of the holdings are not even needed to construct the long-delayed project. Caltrans defends maintenance.
April 26, 1995

CALTRANS MISSED SAFETY DEADLINE, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
http://chipjacobs.com/pdfs/caltransmissed1.pdf
CalTrans Missed Safety Deadline, published in  the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Despite a legally etched state deadline, Caltrans missed a key deadline to strengthen more than 1000 freeway bridges, including most of the structures crippled in the Northridge earthquake. Bridge contracts overdue.
February 4, 1994

PROBLEMS PILE UP ALONG METRO LINE, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
http://chipjacobs.com/pdfs/problemspileupmetro1.pdf
Problems Pile up Along Metro Line, published in San Gabriel Valley Tribune. First came the charges of shoddy construction. Then the claims of massive cost overruns.  Now more troubles are brewing for Los Angeles’ new subway:  wage violations against workers actually building the Metro Red Line.
October 16, 1993

FREEWAY WORK: A PERILOUS PAYCHECK, San Gabriel Valley Tribune
http://chipjacobs.com/pdfs/freewayworkperilouspaycheck1.pdf
Freeway Work: A Perilous Paycheck, published in San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Caltrans workers face death everyday and Caltrans needs to further protect its exposed maintenance crew.
Sept. 4, 1993

TRANSIT COMMISSION AUDITORS CAST EAGLE EYE ON TUTOR’S COSTS, Los Angeles Business Journal
http://chipjacobs.com/a_transit.html
Transit commission Auditors Cast Eagle Eye on Tutor’s Costs, published in Los Angeles Business Journal. Los Angeles County Transportation Commission auditors are questioning tens of thousands of dollars in overhead expenses that powerhouse Metro Rail contractor Tutor-Saliba Corp. submitted two years ago, according to a preliminary audit obtained by the Business Journal.
September 28, 1992

METRO RAIL COST-OVERRUN TAB ADDS TO CITY HALL FISCAL WOES, Los Angeles Business Journal
http://chipjacobs.com/a_metrorail.htm
Metro Rail Cost-Overrun Tab adds to the City Hall Fiscal Woes, published in Los Angeles Business Journal. The City of Los Angeles is on the hook to pay $100 million in Metro Rail Red Line construction overruns under a little-known cost-sharing deal with the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission.
March 16, 1992

Title: The man
URL: http://www.chipjacobs.com/wd_theman.html

Almost broke, living on handouts with his mom in a shabby apartment outside post-war Los Angeles, Gordon Zahler, a paralyzed kid in his mid-twenties got an idea. He'd re-sell the music of a dead man -- the music his father, Lee Zahler, composed during his workhorse career in early Hollywood. Within a few years, mother and son would be working for MGM on a Doris-Day romp and for Hollywood's most beloved hack, Ed Wood Jr., on Plan Nine from Outer Space. A decade later they had a house above the Sunset Strip in a comeback story too farfetched for any screenplay.