It ain’t easy being Green with Councilman Feinstein
Despite the absence of criminal action against Santa Monica City Councilman Mike Feinstein, Green Party members say they still want Feinstein to open up his books and give back the $10,000 donation he took nearly three years ago.
Earlier this month, the Los Angeles County Council of the Green Party sent a letter to Feinstein asking that he return the money, which was originally intended for the council by donor Bill Pietz. Feinstein deposited the check into an account he controlled, which subsequently led to a police investigation.
It was the first time since Feinstein took the January 2001 check that Green Party officials have formally asked for the money’s return. Earlier this year, the Green Party of California urged Feinstein to bow out of party business until the dispute was resolved.
“This is really simply a formality, a written request,” said Joe Crompton, a LA County Green Party Councilman from Hollywood, adding that it had become apparent Feinstein didn’t intend to return the money on his own.
“We’re waiting to see how Councilman Feinstein responds,” he said.
The County Council agreed to send the letter to Feinstein at its Oct. 12 meeting, according to minutes posted this week on its Web site, that read, in part: “Questions: Why not wait until the police investigation is finished? (Santa Monica City Councilman) Kevin (McKeown) responded that there is no connection between the two. The council has never formally requested the money back and we should do so before any other actions.”
Los Angeles County prosecutors announced this week that they were dropping their probe of Feinstein because they couldn’t prove he used the money for personal use.
McKeown, a fellow Green Party member, said it’s unlikely that a civil lawsuit will be filed against Feinstein, but that a separate investigation by the Fair Political Practices Commission, which polices political contributions, is currently underway.
“The return of the county Green Party’s money is still unresolved, and the California Fair Political Practices Commission investigation is still ongoing,” said McKeown, adding that with the criminal dispute now over, he hopes Feinstein will be compelled to resolve his dispute with the LA County Greens.
McKeown had shied away from commenting on the matter in the past because he fears doing so may deepen the rift between him and Feinstein. It appears many party officials also are worried about going public with their concerns. According to the minutes, one attendee “noted that the letter can be expected to appear in the media and will be bad for the Green Party and for Mike Feinstein, and that this will not end the controversy.”
Feinstein is presently out of the country, and did not return calls seeking comment. Asked if Feinstein intends to respond to the letter, his Washington, D.C.-based attorney, Glen Koontz, said, “I couldn’t comment on it,” but insisted that Feinstein has done nothing wrong.
Some of Feinstein’s supporters said the request for payback is ridiculous.
“They want the money back?” asked Jerry Rubin, a Santa Monica peace activist. “Not that he’s asking for it, but if they were to give Mike the compensation that he deserves, it would be a hundred times (more than the $10,000)...
“Mike Feinstein has given his life to the Green Party, and that’s the truth.”
If Feinstein does give the LA County Green Party back any money, he will be allowed to deduct the amount owed to him by the party before their relationship deteriorated, according to the meeting minutes. Former LA County Green Party treasurer Bob Morris said the party owes Feinstein about $2,500 in back rent for an office they once used at 2809 Pico Blvd., the same office Feinstein said he leased with the $10,000.
Though Green Party officials in the past have said Feinstein took a total of $30,000 in Green Party funds, the letter only focuses on the $10,000, partly because it is so clearly documented. By contrast, as of the Oct. 12 meeting, the LA County Green Party had a mere $791.21 in savings, according to the minutes.
While they wait for Feinstein to respond to the letter, some Greens are getting fed up over a dispute that’s stretched on for nearly three years and is still seemingly unresolved.
“I’m not really happy with his behavior over the years,” said former Green Party treasurer Will Yeager, an accountant in Venice who has been involved with the LA County Green Party since its inception. “There have been numerous actions where Mike has put his interests ahead of the party’s interests and basically bent all kinds of rules to benefit himself.
“He has hurt the party immensely,” Yeager added. “He’s basically driven people away from the Green Party because of his little temper tantrums and insistence upon control and power games. Everybody else, like myself, we’ve got bills to pay and we have to get up in the morning to go to work, and we can’t stay hour after hour to continue with meetings.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 31, 2003. Read the original PDF.