Financial disclosures intended to show conflicts of interest
CITY HALL — The financial holdings of 16 residents running for four open seats on the Santa Monica City Council this November range from next to nothing to remarkably substantial, according to disclosure documents filed at City Hall.
At the top is Bobby Shriver, a Kennedy family descendant who reported nearly 100 different stock, bond and trust fund holdings, and a salary from his Beverly Hills company. At the bottom are a handful of challengers and City Councilman Michael Feinstein, who said they had no interests to report.
The disclosure forms were designed to make public a candidate’s potential conflicts of interests. They do not require the candidates to state exactly how much their individual holdings are worth, but rather ask them to rank the holdings by category: $2,000 to $10,000; $10,000 to $100,000; $100,000 to $1 million; or more than $1 million. Holdings of under $2,000 don’t need to be reported, according to state law.
Candidates must report any stocks, bonds, real estate or businesses they own, along with outstanding loans, income earned and gifts received. They aren’t required to report cash, mutual funds or any holdings outside of Santa Monica, such as a chateau in Nice or stock in a company that doesn’t do any business or have influence locally. They also aren’t required to disclose their residences, for privacy reasons.
Additionally, government income can be left off of disclosure forms, with the theory being that those earnings already are public. Council members make more than $10,000 a year, and enjoy full benefits and thousands of dollars in travel money.
Feinstein was the only incumbent not to report any holdings. Although he earns income from family holdings, they are not listed in his name and therefore don’t need to be reported, said Sharon Gilpin, Feinstein’s campaign consultant.
Mayor Richard Bloom disclosed between $2,000 and $10,000 of stock holdings in Activision Inc., a videogame maker based in Santa Monica. He also valued the law firm he owns at more than $1 million, and his annual salary at between $10,000 and $100,000.
City Councilman Ken Genser reported a family trust set up for him by Donald and Marcia Genser. The trust owns two local properties — an apartment on Ocean Avenue and a house on Wadsworth Avenue. A planning consultant for David Moss & Associates, Genser listed his income as between $10,000 and $100,000 a year.
The fourth and last incumbent running for reelection, City Councilman Herb Katz reported part ownership in his office building on South Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles, which he valued at between $100,000 and $1 million. The same partnership earns $100,000 a year by renting space at that location, documents show. Katz, the president of RTK Architects, listed his salary as more than $100,000.
Other contenders covered the financial spectrum, with four saying they had no reportable interests. Those were former newspaper columnist and 33-year Santa Monica renter Bill Bauer; Pico neighborhood activist Maria Loya; local activist Leah Mendelsohn; and data entry operator Linda Armstrong, according to the forms.
Shriver turned in a lengthy set of documents detailing 42 different stocks and five bonds he owns, as well as 43 investments held in a trust fund set up for him by his mother, Eunice Shriver, John F. Kennedy’s sister.
Most of the other seven candidates listed salaries in the $10,000 to $100,000 range, alongside a few investments and ownerships.
Physician Matt Dinolfo reported Merrill Lynch stocks worth between $100,000 and $1 million, and bonds with a total value at the same level. Those holdings complement a salary of more than $100,000 that Dinolfo earns as an UCLA physician.
Former school board president Patricia Hoffman, partner in a Los Angeles medical practice worth more than $1 million, listed her salary as more than $100,000. And flight attendant Jonathan Mann, who earns between $10,000 and $100,000, reported ownership of 40 acres of land in Shasta County, which he valued between $10,000 and $100,000.
The financial disclosure forms are distributed by the Fair Political Practices Commission, established in 1975 as part of the Political Reform Act, which voters passed in 1974. FPPC spokeswoman Sigrid Bathen said more than 100,000 of the forms are filed each year by candidates and public officials throughout California.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 23, 2004. Read the original PDF.