Findings publicize 'Gold Card Desk' for city officials to request reviews of parking citations
The two-person Department of Transportation office was revealed Thursday as part of an audit released by City Controller Wendy Greuel.
Overseen by the LADOT, the office's special phone number and email were provided to elected officials to discuss constituent complaints about parking tickets, and request they be deleted or reduced. | Daily News Editorial: There's no place for favoritism in L.A.'s financial state today
Hundreds of blue-tinted cards with the words "Gold Card" bearing the special number to call were handed out to elected officials and their staffs, according to LADOT.
Greuel, who is exploring a run for mayor, said the agency dismissed about 1,000 tickets over the last two years, or about half of the requests it received through the Gold Card.
But her auditors could find no explanation for why most of those dismissals were made as the city had no paper trail documenting the reasons.
"You shouldn't need political pull to expedite the
investigation of a ticket," Greuel said, adding that she was "very surprised" to discover the existence of the program through her audit.But hours after Greuel's press conference, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office struck back at the controller, alleging that not only had Greuel known about the program when she served on the City Council, but her staff had made use of it.
The mayor's office released documents indicating that Greuel, who had chaired the council's Transportation Committee, voted to renew the contract of the company that maintains the program and had been briefed on its operations.
"As chair of the City Council's Transportation Committee then-Councilmember Greuel was briefed on all aspects of the department's operations and was fully aware of the Gold Card Desk," said Villaraigosa spokeswoman Sarah Hamilton.
Defending the program as a service to constituents, Hamilton said it was open to all members of the public, despite Greuel "insinuating that this is some sort of exclusive service."
The five-year contract with ACS, considered in November 2006, mentions the Gold Card program, calling it a "outreach program for high-level city officials, high profile complaints and public record complaints."
Greuel spokeswoman Claire Bartels did not respond to the question of whether Greuel knew about the program when she was on the City Council.
Still, the spotlight on the Gold Card prompted the LADOT to agree to shut down the program, which has been in existence "off and on" for two decades, according to Amir Sedadi, LADOT's interim general manager.
Standing next to Greuel at Thursday's press conference, Sedadi defended the program. "The Gold Card desk was, again, mainly for advocacy of constituents of elected officials and others.... we will comply with the controller's recommendations," Sedadi said.
Many city council members reached Thursday claimed they had never heard of the program. Others said they knew the cards existed, but discouraged their use.
Councilman Richard Alarcon said he personally was unaware of the program, but had been told a staff member occasionally called Gold Card services. In one case, he said, his office worked to help a driver who'd received a ticket after failing to put an appropriate handicapped placard on a windshield.
"Our policy is that we don't fix tickets," said Tony Perez, spokesman for Councilman Ed Reyes. "If someone has a problem with the ticket, we want them to go through the appropriate process of dealing with the LADOT."
Councilman Tony Cardenas also spoke out against the program, according to his spokeswoman Sybil MacDonald, who said he'd didn't use the cards.
Roughly 2,000 parking citations were handled by the Gold Card Desk last year, according to Robert Andalon, chief management analyst at LADOT, who added that half those tickets were dismissed and the rest were deemed valid.
Most people who receive tickets and don't contact their elected official appeal citations via mail or in person. Last year, 2.3 million parking citations were issued by LADOT traffic officers. Of those, about 200,000 parking citations reached the administrative review stage. About 40 percent of appealed tickets are dismissed.
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