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Politics & Government

Redistricting Commission's Media Director Quits Amid Criticism

Some commissioners expressed concerns that Vanessa Rodriguez was a registered lobbyist.

The media director for the commission that will recommend City Council district boundaries for the next decade resigned over the weekend, citing that she was a registered lobbyist and was not properly qualified for the position.

City News Service first reported Friday that Vanessa Rodriguez has been registered as a lobbyist with the city since 2007, currently with Mercury Public Affairs. Mercury lobbies city officials for the California Restaurant Association, HMS Host Corp. and towing company HP Tow, according to the most recent city Ethics Commission reports.

Rodriguez was eligible to be paid up to $20,000 for leading the media campaign to engage the public to participate in the redistricting process.

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Los Angeles Redistricting Commission Executive Director Andrew Westall, who is , worked for one of the partners at Mercury, former California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, when he was in the Assembly.

Commissioner Jose Cornejo said Friday that the board should have been made aware of Rodriguez's background.

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"Although my commitment to this city and this commission remain strong, I am choosing to honor the concerns expressed by Commissioner Cornejo and therefore resign my position," Rodriguez said in a letter to Westall.

The 21-member L.A. City Council Redistricting Commission is charged with drawing boundaries for the 15 City Council Districts that will stay in effect until after the 2020 census. The commission voted last month to give Westall authority to select a media director after Dakota Communications and Cerrell Associates dropped their bids for the contract when reports surfaced that they had lobbying clients at City Hall.

Westall defended his hiring of Rodriguez as media director in an email to commissioners over the weekend. There is nothing barring the commission from hiring a lobbyist registered with the city unless the person has clients with business before the city or a financial relationship with a commissioner, Westall said in the email.

Out of four applicants for the media director position, he wrote, three worked for firms with registered lobbyists on staff or were lobbyists themselves.

Of the three others that bid for the job, one withdrew, one was not immediately available and the third submitted the most expensive bid of the four applicants.

He said Rodriguez did very little work for the city and he determined after consulting the City Attorney's Office and Ethics Commission that "there was no legal conflict with her being under contract for the commission."

"It was important for the commission to have the best possible expertise in media relations for the best value, and that was the basis of my decision and (Rodriguez's) selection," Westall wrote.

He added that he would continue looking for a new media director "with real media expertise to gain the positive traction we need."

Redistricting Commission Chair Arturo Vargas declined to comment on Rodriguez's selection, calling the issue "moot," but adding that no commissioners raised any concerns about the hiring to him.

"We're going to do everything we can to make sure public is engaged in this process," Vargas added.

He said meetings over the weekend were well attended, including about 100 attendees at a meeting in the 9th District near downtown and 75 attendees at another hearing in Pacoima. The commission is scheduled to hold 11 more public hearings across the city between now and Jan. 10.

Information about the process and a schedule of public meetings can be found at http://redistricting2011.lacity.org/.

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