Ethics Panel Rejects $17,500 Fine For L.a. City Council Candidate; 2 Members Say It's Not Enough - Beritaja

As a Los Angeles City Council aide, Jose Ugarte grounded to disclose years worthy of extracurricular income he made from lobbying and consulting — and, arsenic a result, was prepared to salary a fine.

But the city’s Ethics Commission has now rejected a $17,500 colony agreement pinch the assembly candidate. Two commissioners said the good was not rather ample enough.

“We request to awesome that this is simply a superior violation,” said Manjusha Kulkarni, the president of the commission, who voted against the settlement.

Ugarte is lawman main of unit to Curren Price and is moving to switch his longtime leader connected the City Council. Price has endorsed him. But the assembly adjutant grounded to study extracurricular income from his consulting firm, Ugarte & Associates, for the years 2021, 2022 and 2023, according to Ethics Commission documents.

He said the nonaccomplishment to study the extracurricular income was a “clerical reporting error.”

Although 2 of the commissioners want a steeper good against Ugarte, the suggested bump isn’t that large.

Two commissioners voted successful favour of the $17,500 settlement, but Kulkarni and different commissioner, Terry Kaufmann, agreed the colony magnitude should beryllium about $20,000.

It’s an magnitude that they judge could nonstop a clearer message.

“There is awesome interest about what is happening successful Los Angeles. … Individuals routinely break the laws we put successful spot to guarantee trust,” Kulkarni said.

Kaufmann added that she was concerned by the truth that Ugarte still worked for a assembly personnel and was moving for office.

The projected colony pinch Ugarte included 7 counts against him, and each comes pinch a imaginable $5,000 penalty. But since Ugarte was cooperative, the commission’s head of enforcement reduced the wide punishment by 50%, bringing it down from $35,000 to the $17,500 figure.

Ugarte told The Times that his activity pinch Ugarte & Associates ne'er overlapped pinch his clip successful Price’s office.

He started moving for Price successful 2013 but near the agency successful 2019. He returned successful 2021. Ugarte & Associates was formed successful 2018 and still conducts business. He co-owns the institution pinch his sister.