The six-figure, no-bid contract raising eyebrows in Los Angeles

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Apr 18, 2024 View in browser   By Melanie Mason Presented by  Rep. Jimmy Gomez | Francis Chung/E&E News POLITICS AND PROCUREMENT: Last December, the Los Angeles schools chief awarded a consulting contract to Mary Hodge, a city politics veteran and wife of Rep. Jimmy Gomez, a Los Angeles Democrat, without putting it to a bid. But when the six-figure contract was up for final approval before the Los Angeles Unified School District Board last week, it hit a speedbump. The ratification did not come up for a vote after originally being on the agenda for the board’s April 9 meeting. Multiple members had raised questions about the contract, according to people familiar with those discussions who were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. Shannon Haber, a spokesperson for the district, said the vote was pulled for a “technical correction” after the agenda item incorrectly listed the cost of the contract. It will be brought up again for ratification next month, she said. “The contract being moved to May had nothing to do with who her husband is and what he does,” Haber said. Still, there are touchy optics around the spouse of an elected official scoring a broadly-defined contract that did not go through a competitive bidding process. The agreement quickly attracted notice from close watchers of Los Angeles’ political scene. "Even though I vote for my congressman, I did not vote for his wife to have a sole-source contract,” said David Tokofsky, a former school board member, during the public meeting. “When that breaks in the Washington, D.C. news circuit, it's going to be a big story." Hodge, a longtime political operative, was a high-ranking official in former LA Mayor Eric Garcetti’s administration. She did not respond to requests for comment. Under the year-long agreement, which began on Dec. 1, 2023, Hodge would work with the Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho’s office “on strategic planning, communications, external relations, ballot initiative planning, marketing, and foundation building.” Hodge was to be paid $10,000 per month, or $120,000 total. The meeting agenda said the contract cost $200,000, but Haber said that was incorrect, requiring the item to be pulled for correction. The district’s policies generally advise against sole or single-source contracts because it limits full competition, although it does allow such agreements in certain circumstances. For Hodge’s single-source contract, Haber said the district followed those procedures and “secured the necessary approval” prior to bringing the agreement to the board. The district knew there may be questions about the contract given who she was married to but felt her qualifications stood on their own. “There are times where there are individuals who are uniquely qualified. She has been working in LA on complex initiatives for years … She has a really remarkable career,” Haber said. But skeptics are waiting for a more fulsome explanation of what Hodge singularly brings to the table. “I don't know the added value to government relations … or to the board’s and superintendent’s goals because it wasn't presented to the public,” Tokofsky told Playbook. “I’m always hopeful that something good is happening, but this feels like mush.” IT’S THURSDAY AFTERNOON. This is California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check on California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to mmason@politico.com. CALLING ALL SF POLITICOS! We’re hosting team trivia night May 1 at Manny’s in San Francisco’s Mission district. Join Playbook co-authors Lara Korte and Dustin Gardiner for an evening of tough questions and adult beverages. Attendees are welcome to come with a team — or just bring yourself and meet fun people. Winners will receive a Manny’s gift card and POLITICO swag bag. The games run 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Space is limited, so reserve your ticket here while they last!   A message from Chamber of Progress: SB 1490 is NOT about consumer transparency. It’s about the Digital Restaurant Association–and its chain-restaurant members–getting access to business data to help increase their backers’ profits. Learn how this well-intentioned bill backs the wrong group.   WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY Rep. Mike Levin | Francis Chung/E&E News LEERY ABOUT LEADERSHIP: One of California’s only vulnerable House Democrats is calling for a change in Israeli leadership. Rep. Mike Levin, who called for a temporary cease-fire in March to allow humanitarian aid to reach Gaza, went further than most U.S. politicians today after Iran launched a missile attack on Israel over the weekend. “It appears to me that new leaders are needed,” Levin said to a small group of reporters, adding that he thinks the current leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are not “ultimately leading to a more peaceful outcome” in the region. Levin is endorsed by the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, an influential pro-Israel group that has launched campaigns across the country to unseat elected officials calling for a permanent cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. Levin is also the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s only listed vulnerable “frontliner” from California. AIPAC declined to comment on Levin's remarks. The moderate Democrat represents a district in San Diego and Orange counties. He won election to a third term in 2022 with 52.6 percent of the vote. In November he will face Republican Matt Gunderson, who has previously attacked Levin for not more strongly backing Israel. And the National Republican Congressional Committee has blasted Levin on the issue. Read more from our colleague Mia McCarthy here.   THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists. Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY.     ON THE BEATS TRACKING HOMELESSNESS — Gov. Gavin Newsom fired a warning shot on Thursday for cities and counties that misspend state money for curbing homelessness. Hours after unveiling his plan to ensure local governments meet their obligations to address homelessness, Newsom announced another round of grants to help local governments get people out of encampments and into shelters.  A recent audit found the state did not have a way to track if those grants were working. Newsom said his administration would vet grant applications more rigorously, making sure cities and counties had clear plans. “I’m not interested in funding failure any longer,” Newsom said, adding that if local governments do get that money but don’t follow through, there will be consequences. “They sure as hell shouldn’t get another penny if they didn’t use the money wisely,” Newsom said during the Thursday press conference. — Jeremy B. White   A message from Chamber of Progress:   FOR GOOD MEASURE CIRCLE THIS DATE — A major clash over taxes, ballot initiatives and the balance of California government power will land before the California Supreme Court next month. The high court set a May 8 date for oral arguments in a challenge filed by Newsom and legislative leaders to a November ballot initiative making it harder to pass taxes and fees. Democratic officials, local governments and labor unions argue the California Business Roundtable measure would gut public services and unconstitutionally diverts power from elected officials. Business Roundtable President Rob Lapsley projected optimism about prevailing in court, saying said in a statement that the judicial system has “zealously guarded the people’s right to use the initiative process, adopting a longstanding tradition of letting the voters decide at the ballot box in all but the clearest of cases of a constitutional revision.” It’s a remarkable moment: the state’s most powerful players are asking the highest legal authorities to kill a ballot initiative that has already secured signatures from hundreds of thousands of voters. — Jeremy B. White   GROWING IN THE GOLDEN STATE: POLITICO California is growing, reinforcing our role as the indispensable insider source for reporting on politics, policy and power. From the corridors of power in Sacramento and Los Angeles to the players and innovation hubs in Silicon Valley, we're your go-to for navigating the political landscape across the state. Exclusive scoops, essential daily newsletters, unmatched policy reporting and insights — POLITICO California is your key to unlocking Golden State politics. LEARN MORE.     WHAT WE'RE READING TODAY — Google laid off 28 employees for protesting the company’s cloud-computing contract with Israel. (The Wall Street Journal) — A Waymo driver pulled over on a closed San Francisco road. Five driverless vehicles got stuck following them. (The San Francisco Standard) — Protests and petitions erupted on USC’s campus after the university canceled its pro-Palestinian valedictorian’s speech due to safety concerns. (Los Angeles Times)   A message from Chamber of Progress: The Digital Restaurant Association “seeks to convince policymakers that they represent small businesses while pushing for legislation that ultimately benefits their bottom line.” The president of the California Black Chamber of Commerce knows the Digital Restaurant Association is using SB 1490 as a smokescreen to get access to data and help their backers’ turn a profit. So why is California taking up former Uber CEO (and current DRA backer) Travis Kalanick’s pet bill? Learn more about the real motivations behind SB 1490.   AROUND THE STATE — Telegram scrapped its plans to relocate to San Francisco after its CEO was mugged during his scouting trip. (The San Francisco Standard) — Disney’s new expansion contract means thousands of jobs and millions of dollars for housing in Anaheim. (The Orange County Register) — Officials in San Diego are throwing hundreds of thousands of dollars at the city's first designated sleeping site. 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