Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe started things off by saying, “I understand there is a full-employment act in the audience out there. My recommendation is I have an issue that needs to be clarified by county counsel and the inspector general by letter. I understand there’s some other issues up here.... I would recommend we move the item … to the full board, so we don’t do it twice, without recommendation.”
Supervisor Mike Antonovich, the chairman, responded:
“We have a motion by director Knabe, seconded by [Vice Chair Diane] Dubois, to continue this to the full board because members need a letter from the county counsel relative to conflict or no conflict that members of this body have relative to this issue. There have been some verbal suggestions, but it ought to be in writing because of the seriousness of the charges that could be levied if the verbal was inaccurate. So is there any objection to that recommendation? If not, so ordered.”
Like parishioners asked to rise in prayer by their minister, members of the Society of Influence Peddlers rose from their seats as one and headed for the exits.
It was over in one minute, 52 seconds without the specifics of possible conflicts of interest being detailed, although Knabe’s son, Matt, is a principal with the lobbying firm Englander Knabe, which is part of Titan’s team. That is probably not a conflict, but under the tough rules imposed by the Legislature on the MTA after the scandals back in the 1990s involving subway construction contracts, a lot of things could be.
