Days after Times Investigation Finds He Hid 15-Year Relationship, the Councilmember Won't Give Answers
Los Angeles — On the eve of Election Day, questions continue to plague Councilman Eric Garcetti as he refuses to end his 15-year relationship with an oil drilling company that is drilling under a local high school and has been accused of multiple health violations in recent years.
More than eight days after a Los Angeles Times investigation revealed Garcetti's agreement with Venoco, the Councilmember is refusing to sever ties with the oil company or answer questions about his oil interests.
The Times analysis found that Garcetti failed to disclose his interest in the Beverly Hills property whose oil rights he is leasing to Venoco, an apparent violation of state and city laws. It's the latest in a string of violations for Garcetti. An LA Weekly report found that Garcetti voted on millions in contracts for a billboard company he owned a stake in. Ethics complaints have been filed against Garcetti in both the billboard and Venoco cases, raising questions about other potential conflicts of interest and Garcetti's transparency.
"Whether it's voting on millions of dollars in contracts for a billboard company he owned a stake in, or having a secret 15-year relationship with an oil drilling company, Eric Garcetti seems to believe that he is above the ethics laws. For more than a week, Eric Garcetti has refused to cut his ties with a big oil company drilling under a local high school. The potential for profit from oil drilling is the only reason Eric Garcetti would sign a lease with Venoco," said Rose Kapolczynski, Wendy Greuel's campaign manager. "Eric can stop the threat of oil drilling today by ending his business relationship with Venoco immediately."
Pressure is mounting for Garcetti to cut ties with Venoco, which has been sued for allegedly causing cancer in former high school students and fined for illegally venting gasses over the high school's playing fields. On Friday, famed environmental activist Erin Brockovich, who sued Venoco in 2003 on behalf of families who say the oil company has caused cancer, denounced Garcetti's ties to the company.
“Ten years ago Ed Masry and I stood up for the victims of Venoco and its harmful effects on the community. This oil well that sits on a public high school in my opinion has caused irreparable harm in the form of cancer and Hodgkin’s disease," Brockovich said. "These families will never be the same because of Venoco. It’s reprehensible that Eric Garcetti, a candidate for Mayor, would have any relationship with this Big Oil Company. He should know that the lease he and other Beverly Hill property owners signed enable this company to pollute the air, endanger the lives of children and potentially be lethal in the form of cancer.”
Garcetti has claimed that no oil will be drilled under his property because of a ban in Beverly Hills on oil drilling. But the ban doesn't go into effect until Dec. 31, 2016 -- the same day Garcetti's agreement with Venoco ends -- and a Venoco spokeswoman disputed Garcetti's claim, according to the Times.