There is no conflict of interest for our firm to represent our clients before the Board of Supervisors. County Counsel has also opined that it is not a conflict and the question was first raised when Frank Schabarum was a county lobbyist while his father, Pete Schabarum, was a county supervisor. Supervisor Knabe is but only one vote and we would not be the fastest growing PR firm in Los Angeles County if we could not routinely get the support of other Supervisors on behalf of our clients. The county is only one of the many places where our firm does business.
Matt does not lobby the supervisor directly or attend meetings that the Supervisor is present in. Matt spent seven years at the County and takes great pride in the relationships that he developed throughout all levels of City and County government. We take the county lobbying guidelines very seriously and we register all of our clients immediately so that we are transparent in who and what we are advocating for. We have many great and successful members of our firm who do not have family members in the business.
It is not necessary for the Supervisor to recuse himself from voting on EKA client issues. The Supervisor votes for and against our clients based on individual circumstances. It is well-documented that Supervisor Knabe is very fair to all sides and takes the integrity of the process very seriously; it is why he is so widely respected on the local, state and federal level. It is an insult to the other four Supervisors character to imply that they don’t do the same and take their responsibilities seriously as well. Matt will continue to be a very successful advocate at the county level long after the Supervisor is termed out of office in 2016.
Eric W. Rose
Partner
Englander Knabe & Allen
On Wednesday night, KCET Public Television here in Southern California aired a 13 minute segment that featured it “family ties” between Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe and his son Matt Knabe, who is a registered county lobbyist.
KCET has granted Hews Media Group permission to publish this segment. It features Reporter Vince Gonzales, produced by Karen Foshay and edited by Jack Moody and was aired on the popular news magazine show “So Cal Connected.”
“They are among the most powerful politicians in California, nicknamed “The Five Little Kings.” They are L.A. County‘s five supervisors. Together they control a budget and staff that impacts the lives of 10 million people. But does the board treat all Angelenos equally? There are some who say special treatment is doled out when the face is familiar. Correspondent Vince Gonzales has our exclusive investigation into one supervisor with some interesting family ties.“
TRANSCRIPT:
Vince Gonzales: You’re looking at one of Los Angeles County’s few money-making ventures. Two million rounds of golf are played on county courses every year, generating about $16 million annually. Bogeys are big business in L.A.
This avid golfer is Don Knabe, a member of the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors. He and the other four county supervisors control a $24 billion budget that puts them among the most powerful politicians in California. Supervisor Knabe handles most golf issues for the county. And last December he introduced a motion to extend the leases on six courses run by the American Golf Corporation.
For the ENTIRE SEGMENT VISIT KCET ON LINE BY CLICKING HERE!
How interesting that a partner in Englander, Knabe & Assoc. would mention in connection with his client and his partner the name of one of the most crooked L.A. County Supervisors to ever sit on the Board. Pete Schabarum was heavily disliked by the poor, labor movement, AIDS activists, environmentalists, etc., and NOT ONE of his fellow Supervisors attended his retirement party. He finally gets caught and indicted on charges:
http://articles.latimes.com/1997-03-14/local/me-38192_1_indictment-on-embezzlement-charges
You are absolutely right that the pattern fits the
Schabarum mold of embezzlement and political corruption and that Krattli (current County Counsel) and other County Counsel appointees will not see a conflict. The Knabes have been brokering deals against the taxpayers’ interests in Marina del Rey for many years and now County Assessor John Noguez (another Matt Knabe client) is sitting in jail for his part in those and other self-enrichment deals.
One question remains – will our new District Attorney elect, Jackie Lacey, continue to look the other way like Don Knabe’s long-time friend, Steve Cooley (our current DA for another couple of weeks) has been doing for so many years?
Englander got caught giving a loan to Noguez Chief Deputy Gary Townsend for $250,000 and in violation of the law Townsend did not report it. All that happened was a fine for Townsend for this obvious egregious ethics violation. This is how these corrupt people play their games. They lie cheat and steal until they are caught and prosecuted. Until then they will not stop and when caught they act indignant like they have done nothing wrong. Just like Knabe does in this interview. When anyone who is not blind can see the impropriety.