Under fire for hiring a City Hall contractor with ties to lobbyists, Los Angeles City Controller Laura Chick said Monday that she has abandoned plans for employing Marcus Allen, a onetime aide to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, as a consultant.
Chick said she would not proceed with the $85,000-a-year contract with Allen, who is a consultant to City Hall lobbyists Arnie Berghoff and Harvey Englander.
Last week, Councilman Dennis Zine questioned whether Allen would face a conflict of interest in his two jobs by working both for the city's auditor and for firms that might take on targets of audits as their clients. Chick responded by saying Allen would establish a firewall between himself and his other bosses, who list Allen as a partner in their joint venture, Berghoff Englander Associates.
On Monday, Chick said she and Allen had changed course.
"In our enthusiasm to put his expert abilities to work again for the city of Los Angeles, we lost sight of how this contract would be perceived," she said in a statement.
