Aide Accuses City Clerk of Misconduct

TORRANCE —  City Clerk Donna Babb has been accused by her deputy of using city funds and staff members for personal and political uses, and of trying to force her religious beliefs on staff members.

City Manager LeRoy Jackson said Wednesday that the charges, made by Deputy City Clerk Dora Hong, will be studied by him and the city attorney before they decide whether to forward them to the district attorney. He said the matter may be handled internally.

Babb called the charges absurd.

“The whole thing is bizarre,” Babb said. “There is nothing in them that is wrong. There has never been any intention on my part to deceive anyone.”

Babb, who as deputy city clerk defeated her boss, Sherie Nelson, for the job in 1982, said she will not step down from office, and intends to run for reelection next March.

Hong, who has been on the job for only seven months after nearly three years as a record clerk with the Police Department, made her claims in a four-page memo to Jackson, which she delivered late Tuesday night.

‘Pattern of Abuse’

In the memo she said the alleged misconduct reflected “a pattern of abuse.”

Hong accuses Babb of taking rolls of stamps for personal mailings, submitting padded expense vouchers for luncheons, using city funds to have personal items framed and using a city-owned cassette recorder to tape her lectures at California State University, Long Beach, where Babb is pursuing a degree in political science.

In addition, Hong said Babb ordered a staff member to type her 15-page term paper on how a state ballot measure would affect the city. Hong said the typing took 5 1/2 hours.

Babb defended that request by saying that her studies would make her a better city clerk.

Hong also accused Babb of instructing a staff member to listen to tapes of the Rev. Robert Schuller, a broadcast evangelist, and requiring prayer before two staff meetings.

Those allegations, if pursued, would be turned over to the U. S. attorney general.

“I guess I blew that one,” Babb said, admitting that she asked that staff members pray with her. “But prayer is very much a daily part of my life. It’s very routine for me. I pray all the time. I’m a Christian.”

Feels Betrayed

Babb said she feels somewhat betrayed by Hong, but said she believes that another elected city official is really behind the allegations, which are, she said, intended to discredit her politically. She would not reveal the official’s name.

Hong denied that anyone else is behind her allegations. She said she is simply an honest person who does not tolerate abuses. She said she has never met anyone who could be considered a political enemy of Babb.

Hong also denied she brought the charges because she wants Babb’s job, saying she would not accept a temporary or permanent appointment as city clerk.

Hong would be prohibited from running for that office because she is not a Torrance resident.