Editorial

The truth on Huntington Beach’s Mayor David Garofalo and his business

dealings is out there. It’s just hard to nail down.

Here’s what we know:

* Garofalo’s company has had the no-bid contract to publish the

city-funded Huntington Beach Conference & Visitor’s Bureau annual guide.

The bureau pays nothing up front to Garofalo, but his business keeps all

the profits.

* Garofalo’s company received a $2,995 advertising check from

Commercial Investment Management Group (CIM), and four months later he

voted to push forward the downtown developer’s $46-million project. A CIM

executive said Garofalo personally solicited the ad. Garofalo said the

check was deposited in the account of a company he doesn’t own.

* Garofalo voted at least 87 times on issues involving his advertisers

in either the Local News or the visitors guide. All 87 times he voted in

their favor. City Atty. Gail Hutton belatedly has advised Garofalo that

he should abstain from voting when his advertisers come before the

council, which pretty much excludes the mayor from voting on any major

issue.

* Garofalo secured one of the most coveted homes in the new St.

Augustine tract after voting numerous times to approve various stages of

the project. Garofalo said he bought the home, using cash from a friend,

for $565,000 and sold it to that same friend for $635,596 three days

later. Garofalo said he made $1 on the deal after upgrades. Garofalo has

refused to say whether he competed in a lottery as other home buyers did.

* Contrary to Garofalo’s previous assertion to state officials that

his role in the visitors guide involved only “nonsales issues”--such as

“mechanical and technical aspects of publishing”--he personally sold ads

in the 2000 visitors guide. At least one advertiser even gave Garofalo

cash on the spot for a partial payment.

And here’s what we don’t know:

* On Garofalo’s St. Augustine’s home, did the developer push him to

the front of the lottery line because Garofalo served on the City

Council? Why won’t Garofalo say, and why won’t the developer talk?

* How did Garofalo pay for that home? Neither Garofalo nor his friend,

oil businessman George A. Pearson, have provided any documentation, and

county records show no deed recorded until Pearson took ownership.

* What’s the relationship between David P. Garofalo & Associates and

the Local News? In 1997, Garofalo tried to clear up any potential

conflicts of interests when he said he sold the Local News to local

business owner Ed Laird. But county records show at least two different

stories, and for his part, Laird said he doesn’t own the Local News.

* How did City Atty. Gail Hutton let all this happen right under her

nose? Did Garofalo mislead Hutton or did Hutton, who contributed to

Garofalo’s campaign, just look the other way?

* When Garofalo said he will step aside from publishing until the

investigations are complete, what does that mean exactly? Does his

publishing operation shut down? Does his son, Kevin, the advertising

manager for the visitors guide, step up? Having his son run the business

could pose another conflict.

Garofalo has been less than forthright in answering virtually any

question about his potential conflicts of interest. The mayor’s answers

have been vague, conflicting or not forthcoming. Instead of answering the

questions, he’s spent most of his time attacking his critics, including

this newspaper. It’s a tactic that seems more and more desperate with

each new revelation.And Hutton has been her usual, secretive self.

What the people of Huntington Beach want is rather simple: the truth.

If Garofalo would tell the truth and provide the backup documentation,

this whole ugly episode in city politics would be over much more quickly.

It’s clear that Garofalo’s business dealings showed poor judgment, and

the two investigations underway--one by the city attorney’s office and

one by state officials--may turn up something more.

In the meantime, Garofalo should learn from the politicians who served

before him. Anything less than full disclosure has ended the political

life of many a leader.

The truth is out there, and it will be found. Garofalo should be the

one pointing us to it.