Publication Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Stanford, Palo Alto can talk again
Stanford, Palo Alto can talk again
(February 25, 2004) Schwarzenegger signs 'Cordell Bill' allowing entities to resume contract negotiations
by Bill D'Agostino
Palo Alto Councilwoman LaDoris Cordell breathed a sigh of relief Friday after learning that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the bill solely designed to solve her unusual conflict-of-interest dilemma.
"Got that big weight off my back," said Cordell upon hearing that the bill had been signed Friday at 4:30 p.m.
The new law -- signed a month earlier than expected -- means Palo Alto and Stanford University can immediately resume negotiating contracts. The two entities had severed ties after Cordell's council term began Jan.1.
The governor's action is also good news for soccer players, since the quandary had stopped the city and the university from completing negotiations on a deal to create new soccer fields at the old Mayfield School site, six acres located at the corner of El Camino Real and Page Mill Road.
The target date for completing the fields is the end of 2004.
The speed that the bill was approved and signed came as a surprise to Palo Alto officials.
"We had expected it would take longer, but we beat the schedule we had set," said Mayor Bern Beecham, who traveled to Sacramento several times to testify for the bill.
Schwarzenegger's signature also ends an odd saga that had threatened Cordell's ability to serve on the council.
Her election in November triggered California Code Section 1090, which prohibits cities from negotiating contracts with their council members' employees, except for nonprofit organizations. But Stanford, where Cordell is a vice provost, was set up as a nonprofit trust rather than a "nonprofit organization" because there was no such legal entity more than a century ago. The new law also exempts "nonprofit entities."
Palo Alto and Stanford officials immediately began lobbying state officials to change the law, and Cordell took office in early January while all discussion of contracts between the city and Stanford ceased. There are numerous contracts covering everything from public-safety services to park leases.
Cordell is still prohibited from participating in or voting on city business relating to Stanford because of another conflict-of-interest law, known as the Political Reform Act.
The bill signed by the governor was authored by Sen. Byron Sher, a former Palo Alto councilman and mayor -- who was also Cordell's law professor when she attended Stanford Law School.
Cordell thanked Sher, Beecham and Assemblyman Joe Simitian, who carried the bill in the state Assembly.
Cordell had earlier indicated she might have had to resign from the council if the bill was not approved to avoid major impacts on the city and Stanford.
Bill D'Agostino can be e-mailed at bdagostino@paweekly.com
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