Beverly Hills residents allege voter fraud
A group of Beverly Hills residents alleged today that hundreds of illegal or fraudulent votes were cast last November in favor of a ballot measure that granted approval for a controversial expansion of the Beverly Hilton hotel.
Larry Larson, treasurer of the Citizens Right to Decide Committee, said the group would hold a news conference at 11 a.m. Monday at the Beverly Hills City Hall to announce the results of a preliminary five-month investigation.
He said the research turned up instances of votes cast by multiple "wives" of residents, voters casting multiple ballots under maiden and married names and votes cast by dead people.
Measure H passed by 129 votes, and Larson alleged that fraudulent ballots might have skewed the results. He urged the Los Angeles County district attorney's office and the California attorney general's office to launch investigations.
The Beverly Hilton plan calls for building a high-rise Waldorf-Astoria hotel and two luxury condo towers on its site, at the busy corner of Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards. The Hilton maintains that the project will provide millions of dollars of tax revenue for police, firefighters and schools and revitalize a dated corner.
Opponents counter that the project is too big and that the Hilton is exaggerating the potential benefits. Many residents fear it will lead to more traffic congestion and increased density in a city that some contend is losing its small-scale charm.
Attending the news conference will be Mayor Nancy Krasne and former mayor and current Councilman Barry Brucker, both of whom voted against the project in an April 2008 City Council vote.
-- Martha Groves
