Gov. Gavin Newsom, left, with Karen Bass, center, and former L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, far right, in 2022. (Media News Group/Pasadena Star News via Getty Images)
SHORTLY AFTER THE LINEAGE warehouse fire erupted in Boyle Heights earlier this summer, blanketing the neighborhood with toxic smoke and enraging the community, the company’s CEO was on the phone with Mayor Karen Bass.
“The mayor had a great suggestion,” Lineage’s operations chief, Jeff Rivera, later recalled. “Because we didn’t know what to do, and who to support.”
After that conversation with Bass, Lineage donated $2 million to the California Community Foundation, which in turn identified local community groups to distribute Lineage’s money to so they could assist Boyle Heights residents.
The donation from Lineage could be read many ways: routine corporate philanthropy; a public relations ploy from a company navigating a crisis; an attempt to curry favor with L.A.’s civic establishment. The donation is also a classic example of a little-known form of political largesse — the “behested payment.”
You’ve reached your free article limit this month.
Upgrade now to gain unlimited access to L.A. Material’s reporting. Your support helps us keep really good, really independent journalism alive in Los Angeles.
Upgrade now
