Palmdale Mayor Investigation May Involve Contractor

A legal investigation of Palmdale’s mayor by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office may involve city contractors, according to a member of the City Council. Investigators served search warrants on six locations Wednesday, including the city hall office of Mayor Jim Ledford and his home, the Los Angeles Times reported. On Friday, Palmdale City Councilman Austin Bishop proposed that Ledford take a leave of absence as mayor during the investigation and that the city hire an independent attorney to ensure full cooperation with investigators. “We understand that the investigation may center around Ledford’s relationship with certain city contractors,” Bishop said in a statement. “We should pursue our options to suspend any financial relationship with parties in this investigation until the matters are resolved.” According to the Times, the investigation may involve the work done by Ledford for Complex Culture Change Consulting in Palmdale, which paid him nearly $180,000 between 2010 and 2013, citing court transcripts and the mayor’s former campaign manager, Kamal Al-Khatib. Susan Miller, head of the consulting firm that hired Ledford, was also executive director of the Aero Institute, a partnership between government officials, private industry and academic institutions to promote science, technology, engineering and math programs. The institute used rent-free space from the city during the time that Ledford worked for the consultancy, according to the Times. The district attorney investigators also served a search warrant on the Aero Institute, the Times reported. Ledford has been Palmdale mayor since 1992. He was most recently re-elected in November.