Mitchell Englander

Mitchell Englander (born July 25, 1970) is a American former politician and convicted felon who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council, representing District 12 in the San Fernando Valley, until he resigned December 31, 2018. While serving, he was the only member of the city council who was registered as Republican.[1]

Mitchell Englander
Member of the Los Angeles City Council from the 12th District
In office 2011 – December 31, 2018
Preceded by	Greig Smith
Succeeded by	Greig Smith
Personal details
Born	July 25, 1970 West Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Political party	Republican

Englander resigned in order to take a job with Oak View Group. He was subsequently indicted on corruption charges, as part of a major corruption probe at Los Angeles City Hall. Englander pleaded guilty to one felony corruption charge on June 7, 2020.[2][3]

Biography

Englander was born in 1970 in West Hills in the San Fernando Valley. According to an interview with the Los Angeles Daily News, his parents separated when he was 5 years old, and his mother, Linda, a real-estate agent, "worked two jobs, but lost a home to foreclosure." They lived in Canoga Park with his uncle Michael, whose janitorial firm Englander worked for as a teenager. Englander attended college in Arizona but returned to California without graduating in order to care for his ailing mother, who died of a brain tumor.[4]

In 1994, his uncle Michael, who Englander said was a father figure for him, was shot and killed in a gang-related robbery. Englander became a Los Angeles Police Department reservist in 2005 the same day his uncle was killed, Englander's older sister Natalie suffered an asthma attack and fell into a coma. She was "rushed to an emergency room whose doors were mistakenly locked." She wasn't able to receive medical aid in time and "awoke with brain damage." She lived with the Englander family for a decade before she died.[4][5]

Prior to elected office, Englander worked as a political consultant for another uncle, Harvey Englander, and later on his own.[6] He and his wife appeared as the couple in the pilot episode of the HGTV show House Hunters,[7] where the Englanders are searching for a larger home for their growing family. Englander is married to his high school sweetheart Jayne and has two daughters, Lindsey and Lauren.[8]

City Council

Campaign

Englander served as chief of staff to City Councilman Greig Smith from 2003 to 2009, in Los Angeles City Council District 12, then in the Northwest San Fernando Valley.[9] In September 2009 Englander launched his campaign to succeed Smith, who had announced retirement upon his term's end.[10]

Noting that Englander was the "consummate City Hall insider," the Los Angeles Times endorsed him as "the best of several good choices." An editorial noted that Englander's "proximity" to Greig Smith had "clearly brought him advantages in fund-raising," with more than $440,000 already raised, "which is 10 times as much as his closest rival (and more than any other candidate for city office this election)." The Times said that Englander had served as Smith's "proxy" and "now claims to have played the leading role in a number of Smith's accomplishments."[11] The L.A. Daily News endorsed him as well, saying that Smith presented "common-sense ideas to reform government, such as cutting general managers' base salaries but awarding bonuses to those who provide excellent service on a tight budget."[12]

Election

• See also: List of 2011 Los Angeles municipal election returns.

Mitch Englander was elected to represent City Council District 12 in the March 8, 2011 primary, receiving 57.74% of the total vote.[9][13]

CD 12 communities

Englander represented all or part of the communities of:[14][15][9]

• North Hills
• Granada Hills
• Northridge
• Porter Ranch
• Chatsworth
• West Hills
• Reseda

Council activity

• Arizona boycott—On October 21, 2011, Englander called for an end to the city's boycott of Arizona, which had been voted in May 2010 after that state adopted Arizona SB 1070, a law requiring law-enforcement officers to ask for proof of U.S. citizenship from people in vehicles pulled over and suspected to be in the United States illegally. He said he would pay his own way to attend a National League of Cities conference in Phoenix, since the city would not do so.[16]
• Minimum Wage-On May 19, 2015 Englander cast the lone dissenting vote when the Los Angeles City Council voted to raise the minimum wage in the city to fifteen dollars per hour in increments by 2020.[17]

Resignation

On October 11, 2018, Englander announced that he would resign from the council to join Oak View Group, a sports and entertainment advisory, development and investment company, as vice president of government affairs.[18][19]

Corruption indictment

Englander was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 16, 2020, for actions taken while still on the council.[20] He was charged with one count of participating in a scheme to falsify material facts, three counts of making false statements, and three counts of witness tampering.[21] The indictment became public when Englander surrendered to the FBI on March 9, 2020.[22]

The indictment stated that this stemmed from trips to Las Vegas and Palm Springs on June 1-2, 2017, and June 10-12, 2017, paid for by unnamed people lobbying the city.[20]

In Las Vegas, Englander and at least two city staffers were said to have attended and received hotel rooms, VIP hotel amenities, casino chips (at least some of which were returned), limo rides, escort services, a $2,400 dinner, and a $34,000 visit to a nightclub. Englander is also alleged to have accepted an envelope containing $10,000 in cash given to him in the resort and casino's bathroom.[20]

In Palm Springs, Englander is said to have accepted another $5,000 in cash, again in a bathroom.[20]

On January 26, 2021, Englander was sentenced to 14 months in federal prison for his conduct surrounding his obstruction of a public corruption investigation into his acceptance of gifts – including $15,000 in cash – from a businessman during trips to Las Vegas and Palm Springs in 2017. He was also ordered to pay a $15,000 fine. [23]

References

1. Kate Linthicum, "Dennis Zine Says He Will Run for City Controller," Los Angeles Times, July 7, 2011
2. The Los Angeles Times on Yahoo! - "Former L.A. Councilman Mitchell Englander pleads guilty in City Hall corruption case"
3. Associated Press on Yahoo! - "Ex-LA councilman pleads guilty in corruption case"
4. Singh, Ajay (February 22, 2013). "Video: Who Is Mitch Englander?". Northridge Patch.
5. Kevin Modesti, "Mitchell Englander," Los Angeles Daily News, January 31, 2011
6. "Mitch Englander in City Council District 12". Los Angeles Times. 2011-02-05. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
7. "Looking for a Larger Home". www.hgtv.com. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
8. Spencer, Ashley (2019-09-30). "First-Ever 'House Hunters' Couple Recalls Their 'Horrific' Experience". Vice. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
9. City of Los Angeles—Council District 12: About the Councilman Archived 2012-08-07 at the Wayback Machine . accessed 6.21.2012
10. David Zahniser, "Aide to L.A. City Councilman Launches Bid for Valley Seat," Los Angeles Times, September 8, 2009
11. "Mitch Englander in City Council District 12," Los Angeles Times, February 5, 2011
12. "Council District 12 Can Benefit From Mitchell Englander's Experience in City Hall," Los Angeles Daily News, February 10, 2011
13. Los Angeles city clerk
14. Navigatela.lacity.org: Council District 12 Map . accessed 6.21.2012
15. L.A. Curbed: "The Final City Council District Maps and How They're Different From the Current Ones" . accessed 6.21.2012
16. Councilman Wants End to Arizona Boycott, City News Service in myfoxla.com., 2011-10-21, archived from the original on 2012-06-01
17. Times, Los Angeles. "Los Angeles' minimum wage on track to go up to $15 by 2020".
18. Alpert Reyes, Emily; Zahniser, David. "L.A. City Councilman Mitchell Englander to vacate his seat" Los Angeles Times, October 11, 2018
19. Chou, Elizabeth. "LA councilman Mitchell Englander stepping down…" Los Angeles Daily News, October 11, 2018
20. "U.S.A v. Englander indictment" (PDF). United States District Court for the Central District of California. January 16, 2020. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
21. "Ex-Los Angeles City Councilman Surrenders to Face Federal Charges of Obstructing Public Corruption Probe, Making False Statements" (Press release). Los Angeles: U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California. March 9, 2020. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
22. Rubin, Joel; Alpert Reyes, Emily (March 9, 2020). "Ex-L.A. Councilman Englander charged with obstruction in probe alleging lavish spending and escorts". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
23. https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/former-la-city-councilman-mitch-englander-ordered-serve-14-months-federal-prison