Council Scraps $540,000 Pact With Ex-Port Chief

The city port commission’s decision to award a $540,000 consulting contract to former port Executive Director Larry Keller was unanimously rejected Tuesday by the Los Angeles City Council.

The rare move, made without comment, came after two council committees unanimously condemned the three-year contract Monday. It had been offered to Keller less than a month after he resigned under fire.

After the council vote, port commission President Nick Tonsich said he would probably resubmit the Keller contract, incorporating some changes based on council members’ comments.

That sets the stage for another battle on the City Council floor.

Some council members have said it is inappropriate to pay Keller so much money because he is a witness in a federal probe of port contracting, and have suggested that the contract does not “pass the smell test.”

Other council members, however, said they would be willing to hire Keller as a consultant because of his extensive personal relationships with shipping companies around the world, but they believed the port needed to draft a clearer and less open-ended contract with him.