Consultant worked on $577,000 airport contract while advising Bass for free

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Set us as preferred An informal advisor to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass handled communications for her office for free while simultaneously working on a three-year contract with Los Angeles World Airports worth nearly $600,000.Yusef Robb, who runs the firm tk/Communications, was an unpaid spokesperson and advisor for Bass from February through the beginning of June.On June 19, Robb began working for Lineage Logistics, whose cold food storage facility in Boyle Heights burned for more than a week last month.

He continued to serve as an unpaid, unofficial advisor to the mayor, though no longer as a spokesperson, until The Times and other outlets reported on his work for Lineage on Saturday.Robb said the airport contract was unrelated to his work for the mayor.But a legal expert said the arrangement raises questions about whether his free labor was a gift to the mayor — which could be subject to dollar limits and reporting requirements — and whether working for the city and private clients creates conflicts of interest.“This was done through a transparent and public competitive bidding process,” Robb said in an email to The Times.

“I provide communications support and training.” The Bass administration said Robb’s unpaid assistance was “for the benefit of the city.It’s not a gift.”In 2024, Robb signed the contract with Los Angeles World Airports, or LAWA — the city department that operates Los Angeles International Airport and the Van Nuys Airport — for $450,000 over three years.

He won the contract, which involved “executive media training” as well as “crisis communications,” over 10 other firms.It was updated in April to include additional work for $137,500.

A report from LAWA in support of the contract update said that “executive management at LAWA have benefited from successful, professiona...