A dispute between Los Angeles City Council District 3 candidates Tim Gaspar and Barri Worth Girvan over a recorded post-debate exchange escalated this week into accusations of illegal recording and unethical campaign conduct in the closely watched race.
The dispute stems from a video showing a post-debate exchange between the candidates, during which Gaspar questioned Girvan about comments she had made regarding his support from Councilmember John Lee. Girvan said she believed the debate had ended, microphones were off and the exchange was private, while Gaspar’s campaign said the interaction occurred openly in a public setting while recording equipment remained visible.
“The recording happened without my knowledge or consent after the debate ended, when our debate microphones were off, and no one was paying attention to what we were saying,” Girvan said in a text message Tuesday. “He was talking to me in whispered tones at least 10 feet from anybody else.”
Girvan said Gaspar approached her after a debate on May 6 to question comments she had made in a campaign video criticizing his ties to Lee and whether she had previously sought Lee’s endorsement.
Lee was fined $138,124.32 last year by the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission over allegations that he accepted undisclosed gifts and misused his position while serving as chief of staff to then-Councilmember Mitchell Englander.
Girvan said she acknowledged previously seeking Lee’s endorsement before learning of the ethics case, but maintained that nothing she said in the exchange was inaccurate.
Girvan said she later learned the exchange had been incorporated into a video posted in the private Facebook group Crimebusters of West Hills and Woodland Hills, a neighborhood-focused community group with nearly 16,000 members. She argued the recording undermined public trust and said she believes the exchange violated California’s two-party consent law.
The post was not publicly accessible on Tuesday.
Gaspar’s campaign disputed Girvan’s characterization of the encounter, saying the exchange took place publicly onstage immediately after the debate while recording equipment remained plainly visible.
“This past week, Barri and I participated in our 8th debate that was open to the public,” Gaspar said in a statement provided Tuesday. “Like every single debate, it was audio and video recorded, in a room open to the public with a clearly visible sign indicating attendees may be recorded or photographed.”
Gaspar said he “wore an open and obvious mic” on the outside of his lapel with “a green light emitting when recording,” and said the microphone and camera remained visible throughout the debate.
“Immediately after the debate ended, while still at the table and on stage, in front of multiple attendees and the debate hosts, I turned to Barri and asked her why she continued to post and say intentionally misleading and untruthful information about me,” Gaspar said. “That 1 minute conversation happened to be captured by the audio and video.”
Gaspar’s campaign also denied intentionally releasing the recording publicly, saying the clip “was not an official campaign communication or intentionally released.” Gaspar added that “an unfortunate error by a volunteer” was “immediately corrected.”
Girvan disputed that explanation Tuesday, pointing to the way the video was framed online.
“His video opens with ‘I confronted Barri,’” she said. “This was no mistake.”
A screen recording of the video, provided by Girvan’s campaign, showed Gaspar questioning Girvan after the debate about comments she had made regarding Lee. In prior campaign messaging, Girvan had accused Gaspar of contributing to Lee’s legal defense fund.
The video interspersed clips from the post-debate exchange with footage from earlier debates and campaign videos, including moments in which Girvan criticized ethics issues and questioned Gaspar’s political ties to Lee.
The video also opened with the captions “I confronted Barri in person over this claim” and ended with “accountability matters for our district.”
The dispute drew criticism from fellow Council District 3 candidate Christopher Robert “C.R.” Celona, who accused Gaspar of engaging in unethical political conduct and argued the recording violated California’s two-party consent law.
“What happened to Barri is wrong, period,” Celona said in a statement Monday. “Campaigns should be about ideas, leadership, and solutions for the future of Los Angeles not political traps, secret recordings, and weaponizing private conversations for personal or political gain.”
The exchange comes as Gaspar, Girvan and Celona compete in the Council District 3 race to replace termed-out Councilmember Bob Blumenfield ahead of the June 2 primary election. Council District 3 spans the west San Fernando Valley neighborhoods of Canoga Park, Reseda, Tarzana, Winnetka and Woodland Hills.