San Benito County supervisors appear ready to approve new
campaign finance restrictions, which the board eased a bit Tuesday
by increasing the amount candidates for countywide offices could
spend on each election from $25,000 to $35,000.
Hollister – San Benito County supervisors appear ready to approve new campaign finance restrictions, which the board eased a bit Tuesday by increasing the amount candidates for countywide offices could spend on each election from $25,000 to $35,000.
That change and other revisions led the board to delay a vote on the proposed ordinance, so its language can be adjusted, until Sept. 14.
Supervisors also agreed to raise the individual donation amount – above which all donors’ names must be disclosed on public documents – from $25 to $50. And the board doesn’t plan to restrict spending on recall campaigns; there could be a special election in 2005 if a group obtains enough signatures to force a vote on District Attorney John Sarsfield’s removal.
Although many elected officials and candidates previously spoke against the pending law, there was little opposition at Tuesday’s meeting. There will be a public hearing Sept. 14.
Supervisors Pat Loe and Bob Cruz have spearheaded the reform. Cruz countered previous claims the new law would discourage good candidates from running.
“You might discourage dishonest people from running,” Cruz said. “And I would say, amen.”
Loe believes the new law would actually encourage candidates to run for local offices – because they wouldn’t have to worry as much about raising enough money to compete in races.
“I think that it’s a great first step,” Loe said. “I think we’re going in the right direction.”
One speaker, local defense lawyer Arthur Cantu, did question the constitutionality of the campaign finance restrictions.
He argued the U.S. Supreme Court and the California Supreme Court have ruled that some forms of campaign finance restrictions violate First Amendment free speech rights. He believes the county’s ordinance “may not be constitutional.”
“It clearly raises the constitutionality question,” Cantu said.
County Counsel Karen Forcum, though, told the board she has seen no evidence the new law would violate the federal constitution. She’s examining whether committees for or against initiatives can constitutionally be governed by the new law, so it’s unclear at this point whether they will be included in the final ordinance, she said.
Supervisor Reb Monaco told Cantu he appreciated the research and he asked Forcum to further examine the constitutionality of the law.
“The legal questions do still concern me,” Monaco said.
But there was no further debate on that end, and supervisors went on to make requests for the final draft of the ordinance.
As proposed, the ordinance would do the following:
n The spending limits are voluntary. However, if candidates accept their limits, the maximum amount each donor can donate will increase from $100 to $250.
n After Monaco requested that the proposed countywide spending limit be raised to $50,000, Loe asked for a compromise of $35,000 – which Monaco accepted.
n The individual spending limit for district-wide races, such as those for supervisor seats, would remain at the originally proposed cap of $10,000.
n Candidates would be allowed to spend $10,000 and $35,000, respectively, for both primary and general elections.
San Benito County originally based its ordinance on a similar law in the city of Santa Clara – which has a population of more than 100,000 people – before tweaking the figures and removing some other stipulations.
