Council rejects raise in campaign contributions
Campaign contributions will not be raised in Laguna Beach for the 2012 election.
The City Council on Tuesday rejected a $20 increase to the $360 individual contribution limit adopted in 2008. The vote was 3 to 2, with council members Kelly Boyd and Elizabeth Pearson in favor of the increase.
Boyd proposed the increase, and Pearson seconded it. Neither is running for reelection this year.
The municipal code provides for adjustments of the limit on Jan. 1 of every even-numbered year. The code also requires the amount of $360 to be reviewed every four years since 2008 to determine if the limit should be increased, decreased or remain the same.
There was no public comment on the possible adjustment.
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Campaign statements filed
Announced City Council candidates Robert Whalen and incumbent Verna Rollinger filed Recipient Committee Campaign Statements that listed contributors in cash or kind and the amounts raised.
Rollinger, who began her reelection campaign last year, raised $21,458 between July 1, 2011, and Jan. 17. She spent $4,719.
Almost half of her 85 listed contributions were the maximum $360. Her financial supporters include City Councilwoman Toni Iseman, Irvine City Councilman Larry Agran, former Laguna mayors Ann Christoph and Sally Bellerue, school board President Betsy Jenkins and board member Theresa O’Hare, Laguna Canyon Foundation President Derek Ostensen and former Laguna Beach Democratic Club Chairwoman Audrey Prosser.
Whalen raised $3,638.23 and spent $430. His eight maximum contributors included former school board member El Hathaway and Jenkins.
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Council critic announces candidacy
Robert Ross, who has criticized the City Council, city manager and city attorney, announced at Tuesday’s meeting that he intends to run for council.
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