Drilling Political Loopholes

Los Angeles voters in April approved, by 77%, a Charter amendment that set reasonable restrictions on campaign contributions for candidates running for city offices.

The new law, which took effect Monday, reduces the price of access to an elected official.

Citywide candidates for mayor, city attorney and controller can accept a maximum of $1,000 from an individual, company or organization per primary or general election. For candidates for City Council the ceiling is $500. After the election, winners and losers can keep only $5,000 of leftover funds.

The new amounts are not chicken feed, but some politicians, lobbyists and regular contributors are looking for ways to keep putting the big bucks into the right hands.

Councilman Gilbert Lindsay has set up a political-action committee to collect unlimited funds for expenses not connected with an election campaign. His plan appears legal, according to Councilman Ernani Bernardi, who wrote the law.

Councilmen Art Snyder and Howard Finn told Times reporter Frank Clifford that independent committees set up on their behalf can raise and spend unlimited amounts on campaigns as long as they, the councilmen, have nothing to do with them. Bernardi argues that committees set up for campaigns are not independent.

But why would Snyder be interested? Isn’t he resigning from the council, as he has promised, in September?

Does Finn need to raise money? He was reelected to his second term with 69% of the vote in April, and is not up again until 1989. At least he has set his own personal standards. The councilman has turned down $30,000 worth of campaign contributions, including donations from anyone who has a case pending before him.

Lindsay was also reelected in April. He polled 85% of the vote--a margin large enough to deter most challengers, should he choose to run again in four years, when he will be 88 years old.

The new campaign-reform law, given a chance to work, can reduce the disillusionment of voters who believe that only the big spenders can influence City Hall. The curtailment of war chests --some have swollen to $1 million--can encourage more candidates to run for public office. The loopholes should be closed. The politicians should abide by both the letter and the intent of the new law.