Mayor Circulating Petition to Restrict Political Donations

Several residents, including the mayor and the city treasurer, are circulating petitions seeking a ballot initiative that would limit campaign contributions and prohibit some campaign practices.

If the effort succeeds, Redondo Beach would be the third city in the South Bay to adopt such a measure, after Gardena and Los Angeles.

Some Redondo Beach politicians and business leaders charge that the effort is Mayor Barbara J. Doerr’s way of carrying out a personal vendetta. The proposed seven-part City Charter amendment directly addresses several controversial issues that arose during the 1985 city election, some of which involved Doerr.

King Harbor a Target

The initiative also is aimed at limiting the influence of King Harbor business interests--traditionally large campaign contributors, according to initiative supporters--by making it illegal for businesses contracting with the city to contribute to candidates in city elections.

“Unfortunately, money is an important thing in an election. . . . It has a lot to do with the outcome,” said City Treasurer Alice DeLong.

Council member Archie Snow, however, downplayed the importance of contributions: “It’s not so much the money that counts as the sophistication of the campaign that matters.”

In the three 1985 city elections, the winners received 600% more than losers in contributions, according to campaign reports. Doerr, however, clinched the mayor’s seat in the primary election even though her opponent, Jerry Goddard, collected $21,921 to her $8,587.

Influence Alleged

Doerr says that some elected officials have been influenced by large campaign donations, such as those from King Harbor lessees. “Everybody’s going to deny that they’re influenced, but yes, I think they’re influenced,” Doerr said. Harbor lessees are using campaign contributions to their “landlords” as “a sneaky way to get rent control,” the mayor charged.

“She’s ticked off because nobody’s giving it to her,” said council member Marcia Martin, adding that she was not a recipient of large business contributions in her 1983 campaign.

“It’s based on a personal vendetta and that’s what irritates me. It’s not based on truth, justice and the American Way,” Martin said. “I hate to see so many issues like this become personal things.”

The ballot initiative would limit campaign contributions to $250 total from any one source for the general and runoff elections combined. It also prohibits contributors from trying to get around the $250 limit by funneling contributions through committees or other interests.

Mary Davis, president of the King Harbor Assn.--an organization of all harbor lessees--and a member of the Harbor and Pier Lessees Assn.--a political action committee--said she is not concerned about the proposed initiative because harbor interests “don’t contribute that much money anyway.” She estimated that she personally contributed a total of $4,000 to local, state and federal candidates or committees during the past five years.

“It’s just another political ploy for (Doerr) to run for election next time,” Davis said. Harbor lessees do not contribute to Doerr’s campaigns, and she is worried about their contributions to her opponents, Davis said. She speculates that Doerr will run for City Council in the future, as she will have served the maximum two terms as mayor when her term expires in 1989.

In Redondo Beach, the mayor does not vote, but has veto power over council actions.

No Plans to Run

Doerr said she is not planning to run for any city office and will probably get another job when her term expires. As an elected official or a resident, she said, she is concerned about the effects of “undue influence” on the city.

Snow said he is not influenced by the campaign contributions he has received from harbor interests, and that the lessees are “always picked out for the whipping people.”

He said, “I look at the project, not the person. I have voted against projects of my friends who were very upset with me.”

He agreed that campaign contributions should be limited, but said businesses, including those that deal with the city, should have the same freedom to donate as individuals. He said he would accept a $250 limit, but said the general and runoff elections should be considered separately.

‘Probably Are Influenced’

City Clerk John Oliver, who supports the proposed initiative, said he does not believe that any council member has been “bought,” but said they probably are influenced by campaign contributions. “I have never been bought and paid,” he said, “but when that individual calls, I pick up the phone.

“If someone gives you something, you have that natural tendency to feel that you have to give them something in return. . . . Maybe politicians have different mores. Maybe they just take money and don’t feel they have to give in return.”

Initiative supporters say the $250 limit will make it easier for business people who may feel pressured to contribute to candidates who may have an effect on their livelihoods.

Martin said, “I got money before from the carpenters union and the Sierra Club, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to vote for them, and they know that. . . . If I thought somebody was giving me money with strings attached, I wouldn’t take it.”

State Requirements

The restrictions already placed on local candidates are enough, she said. The state requires political candidates to file three campaign contribution reports. Any contribution of $100 or more must be itemized. The proposed initiative would require stricter filing procedures, including itemization of contributions that amount to $50 from a single source.

Gardena’s City Council voted in early 1979 to limit campaign contributions to $500 a source. Los Angeles voters decided last year to also limit contributors to $500.

Last year, Doerr tried to persuade the City Council to pass an ordinance that she says is similar to the initiative she is now proposing, but failed to get the council’s support.

At the time, council members Ronald Cawdrey and Snow moved to form a committee to study the need for such an ordinance, but council members John Chapman, Kay Horrell and Martin voted against it.

“If it makes for better government, why, let’s sit down and discuss it,” Snow said last week, “but let’s not go off half-cocked.”

Prohibit Use of Seal

The proposed initiative also would make it illegal for a candidate to use the city seal on campaign literature. Although candidates must use a “not paid for with public funds” disclosure, literature with a city seal looks official and may mislead voters, Doerr said.

Under another provision of the initiative, candidates would have to file an affidavit with the city clerk that they had permission to use any pictures or endorsements--claimed or implied--on their campaign literature.

Council member Horrell angered Doerr during the 1985 elections when she mailed an Election-Day postcard to residents that Doerr said implied that she endorsed Horrell, when she actually supported her opponent.

The praise of Horrell, attributed to Doerr, was taken from a city proclamation given to Horrell a year earlier for service on the Board of Realtors.

Defended Mailing

Horrell could not be reached for comment, but in past interviews she defended the mailing, saying they were not deceptive. She likened her postcards to last year’s campaign literature for Doerr and her political allies that included pictures of President Reagan and Gov. George Deukmejian.

Doerr acknowledged that the use of those photos without their permission also would be considered illegal under her proposed initiative.

A violation of any of the provisions would be considered a misdemeanor and a candidate convicted of a violation would be removed from office and ineligible to hold any city office for five years.

Council member Martin said the proposed restrictions would inhibit people from running for office. “She’s going to have so many restrictions on us, somebody will need five degrees and a Ph.D. just to run for office,” she said.

Some politicians, both supporters and opponents of the initiative, said they believe the restrictions will give incumbents an advantage. Most supporters, however, say the initiative would give the average citizen more influence on city government and a better chance at holding elected office.

Initiative supporters have until Nov. 24 to collect the 2,906 signatures needed. If they are successful, the council will legally obligated to adopt the proposed ordinance or place it on the May ballot.

Redondo Beach Runoff Elections, May, 1985

Candidate Contributions Expenditures Mayor Barbara Doerr, mayor $8,587 $ 8,553 Jerry Goddard, defeated 21,921 20,253 District 1 Jack Chapman, councilman 14,602 14,513 Alice DeLong, defeated 2,296 2,296 District 2 Kay Horrell, councilwoman 13,829 16,262 Ray Amys, defeated 1,884 5,242 District 4 Archie Snow, councilman 19,988 20,325 Val Dombrowski, defeated 2,858 2,703

Source: Final statements filed by candidates and political action committees with the city clerk’s office.