Fund-Raising Curbs Aimed at Van de Kamp

In a slap at the gubernatorial aspirations of Atty. Gen. John K. Van de Kamp, the Senate has quietly amended legislation to ban fund raising in non-election years by candidates for statewide office.

Under a proposal being pushed by Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles), a Proposition 68 prohibition on off-year fund raising that now applies only to legislators would be extended to candidates for statewide and local office as well as political parties.

If signed into law by Gov. George Deukmejian, the legislation would take take effect immediately and halt fund raising for the rest of the year by candidates for governor, attorney general and other statewide offices. The Republican governor, who is not seeking reelection, has not taken a position on the proposal, which was amended into a bill by Assemblyman Dominic L. Cortese (D-San Jose).

Democratic supporters of the bill said privately on Tuesday that the measure is aimed, in part, at Van de Kamp--a fellow Democrat who offended lawmakers in July when he called for an initiative to clean up the “swamp” of special-interest influence in the Legislature.

At the same time, the bill would have the effect of preserving the legislators’ fund-raising base from poaching during non-election years by statewide candidates and political parties not governed by the Proposition 68 restrictions.

“We feel strongly there should be equal application to everyone,” said Roberti, who opposed Proposition 68 last year. “It was just our feeling that if there is going to be reform that those kind of laws should apply to all candidates, whether they are incumbents or challengers, no matter what the office.”

Some legislators noted on Tuesday that Van de Kamp last year supported Proposition 68, which curtailed their own political fund raising, but not his.

Waiting Period

The Senate agreed to amend the bill late last week. Because it would alter the Political Reform Act, the Legislature must wait at least 12 days after the amendments were adopted before taking up the measure. As a result, the bill cannot be voted on until the final two days of this year’s legislative session, when lawmakers also will be rushing to pass hundreds of other last-minute measures.

The legislation would further complicate the legal morass stemming from the passage of both Proposition 68 and Proposition 73--two rival campaign finance ballot measures--in the June, 1988, election.

Proposition 73, which limits campaign contributions to amounts ranging from $1,000 to $5,000, takes precedence because it received more votes. But in July, a state appeals court ruled that portions of Proposition 68, including its ban on off-year fund raising for legislative candidates, also should take effect.

Among the candidates for governor in 1990, the ban theoretically would hurt Van de Kamp most. Democratic rival Diane Feinstein, former mayor of San Francisco, has shown no reluctance to use her own family wealth for campaign funds. And Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Wilson will not need as much money as the Democratic candidates because he is running unopposed for the GOP nomination.

Opposition Told

Van de Kamp said through a spokesman that he would oppose extending Proposition 68’s provisions to statewide candidates. He called instead for passage of his ballot measure that would overhaul the campaign finance laws--the same one he said earlier would clean up the “swamp” of special-interest influence in the Legislature.

“What we have now is a mishmash which should apply to no one,” said Van de Kamp spokesman Duane Peterson. “The better way to fix this mess is through the attorney general’s initiative, which he will put on the ballot next year.”

But in an interview Tuesday, Roberti called Van de Kamp “the premier selective reformer of California.”

The Senate leader also said many members of the party question whether Van de Kamp can win, in part because of his decision as Los Angeles County district attorney not to prosecute Angelo Buono for the Hillside Strangler murders. Then-Atty. Gen. Deukmejian won a conviction in the case.

“It’s not just a Republican pipe dream that the Angelo Buono affair is going to be damaging,” Roberti said. “If you represent an area like mine that was terrorized during the Hillside Strangler episode, one wonders how in the world the attorney general is going to answer that.”