Report Spurs Gardena to Alter Campaign Law

In the wake of a report by the California Commission on Campaign Financing that praised Gardena’s campaign finance ordinance but suggested ways to improve it, City Atty. Michael Karger has proposed several key revisions in the ordinance.

In a memorandum presented to the City Council at Tuesday’s meeting, Karger said the proposed changes are also prompted by newly imposed statutory requirements of Proposition 73, which limits campaign contributions on a fiscal-year basis.

The commission report, issued in August, lauded Gardena’s ordinance, which prohibits city contractors from donating to local political campaigns, as a model law for other cities in California and across the country. The ordinance, originally adopted in 1976, has been revised several times.

But the report suggested two primary changes, including specifically stating in the ordinance that candidates have to disclose the names of those who contributed amounts greater than $50, rather than relying on an assumption that it is required.

Loophole Found

The report also said a loophole in the ordinance allows candidates to circumvent a $500 limit on individual contributions by receiving loans far greater than that amount.

Another change suggested in the report is that the city exempt from the ban on campaign donations any vendor whose contract with the city did not require council approval.

The revised ordinance under consideration incorporates the commission’s suggestions and includes two other changes initiated by city officials, one on requirements for filing intent-to-run forms and another on a candidate’s use of personal funds in a campaign.

Karger said the changes, “if adopted, would meet all the suggestions made by the campaign finance commission. I definitely think it would strengthen (the ordinance) and clarify some things, so all candidates would know what’s expected of them.”

The revised ordinance was introduced at Tuesday’s council meeting by Councilman Mas Fukai, who had requested a review of the ordinance after the commission report.

The revisions will be considered for adoption at the next City Council meeting.

‘Restore Confidence’

“I think we’ll have one of the best ordinances in the state,” Fukai said. “It will really restore a lot of confidence in campaign fund raising in Gardena.”

The first revision addresses the criticism that the present ordinance does not make clear whether all contributors of $50 or more need to be named. The city proposes to required that such contributions must be disclosed, but also to increase the disclosure threshold from $50 to $100.

The second revision addresses the city’s $500 limit on individual contributions, a provision that drew major criticism in the report because it left open the possibility that candidates could circumvent the limit and accept loans far greater than $500.

In his report to the city, Karger said he does not regard the $500 limit as a major problem because, under the present ordinance, any portion of a campaign loan that the lender does not require to be paid back is considered a donation. Any portion of the forgiven amount greater than $500 would be a violation of the ordinance, he said.

Would Adopt Wording

However, Karger proposed that the city adopt the wording of Proposition 73, which prohibits individual loans greater than $1,000 unless they are made by a commercial lending institution at the same rates as those offered to the public.

Gardena’s revised ordinance would also prohibit such loans, but the amount set by the city would be $500, not $1,000 as required by the state, Karger said.

The third change suggested by the commission concerns a provision of the ordinance that prohibits all city contractors from donating to local political campaigns during the negotiation or term of the contract.

In the original ordinance, the provision does not specifically exclude vendors whose contracts do not require City Council approval.

Karger said that although the city has interpreted the provision to include only vendors whose contracts require council approval, that interpretation was not specifically written into the ordinance. The revised ordinance would specify that the restrictions applies only to such vendors.

Intent-to-Run Forms

Among other changes proposed by city officials, one concerns forms filed by candidates stating their intent to run for office.

Currently, candidates must file such forms, as well as campaign bank account information, with the state Fair Political Practices Commission. Under the new ordinance, candidates would also have to forward copies of such information to the Gardena city clerk, Karger said.

“We just want to know about it, if you want to be a candidate,” Karger said. The information will aid city officials in monitoring campaigns under the ordinance, he said.

The proposed ordinance also “clarifies an ambiguity in the present ordinance as to whether a candidate’s contributions to his or her own campaign are subject to the $500 limitation,” Karger said.

The ordinance specifically states that a candidate is not restricted in using his personal funds to contribute to his own campaign, Karger said. Neither state law nor the city ordinance prohibits a candidate from contributing to his campaign fund, he said.

The changes would go into affect 30 days after adoption and would apply to the city’s next election, in April, 1990, Karger said.

Bob Stern, co-director of the campaign finance commission, said several of the nine cities studied in the report were re-examining their regulations on campaign finances.

“We’re very encouraged that our report has had some impact in the cities and in the county,” Stern said. “We’re encouraged by the quick response.”