Appeals Court Upholds Campaign Financing Law

A state appellate court has upheld the city of Los Angeles’ plan to partially finance political campaigns with taxpayer dollars under Proposition H, the ethics reform law approved by voters last year.

The law had been challenged by state Sen. Quentin Kopp (I-San Francisco), Assembly Minority Leader Ross Johnson (R-La Habra) and City Councilman Ernani Bernardi, who argued that public financing of political campaigns was barred by Proposition 73--the state’s campaign reform measure approved by voters in 1988. Provisions of that measure, sponsored by Kopp and Johnson, ban public financing of campaigns.

The state’s 2nd District Court of Appeal ruling, handed down late Tuesday in Los Angeles, clears the way for the city to spend an estimated $2 million a year in matching funds for candidates for City Council, city controller, city attorney and mayor who agree to limit their overall campaign expenditures. The panel split 2 to 1 on the issue.

City Councilman Michael Woo, who championed the city ballot measure, said, “It’s a defeat for the status quo, it’s a defeat for special interests and victory for good guys.”

Kopp said he had not yet read the decision and was “mystified” as to how the justices could have reached their conclusion.

Bernardi said, “We’re going all the way to the (state) Supreme Court” to resolve what he said were conflicting appellate court decisions on Proposition 73’s jurisdiction.

Last year, another state appellate court struck down a Sacramento County public campaign finance law, ruling that Proposition 73 should extend to local jurisdictions.

But Justices H. Walter Croskey and Joan D. Klein of the 2nd District concluded that “the decision by the voters of the city of Los Angeles to expend city funds to partially finance political campaigns . . . is a matter of purely local concern and is not invalidated by contrary general state law.”

Anthony S. Alperin, the assistant city attorney who argued Los Angeles’ case, said, “We’re pleased with the ruling and feel the court reached the correct result.” And, he acknowledged, “We would expect that the petitioners will seek review at the Supreme Court.”

Besides public campaign financing, Proposition H granted the mayor and City Council members a substantial pay raise, placed restraints on the outside income that elected officials can earn and restricted the activities of lobbyists. The measure also created a commission to oversee new ethics and campaign financing laws.

Proposition 73 was a campaign reform measure that limited individual contributions to campaign funds, restricted transfers of funds among candidates’ campaigns and banned public financing of political campaigns.