Supervisors Back Limits on Contributions : Campaigns: Maria VanderKolk’s plan says candidates for county office could get up to $1,000 per person and $2,400 per committee.

A campaign contribution limit drafted by first-term Supervisor Maria VanderKolk that applies to anyone running for county office won tentative approval Tuesday from the Ventura County Board of Supervisors.

The measure, the first contribution limit adopted in the county, was supported by Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury, California Common Cause and the Voters Coalition of Ventura.

The limit, which will be formally adopted next week and take effect July 18, prohibits candidates from receiving more than $1,000 from an individual or business over a four-year election period and $2,400 from a political committee.

The total limit would be split between the primary and general elections. Candidates can receive up to $750 from individuals and businesses for a primary election and $250 for a general election, and up to $1,800 from committees for a primary and $600 for a general election.

The measure also requires candidates to report all contributions, no matter how small, to election officials. State law requires candidates to report only contributions of $100 or more.

In addition to the five supervisors, the measure would apply to other countywide elected officials such as the superintendent of schools, the clerk, the district attorney, the sheriff, the auditor, the treasurer and tax collector, and the assessor.

VanderKolk, a political newcomer who last year unseated Madge L. Schaefer, said she drafted the measure because she felt that a majority of the public believes that politicians are heavily influenced by large contributions from special interest groups.

“Americans no longer believe they can have an impact on politics,” she said.

During her campaign against Schaefer, VanderKolk raised $11,789, including $1,000 from her father and $2,000 from the owners of Patagonia Inc., a politically active clothing manufacturer in Ventura, according to financial statements.

After the election, VanderKolk announced that she would accept no campaign contribution larger than $250 per person.

In an interview last week, Supervisor Maggie Erickson Kildee said she believed that the limit was not necessary. However, Erickson Kildee, a 10-year veteran of the board, said on Tuesday that VanderKolk persuaded her to support the measure to restore voter confidence in the electoral system.

“I’m chagrined to think that youth might be wiser than old age or, as I like to call it, experience,” she said.

In an interview after the supervisors’ meeting, Bradbury said he will write letters to each city in the county to urge city councils to adopt campaign contribution limits similar to the VanderKolk measure.

Last year, Oxnard Councilwoman Dorothy Maron proposed voluntary limits on campaign spending in that city. However, the measure was rejected by other council members, who said it was unconstitutional.

Although Supervisor Vicky Howard said she supports the measure, she said she is worried that the proposed limit may be challenged in court. She suggested that the board form a subcommittee to study the legality of the measure and other questions.

“This is a very complex issue,” she said. “It is not as easy as apple pie and motherhood.”

Last year, a federal judge overturned Proposition 73, a campaign contribution limit that prohibits state and local candidates from receiving more than $1,000 from individuals and $5,000 from political committees during any fiscal year.

VanderKolk’s limit would not apply to campaign contributions raised before the measure takes effect and does not limit a candidate from spending his or her own money.

As originally drafted by VanderKolk, the measure would have limited candidates to an annual limit of $250 from individuals and $650 from a committee. VanderKolk said she modified the proposal to extend over four years to give challengers the same opportunity of raising money as incumbents.