SANTA ANA : Campaign Reform Plan to Be on Ballot

Voters will decide in November whether to approve a list of proposed campaign reforms that would limit the cost of campaigns for city elections and ballot measures.

The council, with little discussion, voted unanimously Monday to place on the ballot Councilman John Acosta’s proposed reforms, which would limit campaign contributions to $1,000 per source per campaign cycle, and make violations a misdemeanor.

Acosta, whose recent attempts to get other reform measures on the ballot have failed to gain council support, expressed surprise and elation with Wednesday’s decision.

“I couldn’t believe it. I really felt good about that,” he said. “I want to thank them for supporting me on these issues, (but) I think it’s what the public wants anyway. The public wants campaign reform, no question about it.”

He said that the measures, if passed, would encourage more people to run for office and offer voters a wider range of choices. Also, by having its own regulations governing contribution limits, the city would not have to rely on state officials to address campaign violations.

“It will make it easy for the little guy who always had a desire to run for office. Campaign limitations give him a better opportunity to compete for that position. And this way, if there’s a violation, we know up front what the violation is going to bring in terms of a penalty,” Acosta said.

The measures would limit to one the number of campaign committees a candidate may have in running for a council or mayoral seat. Acosta said the reforms are necessary to reduce the skyrocketing costs of local campaigns, which he said start at $200,000 for a mayoral campaign and $100,000 for a council campaign or a ballot-measure fight.

The changes would also limit the potential for disguising funding sources and illegal contributions, he said.

Acosta added that although the council has rejected his other reform proposals, which include a switch to district rather than at-large elections, he is now attempting to gather enough voter signatures to get them on the ballot.