Councilman Wants to Put Reins on Cost of Campaigns : Ordinance: Alan S. Lowenthal is proposing to limit contributions and provide for some public funding in the city’s elections.

Mayor Ernie Kell, a wealthy man and prodigious fund-raiser, spent $587,000 to win reelection against veteran Councilman Thomas J. Clark.

The mayor collected handsomely from political action committees, corporations and individuals. And he lent $278,000 of his own money to his campaign.

When all was said and done, Kell outspent his opponent 3 to 1.

Noting that race and other high-spending contests, Councilman Alan S. Lowenthal has introduced a campaign reform measure to lower the cost of campaigning in Long Beach.

The measure calls for partial public financing for candidates who agree to limit their spending. It also would discourage candidates from spending large amounts of their own money by restricting their ability to recover the cash with post-election fund-raisers.

In addition, the councilman wants to reduce the influence of special-interest groups by imposing limits on campaign contributions.

“I want to decrease the general advantage of incumbents and to increase the opportunity for all serious candidates to run,” Lowenthal said.

The measure has drawn the support of Long Beach Area Citizens Involved (LBACI) and local chapters of the League of Women Voters and Common Cause. No organized opposition has surfaced.

The City Council is to consider the measure Dec. 21. It could approve the reforms or decide to put the issue before Long Beach voters. Regardless, any changes would not affect April’s municipal election.

Kell set a record in 1990 for spending in a Long Beach election. But campaign spending in Long Beach has been escalating since the mid-1970s, according to the California Commission on Campaign Financing, a private, bipartisan organization.

The average council candidate in the mid-1970s spent $5,000 to $10,000 on an election bid, the commission found. That figure jumped to nearly $25,000 in 1986.

One race that year epitomized the escalation.

Councilwoman Jan Hall had defeated Jim Serles in 1982 to hold onto her District 3 seat in the city’s affluent southeast. Serles, the former Chamber of Commerce president, was back four years later, armed for battle with Hall.

Serles raised $96,000, but he was still unable to catch the councilwoman, who raised $111,000 and won the race by a slender margin.

The commission attributed the escalation in campaign spending to developer contributions. The city’s redevelopment program and other economic opportunities provided an incentive for developers to try to win friends at City Hall, the commission said.

In an attempt to limit the influence of large donors, Lowenthal has proposed putting a limit on contributions. Individuals, PACs and corporations could give only $250 per council candidate in primary elections, which are held by district. If a race goes to a runoff, a donor could give another $250.

The limits for a mayoral race would be higher since it is a citywide contest--$500 for a primary election and $500 for a runoff.

The contribution limits would affect big fund-raisers the most. Kell, for example, got donations up to $9,000 from political action committees. However, even Lowenthal received several sizable donations, including a $1,500 contribution from LBACI, during his 1992 campaign.

Many who have raised large sums or made large donations do not oppose the limits. Kell said he supports the measure.

And the president of the Long Beach Police Officers Assn., which routinely contributes more than $1,000 to candidates, said it sounds like a positive step.

“If it’s an even playing field, we don’t have any problem with it,” said association President Paul Chastain.

But the public financing element of Lowenthal’s proposal has received a cool reception in some quarters. The money would come from donations, and if residents did not donate enough, the city would have to make up the difference.

To be eligible for public funds, council candidates would have to agree to limit their spending to $40,000 in a primary and $20,000 in a runoff.

Mayoral candidates would have to agree to a $200,000 spending limit in a primary and a $100,000 cap in a runoff.

These caps include the share of public funding. The public money would cover up to one-third of a candidate’s spending in a primary and pay up to half the bill in a runoff.

The city would use utility bills to solicit donations for a public campaign fund. Lowenthal estimates the cost of public campaign financing at 52 cents per citizen per year.

He said public financing would make elections more fair by leveling spending. It also would enable qualified candidates who would have been put off by the high cost of campaigning to seek office.

“Considering the importance of having fair elections, it would be money very well spent,” Lowenthal said.

But some say a good politician should be able to benefit from his fund-raising skills. In addition, they say the city’s money could be better used to pay for more police or other services.

“Public funding of political campaigns is wrong,” Councilman Les Robbins said. “I don’t think the city can afford it. Which beat cop do they want to eliminate, which library program do they want to close?” Robbins asked.

Opponents also point out that underfunded challengers, including Lowenthal, have been able to win. Lowenthal unseated Councilman Wallace Edgerton in 1992 even though Edgerton spent about twice as much as Lowenthal.

The other key element of Lowenthal’s proposal seeks to discourage a candidate from pouring money into his own campaign. The measure would allow candidates to lend their campaigns up to $20,000 in council races and up to $50,000 in mayoral contests. Contributions exceeding those amounts could not be recovered through post-election fund-raising.

Kell, who is gearing up for his reelection campaign next year, said he is never too concerned about recovering money he has lent to his campaign. He still has $231,000 in outstanding loans to his 1990 campaign, according to disclosure statements.

“I never expected to get the money,” Kell said. “Some people decide to buy a big, fancy car, a nice boat. I decide to spend it that way.”