Santa Ana Police, Firefighters PACs Flouts Campaign Reform, Critics Say : Politics: ‘Independent expenditures’ for candidates they have endorsed are legal. Foes say the unions are skirting the $1,000 campaign limit.

The city’s police and fire associations are spending tens of thousands of dollars on behalf of the candidates they endorse, a shift in political strategy that critics say skirts the intention of new campaign contribution caps.

Instead of making campaign contributions, the political action committees that represent police officers and firefighters are spending money for the candidates, printing and sending political mailers and buying lumber for candidates’ yard signs, records show.

Police and fire officials said they make “independent expenditures” without the cooperation of candidates--in compliance with state law. Letting the public know which candidates they endorse is a valuable public service, they say.

“We’ve had hundreds of people ask us: ‘Tell us how to vote. Tell us who is pro law enforcement,’ ” said Don Blankenship, president of the Police Officers Assn.

But critics say the tactic takes advantage of a legal loophole and flouts the intent of the city election reform law that went into effect last year, capping contributions at $1,000.

The law is an attempt to keep politicians from being influenced by campaign contributors, and requires that elected officials abstain for one year from voting on matters that could benefit any contributor who gives $250 or more.

By making independent expenditures, however, the unions continue to spend thousands on candidates who later vote on police and fire labor contracts if they win.

“There are many of us who have tried to raise the flag and said, ‘Don’t you see what has happened here? We have inadvertently given the police and fire associations the keys to the city,’ ” said mayoral candidate John M. Raya, who is not endorsed by the groups. “It’s a pretty clear way of circumventing the intent of the campaign reform process, and it’s too bad.”

Santa Ana’s unions are not alone in deploying the tactic. Election reform watchdogs said independent expenditures have increased statewide in response to contribution caps.

“Contribution limits are important, but they don’t solve the whole problem. When you step on a bubble in one place, a bubble pops up someplace else,” said Ruth Holton, executive director of the Sacramento-based California Common Cause. “People obviously find ways that they can continue to influence the political process. I think it’s a real problem.”

Independent expenditures are legal as long as they are made without the candidates’ “cooperation, coordination, assistance or advice,” said Jeanette Turvill, a spokeswoman with the state Fair Political Practices Commission.

That means they cannot pose for mailer photos or contribute information about their records for the use in mailers, she said.

Police and fire unions have both endorsed known leaders in the 17-candidate field, supporting councilman and mayoral candidate Miguel A. Pulido Jr., and incumbent council members Robert L. Richardson and Patricia A. McGuigan. They have also endorsed council candidate Alberta Christy in a race with no incumbents.

As of Oct. 26, the political arm of the Firemen’s Benevolent Assn. reported spending $34,492--more than $20,000 of it on printing, postage and signs for the four candidates. The association’s consultant, Debra Fritz, said Friday that she planned to report an additional $10,000 worth of mailer expenses that the group has since made.

Fritz said the firefighters association has always spent money on mailers, even when the union was able to contribute unlimited sums to candidates. The spending increased significantly this year, she said, because the union sent out additional mailers after two unendorsed candidates’ distributed mailers featuring pictures of firefighters.

As of Friday, the police officers’ political action committee reported spending more than $85,800, at least $33,500 on the four city candidates.

For the first time this year, the group’s PAC has hired a political consulting firm, Ashland Wooldridge and Pierson of Santa Ana, to mount a campaign on behalf of the endorsed candidates, Blankenship said. With the independent expenditures, police have become more involved in this year’s campaign, he said.

“Like a lot of people, we thought (the contribution caps) were going to hinder groups like us who want to get the pro-police people in office,” Blankenship said of the reform law.

“When we took a second look at it, we realized that actually you can do more for your candidates this way. The cops now become more involved with the candidate and the campaign, to a certain extent. I think in actuality it may have pushed our stock up.”

However, some residents criticize the unions’ involvement.

“I think the way it’s being done, they’re stretching the interpretation of an independent expenditure,” said John Acosta, a former city councilman who helped draft the election reform law. “The way the police and fire have gone about it, I just think it’s a way to beat the system.”

Fritz turned away the criticism that the unions are buying favors.

“What can the council do for us? Give us raises? Look at the contract firefighters signed off on this year,” she said. “Zero salary increase. Zero. Zip. Zilch.”

Political Spending The amounts of money spent by the political arms of the Santa Ana Police Officers and the Santa Ana Firemen’s Benevolent associations have increased over past election years. Rather than provide candidates with direct cash contributions, this year the unions are independently spending money on behalf of the candidates. The dollar figures reflect total political activity expenditures for the year listed, not just money spent on city races. *

Police Officers Political Action Committee 1990: $20,700 1992: $44,359 1994: $85,825 *

Santa Ana Firemen’s Legislative Action Group 1990: $21,663 1992: $17,635 1994: $34,492 Note: 1991 and 1993 were not election years. Source: Campaign statements; Researched by LEE ROMNEY / Los Angeles Times