Campaign Limit Issue to Appear on Ballot

The Ventura City Council agreed Monday to place a campaign limit initiative on the November ballot, saying organizers will not have to prove widespread support for the measure by gathering the requisite number of signatures.

The request for the council to place the initiative on the ballot--without a petition drive--came from Councilman Steve Bennett, who first proposed the idea of local campaign limits.

Generally, supporters must gather thousands of signatures from registered voters to qualify a measure for the city ballot. But the council also has the power to place a measure on the ballot simply by giving its approval.

Bennett took a similar proposal to the council in December, but the item lost on a 2-4 vote, with Bennett and Councilman Gary Tuttle voting in favor, and Councilman Jack Tingstrom absent.

Monday, the council supported the measure 5 to 2, with Mayor Tom Buford and Councilman Gregory L. Carson opposing.

Bennett wrote the initiative with the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, the Sespe Chapter of the Sierra Club and the Voters Coalition of Ventura. The group filed papers with the city clerk to launch the initiative process earlier this month.

The initiative would limit campaign contributions for council candidates to $100 per donor. But if candidates agreed to limit their overall campaign spending to $20,000, under the initiative they could then receive contributions as high as $200 per donor.

The measure will now appear on the November city election ballot.