FUND-RAISER WATCH : It’s Not Just Politics

Truth in advertising can be hard to come by in political campaigns.

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., named for the late tax fighter who won passage of Proposition 13, the property tax reduction initiative, this week was found guilty of violating the state Political Reform Act by not reporting some of the money it raised and spent in a campaign after Jarvis’ death in 1986. Orange County Superior Court Judge Donald E. Smallwood fined the Jarvis group $300,000 for the civil violation.

Luckily for the public, the judge lifted a sewer lid to expose corrupt fund-raising. Understandably, he was frustrated by his inability to do more than impose a fine because the case was filed under a narrow state law and by a private citizen, not a government agency.

Court testimony showed that in a number of Jarvis group campaigns, the Butcher-Forde consulting organization issued appeals to reduce debt when no debt existed. Smallwood said those receiving the letters “were in many cases being hoodwinked and taken advantage of.” Court files showed that many contributors were elderly people who feared tax increases.

Money sent to campaign committees often was turned over to the Jarvis group, which used it to pay Butcher-Forde millions of dollars. The consultants were not found guilty of anything, but it should go without saying that fund raisers must not mislead the public. Authorities should vigorously pursue cases such as this one, not write them off as “just politics.” At their center lies the vital matter of public trust.