Audits Proposed for Campaign Finances

Citing the potential for money laundering, Ventura City Councilman Steve Bennett wants local officials to consider hiring an accountant to review the campaign financial statements of winning candidates next year.

In the 1997 November election, City Council candidates will have to follow strict new rules on how they report campaign contributions.

Ventura voters last fall overwhelmingly approved a law that limits contributions to $100 from a single source unless a candidate agrees to restrict his or her spending to $20,000. In that case, a candidate can receive no more than $200 from a single source.

The new law is among the toughest in the state, and as a result, Bennett says he expects that candidates will try to launder money into their campaign war chests.

“Evidence shows that when cities institute campaign contribution limits, the temptation to launder money increases tremendously,” said Bennett, author of the restrictive law.

By threatening an audit, candidates would be less likely to break the rules, he said. Audits of the top vote-getters would cost the city a total $5,000 to $10,000, Bennett said.

The Ventura County district attorney’s office already has one of the top political corruption units in the state, said officials at the Fair Political Practices Commission in Sacramento. But Bennett says his proposal differs from the county’s program and provides another layer of protection against corruption.

“I think this D.A. does a good job checking for conflict-of-interest money,” Bennett said. “But our D.A. does not regularly review winning candidates for campaign contribution limits.”

The council will discuss the proposal Monday night.