Donation Limits Don’t Apply to Charter Panel Race, State Rules

The state’s political watchdog agency ruled Thursday that campaign limits do not apply to the candidates for a panel that could rewrite the city’s 72-year-old charter, opening the door for massive contributions from wealthy politicians and unions.

The Fair Political Practices Commission’s decision means that the 52 candidates vying for the 15-member panel can receive unlimited contributions from city labor unions, business groups and wealthy politicians like Mayor Richard Riordan, a multimillionaire who has backed the reform effort with his money and political clout.

Stunned city ethics officials and campaign reform advocates called the decision legally flawed and asked the agency’s lawyers to reconsider it.

“It would be a fund-raising free-for-all,” said Elizabeth Lambe, a spokeswoman for Common Cause, the nonprofit group that co-sponsored Proposition 208, the campaign finance reform measure adopted by voters in November. Under that measure, Lambe said candidates would be limited to accepting contributions of up to $250.

But Steven G. Churchwell, the Fair Political Practices Commission general counsel who issued the ruling, stood by his decision after a hastily called meeting with his staff, an agency spokesman said.

“The decision was not lightly made,” spokesman Gary Huckaby said. “The [ruling] reflects our interpretation of the law, and it is unfortunate there is a disagreement with the Ethics Commission.”

However, political pundits and others argued that the decision comes too late in the campaign--13 days before the April 8 election--to make a big difference in the outcome.

The legal dispute involves Proposition 8, a Riordan-backed measure that asks voters to create a panel to rewrite the 680-page document that acts as the city’s constitution. At the same time, the measure asks voters to choose the panel members.

The three-page opinion by Churchwell points out that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that contribution limits may not be applied to ballot measure campaigns.

Churchwell argues that the reform candidates are integrally tied to Proposition 8 and therefore campaign limits do not apply to the candidates as well. He compared it to recall measures, which ask voters to choose candidates to replace the elected officials being recalled. Campaign limits do not apply to recall efforts.

Although the candidates can accept and spend as much as they want, Churchwell said they must disclose all their campaign contributions.

City election officials and supporters of Proposition 208 said they have no chance of overturning the decision because the appointed commissioners do not meet until April 9, one day after the city election.

“That doesn’t do very much for us,” said Rebecca Avila, executive director of the city’s Ethics Commission.

Avila, Common Cause and City Councilman Mike Feuer, a leading campaign reform advocate, all sent letters and phone calls to Churchwell on Thursday, protesting the decision.

“We disagree strongly with this conclusion, and we request that you take immediate action to rescind this,” Avila said in the letter.

A spokesman for Riordan said the mayor does not plan to change his campaign strategy.

“We think this decision came pretty late in the game to change any strategies,” said Rick Taylor, a political consultant working on the reform campaign.

A spokeswoman for the city’s largest labor union said her group could not raise enough money in the next 13 days to make a difference.

The Churchwell opinion came in response to a letter by Carey Davidson, a Los Angeles attorney working along with political consultant Harvey Englander to raise money for a slate of charter reform candidates.

Englander was under investigation by the city’s Ethics Commission last month for a fund-raising event for reform candidates that Common Cause officials said violated Proposition 208 limits.

The state decision appears to clear Englander of any wrongdoing because the ruling lifts all campaign limits for charter reform candidates.

“It’s always nice to hear someone say, ‘Harvey is right,’ ” Englander said.