No Action Expected in Irvine Campaign Probe

City officials likely will not pursue allegations that the Irvine Conservancy violated local campaign finance laws, effectively ending the probe, City Atty. Joel Kuperberg said.

The issue arose in February after city officials questioned some contributions and expanded in March after Sally Anne Sheridan, the unsuccessful candidate in the November 1996 mayoral election, complained about possible violations of the local campaign finance ordinance.

City officials referred the complaints to the Orange County district attorney’s office to avoid possible conflicts of interest. In July, county prosecutors decided against taking action.

“We explained to them that we believed it was best pursued under the city ordinance, and as a result we were sending it back to them,” said Guy Ormes, an Orange County deputy district attorney. “The district attorney’s office was not going to file charges based on their ordinances. If they believed there was some conflict, we recommended they find independent counsel.”

Kuperberg said Monday that he reported that decision to Mayor Christina L. Shea, the City Council and the city manager, but has received no further directions.

“I’m not anticipating the city will take any action,” Kuperberg said.

The conservancy was accused of failing to follow reporting requirements related to the distribution of a mailer backing Shea and other candidates and of accepting donations from five supporters--including former Irvine Mayor Larry Agran, UC Irvine professor Mark Petracca and Christopher B. Mears, a lawyer--that exceeded legal limits.

Conservancy officials, though, said they followed all the pertinent reporting requirements. And, they said, donations credited to Agran, Petracca and Mears should have been credited to them and their spouses, which would keep them from exceeding the limits. Conservancy officials offered to amend finance reports to reflect that. A fourth donation by computer programmer Stephen C. Smith, they said, was intended to benefit several candidates, and thus fell well below the limit for supporting any one candidate.

Conservancy officials said in a letter to the city that donations from one supporter, accountant Robert H. Lavietes, “may have exceeded the limitations” and that they would refund the excess amount to bring the donations into compliance, as called for under the ordinance.

Kuperberg said he doubts the complaints will be pursued further.

“My understanding is the conservancy has taken some further actions to pay everybody who had over-contributed down to the point where they are below the threshold,” Kuperberg said. “My sense is that the city doesn’t have any interest in expending money enforcing it. It’s been fixed as much as it could be fixed.”