‘96 Candidates Given Longer to Retire Debt
Candidates in the 1996 city election will have another year to seek contributions for retiring their campaign debt, under City Council action this week.
By voting 4 to 1 to amend the city’s campaign contribution ordinance, the council gave Mayor Linda Lindholm and Councilwoman Mimi Krogius Walters another chance to pay off hefty political debts of more than $40,000.
The city law had allowed candidates to raise as much as $350 per contribution, but the local ordinance was replaced in 1996 by Proposition 208, a state measure that allowed only a $100 maximum donation.
However, the state measure was overturned by the courts in January. Saying that local candidates lost a year of raising money at the higher $350 limit, the council extended the fund-raising period.
The extension was opposed by Councilman Eddie Rose.
“I don’t believe in incurring debt in running a campaign,” he said. “This is a slap in the face of the people of California” who voted for Proposition 208.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
