Council Considers Campaign Finance Reform

The City Council agreed Tuesday night that campaign finance recommendations, including enacting term limits, creating an ethics commission and considering a directly elected mayor, deserve further study.

On a unanimous vote, the council asked city staffers and an outside lawyer to give the topics a complete analysis, looking at both feasibility and cost.

The recommendations are distinct from a campaign finance reform ordinance approved earlier this month, but they are designed to work hand in hand with that law, which includes a $250 contribution limit.

Councilwoman Judy Lazar said the recommendations seemed to have community interest.

“All of these issues are issues that obviously took a lot of care and consideration by the members of the [campaign finance reform] committee,” she said. “I thank them. I don’t necessarily agree with all of their recommendations, but they certainly deserve further review.”

Councilwoman Elois Zeanah concurred.

“I certainly support an ethics commission as part of campaign reform,” said Zeanah, who has tried without success to curb the influence of money on local politics. “I certainly support campaign finance reform.”

The decision came only after council members grilled campaign finance reform committee co-chairman Jim Bruno about whether an independent ethics commission could ever be unbiased or affordable.

“I have real concerns about the ability of this group to remain non-politicized . . ., “ Lazar said. “I think, no matter what, [the commission] is going to be another target for accusations.”

Bruno countered that there had to be at least five “respected elders” in the community that all council members could agree belonged on such an ethics commission.

In the end, the council agreed to put aside its concerns and give the recommendations a closer look.

Hoping to restore public confidence in the city’s divisive election politics, a citizens committee hammered out the law and the recommendations over a two-month period earlier this year.

While the law dealt with immediately attainable goals--such as the contribution limit--the recommendations to be studied address thornier issues such as:.

* Establishing a nonpartisan ethics commission to enforce the reform ordinance, investigate campaign wrongdoing and mete out fines and punishment.

* Providing council candidates with free television time on the city’s public access channel if they meet all campaign filing requirements.

* Switching to a directly elected mayor, rather than having council members rotate into the seat.

* Limiting council members to two terms in office in the hopes of fostering more grass-roots participation in politics.