Politics
Financing reforms are subject of public forum
Municipal campaign issue takes center stage as officials address topic with the City Council.
By Jason Wells
SOUTHWEST GLENDALE — Municipal campaign reform took center stage at Fire Station 21 Wednesday evening, with regional elections officials fielding questions during a forum as the City Council readies to tackle the issue.
At issue is the ability of incumbents to raise more money and outspend their first-time counterparts in elections that have become increasingly expensive in a city that has no contribution limits.
The regulatory void has in recent years produced campaigns that have spent more than $200,000 in a bid for a seat on the five-member City Council.
The four-member panel, sponsored by the League of Women Voters Glendale-Burbank chapter, was comprised mostly of strong proponents of donor limits 10 months after the City Council first called for a report from the city attorney on how it might introduce some sort of reform to the electoral system here.
“I hope they’ll hear from the citizens because the citizens do support campaign finance reform,” said Robert Stern, president of the Los Angeles-based Center for Governmental Studies and former general counsel for the state Fair Political Practices Commission.
Nearly 30 people attended the forum, many of them longtime advocates for campaign finance reform.
While almost all City Council members have expressed varying levels of interest in capping campaign donations as a way to level the playing field for incumbents challengers, just how far each is willing to go remains to be seen.
Mayor John Drayman, who in 2007 beat out incumbent Rafi Manoukian, has been a strong proponent of comprehensive finance reform, and Councilman Bob Yousefian has pledged to not accept contributions from employee unions for his reelection bid in 2009.
The potentially thorny issue also comes just months before the fall campaign season, which in addition to Yousefian will see Councilmen Frank Quintero and Ara Najarian vie for reelection.
All three have already begun raising funds for reelection; Najarian and Yousefian already have more than $34,000 cash in hand, according disclosure forms filed with the city clerk’s office.
After calling for the initial report in August, the City Council in January directed the city attorney’s office to explore possible regulations that could have a far-reaching, dampening effect on what has become an expensive municipal electoral process.
The 2007 election was one of the, if not the most, expensive campaign seasons of all time, records show. But even campaign war chests that exceeded $150,000 did not guarantee victory.
Former Councilman Rafi Manoukian lost his seat to Drayman even after spending nearly $220,000 on donations of more than $150,000 in the filing period between Jan. 1 and June 30, according to campaign disclose forms.
While many of the contributions made in Glendale range between $200 and $600, donations that reach past $1,500 have become more commonplace.
The unprecedented flow of money pushed the issue of reform to the forefront after Drayman’s upset over Manoukian, but has since taken a back seat to other agenda items, including a change to the absentee ballot application process, uproar over the Indigenous Tree Ordinance and an overhaul of the design review process.
The lag time was extended even further in March when, despite a finished report from the city attorney, the League of Women Voters requested additional time to organize and hold the public education forum.
LeeAnn Pellham, executive director of the voter-created Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, made it clear that campaign finance reform would have to be comprehensive and have an equally substantial effort to enforce and facilitate the changes.
Her commission oversees and monitors elections on a comparatively massive scale in Los Angeles, with a 31-member staff that invokes the power of financial penalty to keep candidates in check through audits and strict reporting requirements.
The City Council there also funds an incentive-based campaign finance program with $2 million annually from the general fund, she said.
Challenges in putting the brakes on freewheeling campaign contributions also extend beyond logistics. Incumbents are often slow to push change, Stern said.
And if the changes are meant to affect the same election seasons in which they are implemented, politics can dull regulatory teeth, panelists warned.
Stern and Garen Yegparian, former campaign treasurer for Burbank Mayor Marsha Ramos — who said he was planning on a run for the City Council there — said forming regulations that will go in effect for the proceeding election cycle would ease the politicking.
“It takes the pressure off,” Stern said.
“It’s tough change.”
But the City Council has a track record of tackling contentious issues over the past year, and with the report tentatively scheduled for a May 27 debut, it appears to be on the same track.
Drayman, for one, said Wednesday that he was anxious to put the issue under development given the long wait.
JASON WELLS covers City Hall. He may be reached at (818) 637-3235 or by e-mail at jason.wells@latimes.com.
At issue is the ability of incumbents to raise more money and outspend their first-time counterparts in elections that have become increasingly expensive in a city that has no contribution limits.
The regulatory void has in recent years produced campaigns that have spent more than $200,000 in a bid for a seat on the five-member City Council.
The four-member panel, sponsored by the League of Women Voters Glendale-Burbank chapter, was comprised mostly of strong proponents of donor limits 10 months after the City Council first called for a report from the city attorney on how it might introduce some sort of reform to the electoral system here.
“I hope they’ll hear from the citizens because the citizens do support campaign finance reform,” said Robert Stern, president of the Los Angeles-based Center for Governmental Studies and former general counsel for the state Fair Political Practices Commission.
Nearly 30 people attended the forum, many of them longtime advocates for campaign finance reform.
While almost all City Council members have expressed varying levels of interest in capping campaign donations as a way to level the playing field for incumbents challengers, just how far each is willing to go remains to be seen.
Mayor John Drayman, who in 2007 beat out incumbent Rafi Manoukian, has been a strong proponent of comprehensive finance reform, and Councilman Bob Yousefian has pledged to not accept contributions from employee unions for his reelection bid in 2009.
The potentially thorny issue also comes just months before the fall campaign season, which in addition to Yousefian will see Councilmen Frank Quintero and Ara Najarian vie for reelection.
All three have already begun raising funds for reelection; Najarian and Yousefian already have more than $34,000 cash in hand, according disclosure forms filed with the city clerk’s office.
After calling for the initial report in August, the City Council in January directed the city attorney’s office to explore possible regulations that could have a far-reaching, dampening effect on what has become an expensive municipal electoral process.
The 2007 election was one of the, if not the most, expensive campaign seasons of all time, records show. But even campaign war chests that exceeded $150,000 did not guarantee victory.
Former Councilman Rafi Manoukian lost his seat to Drayman even after spending nearly $220,000 on donations of more than $150,000 in the filing period between Jan. 1 and June 30, according to campaign disclose forms.
While many of the contributions made in Glendale range between $200 and $600, donations that reach past $1,500 have become more commonplace.
The unprecedented flow of money pushed the issue of reform to the forefront after Drayman’s upset over Manoukian, but has since taken a back seat to other agenda items, including a change to the absentee ballot application process, uproar over the Indigenous Tree Ordinance and an overhaul of the design review process.
The lag time was extended even further in March when, despite a finished report from the city attorney, the League of Women Voters requested additional time to organize and hold the public education forum.
LeeAnn Pellham, executive director of the voter-created Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, made it clear that campaign finance reform would have to be comprehensive and have an equally substantial effort to enforce and facilitate the changes.
Her commission oversees and monitors elections on a comparatively massive scale in Los Angeles, with a 31-member staff that invokes the power of financial penalty to keep candidates in check through audits and strict reporting requirements.
The City Council there also funds an incentive-based campaign finance program with $2 million annually from the general fund, she said.
Challenges in putting the brakes on freewheeling campaign contributions also extend beyond logistics. Incumbents are often slow to push change, Stern said.
And if the changes are meant to affect the same election seasons in which they are implemented, politics can dull regulatory teeth, panelists warned.
Stern and Garen Yegparian, former campaign treasurer for Burbank Mayor Marsha Ramos — who said he was planning on a run for the City Council there — said forming regulations that will go in effect for the proceeding election cycle would ease the politicking.
“It takes the pressure off,” Stern said.
“It’s tough change.”
But the City Council has a track record of tackling contentious issues over the past year, and with the report tentatively scheduled for a May 27 debut, it appears to be on the same track.
Drayman, for one, said Wednesday that he was anxious to put the issue under development given the long wait.
JASON WELLS covers City Hall. He may be reached at (818) 637-3235 or by e-mail at jason.wells@latimes.com.
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