(Pacific Grove, Calif) September 6, 2006 — The Pacific Grove City Council gave final approval to adopting Monterey County’s first Campaign Finance Reform law. It is also seems to be the World’s first law to include Civil Bribery.
The vote was 5-2 with Lisa Bennett moving adoption joined by Dan Davis, Scott Miller, Susan Nilmeier and Dan Cort (though Cort tried to delay or kill it until he saw it would pass in spite of his efforts). Voting against it were Susan Goldbeck and Ron Schenk.
In February 2006, newly appointed Councilwoman Lisa Bennett agendized creating a committee to prepare a Campaign Finance Reform law. The Council voted 6-1 (Ron Shenk dissenting) to create such a committee.
The committee included (in alphabetical order) Councilwoman Lisa Bennett, David Dilworth (of HOPE), Councilman Scott Miller, Craig Riddell (Businesses) and Robin Tokmakian (representing League of Women Voters).
After six months of meetings and many drafts, the city committee recommended a systematic, yet short and simple, Campaign Finance Reform law appropriate for Pacific Grove.
On August 17, 2006 the Council gave the first of two needed approvals for this to become law. With only token opposition from the Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce, the Council voted 5 – 2, with only Susan Goldbeck and Ron Shenk voting against the law.
Councilwoman Lisa Bennett, who introduced this law in February, made the motion to approve it. Former Police Chief Scott Miller , who served on the Pacific Grove City Committee to draft this ordinance for the Council seconded the motion and made it clear that the City HAS experienced problems with campaign money harmfully influencing city decisions.
Dan Davis led the discussion on each of a dozen provisions to take Council straw votes to build a final shape to the complex and notably Non-controversial ordinance. Voting in favor of the law were Lisa Bennett, Scott Miller, Dan Davis, Susan Nilmeier and Dan Cort.
The new law combines several of the best provisions used in other cities. The provisions this law brings together include —
1. Only People Can Contribute to Candidates.
This is the “Can’t Vote – Can’t Contribute” part. Organizations will no longer be able contribute to a candidate’s campaign. Organizations means corporations, businesses, unions, and any other group. Just like voting – only living breathing people can participate.
Contrary to what the Chamber of Commerce has claimed business PEOPLE can contribute, just not businesses. The vital distinction, illuminated by Councilwoman Lisa Bennett, is that people have Constitutional Rights – and businesses and corporations do not.
2. Disqualification on Contributor’s Projects – Halting “Civil Bribery”
a) No elected official can vote on a project where a contributor to his/her campaign (of $250 or more) will make more money on the project than the general public would benefit.
b) The mirror version (the Edith Johnsen provision) is also true —
After an elected official has voted on a project, no one can contribute to that elected official who has financially benefited from that vote. (by $250 or more – and the contrbutor must have benefited differently than the general public).
Many California cities and counties have adopted one or the other of the two provisions described above, but Pacific Grove is the first city we can find to adopt both.
3. Modest Contribution Limits
No person can contribute more than $500 to any candidate in any single campaign.
Current state law has no limits. So, up until ordinance adoption it would be fully legal for convicted Enron executive Jeffrey Skilling, convicted congressional briber Jack Abramoff or Tom Delay to contribute a million dollars ($1,000,000) to any local election campaign. Pacific Grove’s new law would greatly restrict this.
4. Must Collect Contributor Information BEFORE Depositing Check.
While collecting this information is already required by state law, it is widely ignored, and rarely enforced. Cities that have adopted this provision have found greatly increased compliance with state law.
https://1hope.org/cfrpg.htm