Escondido doubles campaign contribution limit
By: DAVID GARRICK - Staff Writer | ∞
ESCONDIDO -- The City Council voted 3-2 Wednesday night to double the maximum campaign contribution an individual can make to candidates for mayor and seats on the council.
Citing the need to keep up with inflation, the council amended Escondido's campaign finance ordinance to increase the maximum contribution from $250 to $500.
Councilmen Ed Gallo, Dick Daniels and Sam Abed said the change was long overdue, explaining that the city has not increased the maximum campaign contribution since the $250 threshold was established in 1983.
To avoid a similar lag in the future, the new ordinance also includes automatic hikes every two years patterned after increases in the consumer price index.
"Using the CPI will keep us from having to come back to this in another 25 years," said Daniels.
Doubling the contribution limit was opposed by Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler and Councilwoman Marie Waldron.
Pfeiler said the change would unfairly help incumbents by making fundraising harder for challengers, who often struggle with name recognition.
"It is difficult for challengers to get someone to write a check for $250, let alone $500," said Pfeiler.
Waldron said the change might make local elections so expensive that "working class" residents could not afford to run. She also said elected officials become less responsive to a broad coalition of voters when they can rely on a smaller number of big donors to fund their campaigns.
But Abed said the increase was really only restoring the limits that city officials had intended in 1983, because $500 in 2007 is worth roughly the same as $250 in 1983.
Abed said his inflation calculations indicate the new maximum should be $505 if the city wants to mimic the buying power that $250 had 24 years ago.
He also said the number of voters in the city has jumped from about 38,000 to 48,000 since 1983, which requires candidates to hang more posters and send out more direct mail.
Abed said he does not expect the higher contribution limit to significantly alter local elections by flooding them with "big money." He also suggested that challengers might benefit more than incumbents, because they need money to promote their ideas and become well-known to voters.
The changes were prompted by a request last month from the Escondido Chamber of Commerce.
Jerry Kaufman, a member of the chamber's board of directors and a former Escondido councilman, said Wednesday that $500 to $1,000 is the proper range for the city's maximum donation.
"You know how hard it is to raise funds," he told the council.
The council rejected Kaufman's request to add another amendment to the ordinance allowing cash donations. Kaufman said cash should be allowed because "people don't always walk around with their checkbooks," but the council was not persuaded.
But the council did approve an increase in the amount candidates can loan to their own campaign, from $20,000 to $100,000. Assistant City Attorney Jennifer McCain, who wrote up the amended ordinance, said that change was made in order to align city limits with state limits.
But Waldron objected, contending that the city had no obligation to match the state's maximum loan amount.
"I think $20,000 is more appropriate for a local election," she said.
In other business, the council rejected a proposal from the city's Library Task Force to consider building a new main library in Grape Day Park instead of the main library's current site on Kalmia Street.
The council also ordered a comprehensive study of funding options for the new library, which would cost at least $40 million.
The entire council expressed doubts that the required two-thirds of city voters would support a facilities bond, so they decided to explore what types of grants and private donations might be available.
Contact staff writer David Garrick at (760) 740-5468 or dgarrick@nctimes.com.
More Stories
Advertisement
Bad for Escondido wrote on Sep 13, 2007 7:31 AM:We always get a 3-2 vote on these bad ideas. Makes it look like there was a real discussion of alternatives. This increase in funding just gives more power to the developers and business groups who make money in Escondido from projects which hurt our quality of life. It will now be even easier to get projects such as asphalt plants and high-density condo's (tenements) approved and harder to deal with illegal immigrants since the business interests are only interested in cheap labor and not doing what is right - most of them don't even live in Escondido.
Politics as Usual wrote on Sep 13, 2007 7:34 AM:Politics as usual. The rise was requested by the Chamber of Commerce who are closely aligned with Abed and Gallo who are up for re-election and who pushed for the increases. It doesn't matter if it's local or national, politicians will do whatever is in their best interests and the citizens they serve are an afterthought.
Goodidea wrote on Sep 13, 2007 6:01 PM:The population of Escondido has increased dramatically since the $250 limit was out in place. It costs a lot for a candidate to reach all of the voters that are now in Escondido. A $500 limit is a sensible thing to do in order to allow candidates to reach the voters. Stop all the conspiracy talk, this is a reasonable thing to do.
OMG! wrote on Sep 13, 2007 10:33 PM:I actually agree with Marie Waldron on this one. God save the working class.
Lisa wrote on Sep 18, 2007 1:50 PM:Shame on Gallo & Abed for stacking the cards in their favor. Their motives are transparant. Shame! Shame! Didn't their mothers tell them not to cheat? It's no coincidence that the campaign contributions were proposed for increase (to keep up with "inflation" and the "CPI"), the year before Abed's & Gallo's council term ends!!! Abed says that "his inflation calculations indicate the new maximum should be $505". Is that the same calculator he used to calculate the illegal immigrants in Escondido? Abed & Mathematics - that's a joke! Remember this: "Money is not an issue"...during the rental ban ordinance/lawsuit/fiasco! What? No quote from Mr. Gallo? I think he's trying to keep a low profile and rely on his buddies to vote him into office! In the previous NCT story, Mr. Daniels said it cost him $31,000 for his campaign. I'm sure it did. I sign the huge sign, after huge sign, after huge sign, all within 50 feet of each other. And I saw all the little signs in multiple numbers on every corner of the major intersections. Everywhere I looked I saw his name. And I also saw the extreme waste and the extreme power of multiple huge campaign signs...it gives the false impression that the candidate is really supported by the community - wherein fact the candidate is really supported by people with money! Sure...his signs got him elected and just look at the swarms of average people testifying to his greatness. HA !!! Nice try, Mr. "PR Man" Daniels ("$31,000" - wink, wink). P.S. I sure hope when Gallo & Abed are asking for campaign contributions, people will remember that Gallo & Abed are part of the council that will vote to raise our sewer rates AGAIN!
First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.
Today's Stories
Advertisement
Videos
Advertisement