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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/22/1974MINUTES A.J..Shaw, City Attorney, then reviewed in detail the ordinance under consideration by the City Council at, this time. He reviewed section 4501 which stated the purpose and intent of the ordinance was: I. to place realistic and enforceable limits on the dollar amounts individuals might contribute and candidates might collect and expend in political campaigns in municipal elections; ' 2. To insure and promote integrity, honesty and fairness in the pro- cess of governmental decision making; 3. To insure that funds and services donated to a candidate were used solely for lawful campaign purposes; 4. To insure a level of Iaiscuss.ion of public issues adequate for a viable political campaign by providing voters with the information necessary to make a full assessment of each candidate before voting; ADJOURNED MEETING OF THE CITY COUiJCIL CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA APRIL 22, 1974 - 7 :00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL Pledge Roll Call Present: John C. Brown, Myron Graham, T. Keith Gurnee, Jessee Norris and Mayor Kenneth E. Schwartz City Staff Present: J.H. Fitzpatrick, City Clerk; R.D. Miller, Administra- tive Officer; David Williamson, Assistant Administra- tive Officer; A.J. Shaw, Jr., City Attorney -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. At this time the City Council held a public hearing on the pro - posal to adopt an ordinance providing for the regulation of contributions and expenditures in Municipal Elections. A.J. Shaw, City Attorney, reviewed for the City Council the provisions of the proposed ordinance. He also explained upon question the opinion of the State Attorney General which stated that election control was a statewide concern and that cities.could not enact laws controlling elec- tions and election.procedures. He felt that this did not apply to charter cities and that the opinion only applied to general law cities. He felt that charter cities could enact rules and regulations governing local ' election of municipal officers which was strictly a municipal affair as long as they were more restrictive and not less restrictive than the state law. He continued that Senate Bill 1693, a 1974 legislative pro- posal, which was now before the legislature as an urgency proposition would amend the state law to allow all cities and counties to control elections and to make rules and regulations more stringent than existing state law. He also stated that the Superior Court (in the Newport Beach case) found that the state had not pre- empted the field and that cities could establish election procedures for each city. He also stated that the City of Huntington Beach had also received a favorable decision on an election control ordinance, although, he did note that the decisions in both cases were at the Superior Court level and not at the Aopellate level. Upon question he stated he felt that the City Council could pro- ceed and adopt to election reform ordinance as far as municipal elections were concerned, and he felt that the courts would recognize that this was a municipal affair. A.J..Shaw, City Attorney, then reviewed in detail the ordinance under consideration by the City Council at, this time. He reviewed section 4501 which stated the purpose and intent of the ordinance was: I. to place realistic and enforceable limits on the dollar amounts individuals might contribute and candidates might collect and expend in political campaigns in municipal elections; ' 2. To insure and promote integrity, honesty and fairness in the pro- cess of governmental decision making; 3. To insure that funds and services donated to a candidate were used solely for lawful campaign purposes; 4. To insure a level of Iaiscuss.ion of public issues adequate for a viable political campaign by providing voters with the information necessary to make a full assessment of each candidate before voting; City Council Minutes April 22, 1974 Page 2 5. To provide an opportunity for all citizens to become candidates for public office unhindered by the need to meet exorbitant cam- paign costs; 6. To require full public disclosure of campaign contributions to such campaigns and the purpose and amounts of expenditures in polit- ical campaigns in municipal elections; and 7. To provide full and fair enforcement of all the provisions of the ordinance. He then reviewed the various definitions contributions, how they could be handled, and methods of control. He also reviewed limitation on total campaign expenditures for incumbent office holders and .12¢ per office seekers. as used in the ordinance, reviewed how the candidate could refuse them, section 4506, which placed a to .IOQ per registered voter registered voter for non incumbent He also reviewed for the City Council methods of controlling the campaign expenditures by making the laity Clerk a part of each campaign treasurer or candidates campaign operation in controlling funds received and funds expended by the candidate. He also reviewed the additional campaign statements that would be re- quired, and the fact that the.campaign statements of and contributions to each candidate would be advertised in the newspaper prior to the elec- tion. He also reviewed the duties of the City Clerk in enforcing.the ordinance. Mavor Schwartz stated that he wished to limit discussion to the City Council and staff and then open the meeting for input by the public who were present and wished to speak. . Councilman Gurnee suggested two minor changes in the ordinance prior to publication for clarification of the rules and regulations. Councilman Norris stated that he did not feel that the proposed ordinance could be enforced in light of the Attorney General's opinion that city elections were of statewide concern end that the state had pre- empted the field. Further, he was also opposed to the adoption of this ordinance as he felt it was against the civil rights of the citizens of the City in trying to control their activities in the election process. He felt that the City should continue consideration of this matter until Senate Bill 1693, 1974 Sessions, had been adopted by the legislature. He felt that excusing the allocation of funds for volunteer labor in a campaign state- ment was unfair, and that free labor had some value just as money and that labor should be included in campaign statements forv,fair and equal treat- ment of all candidates. Councilman uoriis then went through the ordinance section by section listing his objections and suggesting changes to the ordinance if.the Council was serious about passing this ordinance. Mavor Schwartz then reviewed several sections of the proposed ordinance asking for clarification of wording and definition. The rest of the Council stated they would hold their comments until after input from the public. Mayor Schwartz then declared the meeting open to the public for their input. City Council Minutes April 22, 1974 Page 3 Mrs. Ghennadeane Dovey, Prisident of the League of Women Voters of the .City of San Luis Obispo, submitted a statement before the City Council in regard to the election campaign contributions and expenditures or- dinance amending the Municipal Code, Article 4. She stated that following t a study of campaign financing by all local leagues in the country last fall, the League of Women Voters of the United States reached a consen- sus which reflected their continued concern for open and honest elections and for maximum citizen participation in the political scene at all levels of government. The League of Women Voters believed that changes must be made in the methods of financing political campaigns in order to make our government more accountable, more representative and more responsive . to all citizens. The goals of a campaign finance system should be to ensure the public's right to know, to combat corruption and undue influence, and to enable candidates to compete more equitably for public office. To achieve these goals, the League,' favored La system_ o_f_ combined _private and public funding and supports measures which: Require full and timely disclosure of all campaign contributions and expenditures; 2. Require each candidate to designate one central committee to co- ordinate, control and report all financial transactions; 3. Limit the size and type of contributions from all sources, in- cluding stringent limits on the use of cash; and 4. Limit to''al ex 'Denditures consistent with full discussion of the issues and adequate_ exposure of the candidates: The League of Women Voters of San Luis Obispo County, therefore, supported those sections of the proposed local election campaign contributions and expenditures control ordinance which deal with disclosure and limitations. However, they did oppose Section 4507 (a), regarding Volunteer Services, as the League of Women Voters supported broad -based citizen involvement in campaigns and believed that 'Dart of the democratic process was to in- volve acitvely as many citizens as possible during an election. Thus, volunteers would be encouraged to give their time and energies to the support'of their favorite candidates without thought or expectation of any monetary remuneration or future - favors. Therefore, the League of Women Voters of San Luis Obispo, CYlifornia, encouraged the Council to consider -,the adoption of the proposed ordinance with the amendment as suggested in Section 4507 (a). Mrs. Arsenio spoke on behalf of a group of citizens, naming 15, who have studied this ordinance as a group and stated they supported the ordinance in its entirety. They also felt that the statement presented by Mrs. Dovey of the League of Women Voters expressed their feelings as well on this matter, and they would not attempt to review the entire items again for the City Council. Mr. Mike Morris, Attorney, spoke in opposition to the City Council con - sidering the adoption of the proposed ordinance as he felt that the 1 existing state law on campaign expenditures was quite comprehensive and should not be further confused with each little city in California adding to the election regulations. He felt that election cost disclosure was good and should be implemented for the purity of elections and would be an asset in future elections. But, he felt that this should be done on a statewide basis and not b / 'a county -by- county or city -by -city action. City Council Minutes April 22, 1974 Page 4 He then reviewed sections that he found questionable or that he op- posed. Sections 4502(3) and 4506(1), he was not in favor of a dollar amount being placed against each registered voter. He also.objected to Section 4506(2), 4508(a), 4510(a3). And finally, he felt the en- tire ordinance as proposed by the City Attorney for the City Council's 1 consideration was in violation of the first amendment of the United States Constitution and did not honestly feel that the City Council could adopt such a document. H. Miossi objected to the requirement of keeping track of volunteers who help in a campaign. He felt that every citizen should help and take.part in the election process. He, too, disagreed with the At- torney General's opinion as he felt that cities had the right to enact laws stricter than State Laws, which controlled their destiny. Finally, he felt that this issue had a strong support of the first amendment, which protected the right of all citizens to make changes in government without spending large sums of money, or.limiting it only to the rich of the community. He was in support of the ordinance with minor wording modifi- cations. William Alexander was in support of the ordinance and felt that limiting expenditures in a city election was a step in the right direction and would avoid the election of wrong persons to office because of the money spent on their behalf. He was in support of limits on the amount of money that could be spent in a city election. Don Sylvia, representing the Public Employee's Council, objected to the limit on the activities of the Public Employees' Association in endorsing candidates for various public offices, particularly City Councils and Supervisors. Don Sylvia had in mind particularly a newsletter put out by a group of Public Employees' Organizations supporting or condemning candidates for public office. A.J. Shaw, City Attorney, felt that this letter was in the nature of a newsletter to the members of the organization who paid dues to that organization and in that nature would not be a campaign document. Finally, Don Sylvia stated that he was opposed to Section 4505(3f) which he felt eliminated his right to work on behalf of candidates who would support his employment with the City -- either the charter was wrong or the proposed ordinance was wrong. Mary Rhodes was in support of the proposed ordinance in an attempt to reform financing of local campaigns for elections. She was opposed to the section requiring the listing of volunteers' time as a financial con- tribution to a campaign. She felt that everyone should take part in every candidate's campaign. Donald Smith was in support of the ordinance, felt the City of San Luis Obispo should take the lead in cleaning up the election process. Mayor Schwartz closed the public hearing and stated that after the break the City Council would again discuss the proposed reform ordinance. 9:25 P.M. recess. 9:40 P.M. the meeting reconvened with all Councilmen present. City Council Minutes April 12, 1974 Page 5 Councilman Gurnee again stated he was in support of the adoption of the ordinance and read the section of the ordinance that provided for the appointment of a committee by the.Council to review the operation of the ordinance following the 1975 City Election, to see if any amend- ' ments are needed. He concluded that he felt the proposed ordinance was fair to all candidates, would protect all candidates, also would assure the voters of full disclosure of who was supporting each candidate. He urged Council to pass ordinance to print. Councilman Norris stated that he was in support of the disclosure pro- visions of the ordinance, but was opposed to sections that take away individual citizens:'. rights protected by the first amendment to the con- stitution. He felt this ordinance took away the public's right to sup- port any candidate of its choice. He felt the ordinance was ambiguously written and unclear, and he felt that if adopted would just not allow good people to run for city office due to confusion of the ordinance. He also felt that the City should not take any action until the Attorney General's opinion has been overturned by the courts. He felt the Council should not pass this ordinance until the state legislature has adopted the law which sould allow the .cities to enact this type of legislation. Councilman Brown felt that this ordinance was unnecessary and was not needed at this time. He agreed with disclosure provisions, but felt that all the detail and procedure was unneeded. He felt San Luis Obispo should follow the state law and not pioneer legislation in this field. He felt the ordinance should be simplified and also to see what comes of the courts or legislature on this subject. He felt that the City of San Luis Obispo would not have an election until 1975 and that would give the courts and legislature an opportunity to make good law for the State of California. Councilman Graham stated he was in support of the ordinance in principal. He felt detail in the election field was needed and that purity of elec- tions was needed nor. He felt that this ordinance should be adopted as amended by the City Council and with public suggestion tonight. Mavor Schwartz felt that election reform was needed and it was being pro- posed at all levels of government, federal right down to city, and he felt that input from the public, staff and council have made progressive amend- ments to make the ordinance much more realistic and workable. He felt that San Luis Obispo should take a leadership role in this field if the majority of the Council felt that this reform were necessary, as he did. He also felt that this ordinance would allow any citizen to run for city elective office without going into debt in order to do so. He also felt the City should pick up the cost of administration of the ordinance if it desired clean elections. He felt that the .10¢ and .1216 per voter was fair to both the incumbent and to the challenger. He felt that the past history of election expense of San Luis Obispo had been much higher than this. He felt with full knowlecge of who was supporting whom in an election the citizens would feel secure that their elections were clean and they would know who supported whom. He suggested that Section 4504 be eliminated, as he felt It was not needed, and with that change he would support the proposed city ordinance. On motion of Councilman Gurnee, seconded by Councilman Graham the following ordinance was introduced and passed to print: ORDINANCE NO. 614 (1974 Series), an ordinance of the City of San Luis Obispo amending the i%9uni- cipal Code by adding Chapter 5 to Article IV, and providing for the regula- tion of contributions and expenditures in Municipal Elections. City Council Minutes April 22, 1974 Page 6 On the following roll call vote: AYES: Councilmen Gurnee, Graham, and 10.ayor Schwartz NOES: Councilman Brown, and Norris ABSENT: None Consent Items: C -I Communication from Pars. Patricia Barlow, Chairwoman, Human Relations Commission, recommended that the City Council approve the appointment of Rev. Orloff Miller as Social Services Coordinator for the balance of the fiscal year 1973/74, with salary effective April 43, 1974. It was the feeling of the Human Relations Commission that the Rev. Miller has had extensive background in working with people and their problems. He holds an A.B. degree in English from Mount Union College in Ohio, and another degree from Boston University and has done additional work in sociology and social ethics. They felt he had excellent letters of reference and they hoped that the City Council would approve his employment from April 23, 1974 to June 30, 1974. Councilman Norris questioned the appointment of the Rev. Orloff Miller as Social Services Coordinator for the City as he felt he was unfit to serve due to his public statements regarding the importance of forma; marriage contracts. R.D. Miller explained the position of Social Services Coordinator for the City was a contract employee and not a full -time employee to the City. He also explained that the period would be to June 30, 1974, the salary he would receive would be $600 per month plus reimbursed ex- penses not to exceed $30 per month. Mrs. Pat Barlow, Chairwoman of the Human Relations Commission, spoke on behalf of the Human Relations Commission's recommendation to ap- point Rev. Miller as Social Services Coordinator for the month of May and June, 1974. She then reviewed the activities that would be under- taken by the Social Services Coordinator. On motion of Councilman Gurnee, seconded by Councilman Graham that the City Council approve the appointment of Rev. Orloff Mit!.er as City Social Services Coordinator for the period April 23, 1974 thru June 30, 1974. Motion carried on the following roll call vote: AYES: Councilman Gurnee, Graham, Brown, and Mayor S&Lwart7 NOES: Councilman Norris ABSENT: None * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Councilman T. Keith Gurnee brought to the Council's at- tention the fact that in studying the placement of bike paths on Los Osos Valley Road between Phase I U 11 of Tract 467, Los Osos Valley Road was being constructed 20 feet narrower through Tract 467 than anywhere else in the City, which he felt was in violation of City standards and requirements as well as in violation of County standards. He continued that if the City allowed this violation to continue it might cost the City great sums of money in the future to acquire land and widen the street. He concluded that in addition there appears to be a conflict with the circulation plans of both the 1 1 1 City Council Minutes April 22, 1974 Page 7 City and the County concerning the major connection of Los Osos Valley Road from Highway 101 to South Higuera Street, which he felt might in the future lead to a loss of gas tax revenue for the City. He therefore urged the Council to suspend all approvals for Tract 467, Phase 11, until the Council has had a chance_ to consider complete and thorough staff reports on these two problems. The City Council discussed the report of Councilman Gurnee and his re- quest to hold up approval of the map of Tract 467, Phase II. On motion of Councilman Gurnee, seconded by Councilman Graham that the City Planning Commission be asked to suspend approval and con- sideration of the precise plan of Tract 467, Phase 11 until a complete staff report has been submitted by the City staff at the May 6, 1974 Council meeting. Motion carried, all ayes. 3. Communication from Helmut Schleicher, regarding alleged vio- lations to the grading ordinance by the developer of the property at 1645 Encino Court was continued to the City Council meeting of May 6, 1974 for staff report. 4. City Council adjourned to Executive Session. 5. On motion of Councilman Brown, seconded by Councilman Graham the meeting adjourned to 12:10 P.M. Wednesday, May I, 1974. Motion carried. ,APPROVED: August 19, 1974 H. PATRICK, CITY CLERK 1