Councilman Holbrook not running for re-election
Local elections may be meticulously regulated, but the laws are all gums and no teeth, according to the city attorney.
If a candidate violates Santa Monica’s campaign laws, currently they would be punished under an umbrella misdemeanor ordinance, typically paying only a small fine.
Now the Santa Monica City Council has directed the city attorney to draft criminal and civil sections for each ordinance, instituting strong penalties in time for next year’s upcoming elections.
“The current (election) code was adopted a number of years ago and for whatever reason, an enforcement provision wasn’t included,” said Marsha Jones Moutrie, city attorney. “When you set policies by ordinance, usually you want to include some kind of enforcement provision. It’s fairly standard.”
“The current (election) code was adopted a number of years ago and for whatever reason, an enforcement provision wasn’t included.” — — MARSHA JONES MOUTRIE Santa Monica city attorney
As elections have become contentious here, they also have grown expensive. By most accounts, a candidate that does not raise more than $100,000 doesn’t have a real shot at winning a city council seat.
To combat election financing pressures, Mayor Michael Feinstien, has recommended stronger public financing by the city.
“Public financing is the new policy direction we have taken,” he said. “My feeling is that the role of public financing in and of itself is the direction the city, if not the country as a whole, should be going.”
Currently, candidates get three public debates and a one-on-one candidate interview repeatedly aired on city television, channel 16, along with a five-minute candidate video streamed through the city’s web site.
“We need to increase the floor for public financing so that all excess fundraising just becomes the frosting on the cake,” Feinstein said. “But the basic message of each candidate gets out there no matter how much they raise.”
Those who have run before complain that the $250 donation limit on candidates is the root of the problem. To raise the necessary money, some candidates have said they must either campaign for a lot of individual contributions, which requires a lot of time, or they have to accept soft money from organizations and political parties.
“Until I can get a $100,000 together, which usually takes me and a couple other people pooling our resources, I can’t get the necessary mailers out. But without that kind of money you can’t do any kind of significant campaigning,” said Councilman Bob Holbrook. “Most of my colleagues have had to make significant concessions to raise that kind of money.”
“Until I can get a $100,000 together, which usually takes me and a couple other people pooling our resources, I can’t get the necessary mailers out. But without that kind of money you can’t do any kind of significant campaigning.” — — BOB HOLBROOK City councilman
Holbrook has said he will not run for re-election next year when his current term is up, saying late council meetings and the high cost of elections have worn him out.
“If you’re just an average working person, you don’t have that kind of backing,” he said. “You just don’t stand a chance.”
Feinstien would like to level the playing field through public financing. He believes the city should enact laws similar to the governor’s race. When a candidate demonstrates grassroots support by receiving 200 contributions of $5 or more, they receive public funding.
“It’s really an incentive to contribution limits,” he said. “By gaining a certain number of small contributions showing grassroots support, on that basis, you receive some level of public support.”
Councilman Herb Katz said Santa Monicans for Renters Rights has skewed local elections by hiring professional fundraisers and campaign staff. Without their backing, Katz said, a candidate would be outspent and non-competitive.
“Raise the (donation) ceiling and let everybody run,” he said. “That way we can meet the funding of SMRR and compete.”
The council has asked the city attorney to study whether donations could be tied to a cost of living index so donation levels could be raised, along with the cost of running an election.
None of the proposals would take effect until the next election cycle in 2002.
“We don’t like to make changes just before an election,” said Moutrie. “We don’t want council members to change anything just before an election because we don’t want to fuss with the rules just before a new election begins.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 19, 2001. Read the original PDF.