| (Oct. 20, 2020, 5:45 a.m.) -- LB's City Attorney office has informed the City Council's Elections Oversight Committee -- whose members were chosen by Mayor Garcia -- that a vote of the people is required to increase LB's election campaign contribution limits (currently set by a 1994 ordinance enacted by a vote of the people.)
At a May 2020 meeting of the Elections Oversight Committee, Garcia-chosen Committee chair Councilwoman Mary Zendejas agendized an item seeking ways to increase campaign contribution amounts. Her two committee colleagues, Uranga and Mungo offered responses that didn't forcefully oppose the idea.. A City Attorney's Sept. 17 memo on the matter is now agendized for a meeting of the Elections Oversight Committee scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Oct.21. At that time, the Committee could (as suggested in a City Clerk cover memo) "receive and file" (take no action on the City Attorney memo) OR [LBREPORT.com speculates] could vote to recommend that the full Council consider putting such a ballot measure on the ballot OR could vote to kill the idea outright. There are no regularly scheduled citywide elections until 2022 BUT if Mayor Garcia were to exit for a position in a Biden-Harris administration, THAT would trigger a specially scheduled citywide election to fill a Mayoral vacancy...and simultaneously create an opportunity for citywide ballot measures on all sorts of things, including an increase in election campaign contribution limits. [Scroll down for further.] |
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The Oct. 21 agendized action also marks the third time that Garcia's appointed chairs to the Elections Oversight Committee (who as chairs decide the Committee's agenda) have advanced measures increasing the amount of money allowed in Long Beach politics. In 2014-2015, Garcia chose newly elected Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez to chair the Committee, and she prioritized changing LB law (approved on a split Council vote) that significantly increased annual amounts incumbents can collect to their "officeholder accounts." The major beneficiary of the action was Garcia, who as a citywide elected was allowed to collect up to $75,000 from his officeholder contributors while Councilmembers were limited to $30,000 each. Two years later, he chose Councilwoman Jeannine Pearce to chair the Committee, who advanced a change (also approved on a split Council vote) that politically weaponized the officeholder accounts, letting incumbents use the sums to support their favored candidates to other offices.
LB's Reform Coalition Pledge -- signed months ago by 2nd district Council candidate Robert Fox -- includes a provision to "Reform and Limit the Use of Officeholder Accounts" by restoring caps of $5,000 and repealing the change that politically weaponized the accounts. In a recent public forum, his runoff opponent, Cindy Allen (endorsed by Mayor Garcia) opposed eliminating LB's "officeholder acounts."
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