The four-member panel, sponsored by the League of Women Voters Glendale-Burbank chapter, was comprised mostly of strong proponents of donor limits 10 months after the City Council first called for a report from the city attorney on how it might introduce some sort of reform to the electoral system here.
“I hope they’ll hear from the citizens because the citizens do support campaign finance reform,” said Robert Stern, president of the Los Angeles-based Center for Governmental Studies and former general counsel for the state Fair Political Practices Commission.
Nearly 30 people attended the forum, many of them longtime advocates for campaign finance reform.
While almost all City Council members have expressed varying levels of interest in capping campaign donations as a way to level the playing field for incumbents challengers, just how far each is willing to go remains to be seen.
Mayor John Drayman, who in 2007 beat out incumbent Rafi Manoukian, has been a strong proponent of comprehensive finance reform, and Councilman Bob Yousefian has pledged to not accept contributions from employee unions for his reelection bid in 2009.
The potentially thorny issue also comes just months before the fall campaign season, which in addition to Yousefian will see Councilmen Frank Quintero and Ara Najarian vie for reelection.
All three have already begun raising funds for reelection; Najarian and Yousefian already have more than $34,000 cash in hand, according disclosure forms filed with the city clerk’s office.
After calling for the initial report in August, the City Council in January directed the city attorney’s office to explore possible regulations that could have a far-reaching, dampening effect on what has become an expensive municipal electoral process.
