“We need to harmonize these sections so they all work together and make sense,” Howard said.
The City Council is scheduled to vote on the proposed changes next week after they gained traction Tuesday.
The Nov. 30 fundraising cut-off date was extended from the original Aug. 30 deadline in order to give the current set of council members more time this year. Aug. 30 would return as the fundraising deadline for the next election cycle, according to the proposal. Councilwoman Laura Friedman, who had asked that the issue be placed on the agenda, said her past four months in office had taught her the often-high financial price of being on the council.
“We are in the awkward position of either not going to events that the public would like us to attend, or using our money, which some of us don’t have the means to because it really, honestly adds up,” she said.
Allowing council members to use fundraiser money for official purposes, she said, would make attendance at myriad civic events and government conferences more affordable.
“It comes down a little bit to the question of whether serving in public office should also mean that you are willing to take a big financial hit,” she said.
The council also discussed the possibility of creating so-called office holder accounts where the funds could be stored.
Still, some council members expressed reservations that the change could open the door for inappropriate behavior, which, they contended, was the impetus for the campaign finance regulations in the first place. The rules were passed in 2008.
“The idea was to take the money out of the office of City Council as much as we could,” said Councilman Ara Najarian. “The other problem is that these office holder accounts certainly are still ripe for abuse.”
He cited former California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, who in 2007 was criticized for using an office holder account to fund European travel.
But Howard said abuse could be avoided by requiring proper documentation, and added that other protections against abuse are currently within the city’s regulations.
Community activist Margaret Hammond said she thought the change was a good idea.
“We don’t take into account all the hours you spend doing social activities in the city, going to all these events,” she said. “I think we ought to remember that you are here because we voted for you and we have faith that you are going to do what’s right.”
