27 Democratic Lawmakers Back Limit on Fund Raising

Splitting with the legislative leaders of both parties, 27 Democratic lawmakers announced their support Thursday for Proposition 68, the June 7 ballot measure that would place limits on their campaign fund raising.

“We simply must limit campaign spending,” the 23 Assembly members and four senators said in a signed statement. “We hope that California voters will approve of Proposition 68 and free the Legislature from the pressure of ever-escalating, never-ending fund raising.”

Later in the day, leaders of the slow-growth movement in five Southern California counties joined in supporting the initiative, saying that limiting the amount of money contributed to legislators by wealthy real estate interests was essential in winning the battle to control development in their communities.

Effect of Measure

Proposition 68 would place limits on campaign spending and contributions in legislative races, provide matching tax dollars to qualified candidates, prohibit the transfer of campaign money between candidates and ban fund raising in non-election years.

Sponsored by Newport Beach businessman Walter Gerken, it has the backing of Common Cause; the League of Women Voters; the American Assn. of Retired Persons and a host of other groups.

The proposition is opposed by Republican Gov. George Deukmejian; Democratic Assembly Speaker Willie Brown of San Francisco; Democratic Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti of Los Angeles and the GOP leaders in both houses. Deukmejian has consistently opposed the use of tax dollars to finance campaigns, while Democratic leaders have relied heavily on the ability to funnel campaign money to allies in tough election fights.

The endorsement of Proposition 68 by the rank-and-file legislators contrasts sharply with the strong opposition voiced by Brown and Roberti, who are helping to raise funds to defeat the measure.

In the Assembly, the 23 backers of Proposition 68 make up more than half of the 44 Democratic members and include the rebel “Gang of Five,” who are attempting to oust Brown as Speaker.

Among those supporting the initiative were Assembly Ways and Means Committee Chairman John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara) and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Presley (D-Riverside). The two committees are among the most important in the Legislature and are often subject to intense lobbying because they review all spending bills.

Vasconcellos criticized the influence of special-interest contributions on legislators and said: “I see too many vote changes in my committee for no apparent reason other than the influence of well-heeled special-interest groups. You simply cannot raise the vast sums of money we raise and not be aware of the source.”

Republicans Absent

Republican legislators were noticeably absent from the list of lawmakers endorsing Proposition 68, although Vasconcellos said he had attempted to enlist their support for the measure.

Some Republican members of the Assembly are supporting Proposition 73, a rival initiative that would limit campaign contributions but has no spending limits. In contrast to the public financing provision of Proposition 68, Proposition 73 would ban the use of tax dollars to finance candidates in any statewide, local or legislative race.

Leaders of the slow-growth movements in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino counties announced their support for Proposition 68 at a press conference in Santa Ana.

They said the initiative’s limits on campaign spending would dilute the influence of developers and real estate interests who are attempting to block slow-growth efforts in local communities through legislation in Sacramento.

‘Control the Money’

“We’re telling people that if you support growth-control measures at the local level, you need to get behind Proposition 68 as well,” said Irvine Mayor Larry Agran. “We can’t win this battle against uncontrolled growth unless we also control the money flowing into and out of legislators’ campaign funds.”

The endorsement of Proposition 68 by the slow-growth activists and Democratic legislators comes at a time when support for the initiative appears to be high among the state’s voters.

A Los Angeles Times Poll conducted May 11-16 found that people likely to vote in the June 7 primary favor the measure by a more than 2-1 ratio--56% to 23%, with 21% undecided.

In contrast to the partisan split within the Legislature, Democratic and Republican voters support the ballot measure about equally, the poll found. Among the proposition’s biggest supporters were people with college educations, the more affluent, residents of the San Francisco Bay Area and liberals.