HUNTINGTON BEACH : Law Would Limit Campaign Donations

The Huntington Beach City Council gave preliminary approval Monday to a tough new campaign finance ordinance aimed at restricting contributions and the influence of special-interest groups in local city elections.

The measure will limit contributions that individuals and organizations can make to candidates to $300 over a four-year period. Donors have been allowed to contribute $300 to candidates over a 12-month period.

“This is a real significant reform,” Mayor Linda Moulton-Patterson said Tuesday. “It will return power to the people of Huntington Beach and take it away from special-interest groups.”

The new ordinance applies to the seven City Council members and the city clerk, city attorney and city treasurer. It is expected to go into effect after a second reading next month and apply to the 1994 city elections.

Moulton-Patterson said Tuesday that the ordinance is particularly noteworthy in that it also puts a ceiling of $300 on the amount that political-action committees can contribute to candidates over a four-year period. Until now, political-action committees have been permitted to give a maximum of $1,500 each year to candidates.

A principal aim of the new ordinance is to prevent money from pouring into so-called independent political committees that in the past have been able to funnel contributions back to candidates without limits, according to Councilman Ralph Bauer.

“We’re trying to prevent individuals or corporations with business before the city from unduly affecting the outcome of elections through excessive campaign contributions,” Bauer said.