Council to Ask Voters to Loosen Reform Law

A divided Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to place a measure on the April 8 ballot asking voters to override statewide campaign reform laws passed last fall and allow officeholders to raise and spend $75,000 a year in private contributions.

Proposition 208, passed in November, limits so-called “officeholder” accounts to $10,000 a year. But council members said they need bigger accounts because they represent large and densely populated districts. The previous limit was $75,000 a year.

Voting against the motion Wednesday were council members Laura Chick, Mike Feuer and Joel Wachs. Councilman Richard Alatorre, who voted against the item on its first reading last week, said he intended to vote no but failed to press his button in time; his vote would not have changed the outcome.

Chick said she opposed the motion because she fears that a local ballot measure will override other provisions of Prop. 208, such as a ban on lobbyists contributing to the officeholder accounts, which she supports. Alatorre, Feuer and Wachs said they believe lawmakers can work within the lower limits and should not defy the will of voters.