Council makes no decision on campaign limits

The Huntington Beach City Council failed once again to come to a consensus on its campaign finance law, and members will have to vote again on the issues at their next meeting.

For the second meeting in a row, council members did not get a successful majority on any proposal that would change or keep the limit for campaign contributions, which is now $300. With Keith Bohr absent, members voted down a proposal by Councilman Joe Carchio to raise the limit to $700, which he called a compromise figure.

Even a proposal by Councilwoman Cathy Green to postpone the decision till Bohr returned did not garner the required four votes, but City Atty. Jennifer McGrath said the campaign finance ordinance would come back to the council anyway. With the package introduced as an ordinance last month, it still requires a second vote, she said.

Also on the agenda that night were several closed session meetings on legal issues related to the planned Huntington Beach Senior Center in Central Park. A lawsuit by opponents to the center and a complaint by a developer about the amount it was asked to pay for the center were both up for discussion. No vote was taken in those meetings, however, and council members described them as informational only.

— Michael Alexander