HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-10-16 CRC MINS MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE
CITY OF CHULA VISTA
CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION
October 16, 2000 City Attorney' s Conference Room 4 : 30 p .m.
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MEMBERS PRESENT: John Dorso, Harriet Acton, Deric Prescott ,
Mark Croshier, Sergio Feria, Barbara
McAllister and David Potter
MEMBERS ABSENT: None
STAFF . PRESENT: City Attorney John M. Kaheny
The meeting was called to order at 4 : 30 p.m.
1 . Roll Call .
The roll was called and all members were present .
2 . Approval of Minutes .
MSUC (Acton/Potter) to approve the minutes of September 25 , 2000 as
presented.
3 . Campaign Financing Referral .
John Dorso questioned if no jurisdictions in the State of
California link re-election to voluntary compliance, should the
Commission attempt to do this? Attorney Kaheny researched
nationwide for pertinent case law and only found material where
candidates voluntarily comply for matching funds, but found no
jurisdiction that actually linked the ability to serve an extra
term. The Council addressed the idea during discussions on term
limits and Councilman Moot asked the Commission to review the
concept . Deric Prescott indicated he did a global search and could
find nothing either.
Member Croshier distributed a listing of campaign ordinance
regulations around San Diego County.
Member Prescott sees how conceivably it could be a good idea. The
courts have stated candidates should be able to spend as much as
they want . There is the ability to add qualifications, but those
qualifications should be for whoever is running for office as
opposed to having two sets of qualifications, . one set for the
incumbent, and one set for the challenger. That' s where the
� �, unfairness lies, although it is possible as a Charter city.
Charter Review Commission Minutes
October 16, 2000
Page 2
Barbara McAllister sees_ no reason to link the two as there is no
justification. She is puzzled by the desire to penalize incumbents
from raising money and why any one thinks it going to make any
difference with independent expenditure committees . As long as
we have independent expenditure committees, what a candidate spends
or collects is totally irrelevant .
David Potter stated it rubs. -him the wrong way tying the money to
incumbency. He thinks the reason no one found anything on it is a
matter of first impression and does Chula Vista want to be the
first City to do that . The only people to decide this are the
people who strictly construe the Constitution of the United States .
He concurs he does not see the need, unless there is a mandate from
the Council .
Sergia Feria believes we are trying to find a balance between
campaign reform contributions and an incumbent' s right to run for
more than one term. If we don' t link the two, what alternatives
are there? Chair Dorso responded we can send it up to the Council
and state, in our research and collective wisdom, we feel that we
j should not link the two .
John Dorso asked if there was a time limit for the Commission to
consider this item. Attorney Kaheny responded if the voters decide
to end term limits, this could be rendered moot by the election.
If the three terms stay, this may resurrect itself and Council
could consider directly linking the contributions to the term
provisions of . the Charter or they could put it into a campaign
ordinance . Of course, the campaign ordinance .is subject to the
court' s ruling in the 208 case .
Harriet Acton questioned the cost of implementation and who will be
the watchdogs, who is going to enforce it, and by what means?
Mr. . Prescott' s fundamental belief is that Council expressed a need
for campaign finance reform. A campaign finance reform measure
should be done by ordinance as opposed to a Charter amendment .. By
solidifying anything in the Charter, it forces the matter to be
revisited. After the courts make their decision, we might be able
to take the time to come up with a recommendation to perhaps
increase individual contributions and decrease the amount of time
people can campaign. He does not believe a logical argument can be
made between tying the. two together.
4 . Report bV City Attorney.
t
Mr. Kaheny will distribute an opinion letter to the City Council
tomorrow concerning a complaint made by Council Candidate Diaz
Charter Review Commission Minutes
October 16, 2000
Page 3
regarding Mr. Rindone' s eligibility for election to the Council in
November. Depending on how the election turns out, the Commission
may need to look at the Charter language .
G . Public Comments .
Camille Cowlishaw, 673 Garrett Avenue, Chula Vista, concurs that
there are two different issues and does not see how they can be
tied together. She looks forward to hearing from the City Attorney
with respect to Mr Diaz and how the Charter is interpreted.
7 . Members ' Comments.
Harriet Acton noted the Council Agenda indicates the regular
meeting time of the Charter Review Commission As Chair/Council
calls" . Now that we have been meeting on a regular basis on the
third Monday of every month at 4 : 30 p.m. , perhaps we should change
our designated date 'in case the public wants to participate . MSUC
(Prescott/Acton) ) to modify the City Council agenda to state that
the Charter Review Commission will meet on the third Monday of
every month (as needed) .
8 . Adjournment .
MSUC (Prescott/Acton) to adjourn the meeting at 5 : 15 p.m. to the
next meeting scheduled for November 20 , 2000 at 4 : 30 p .m. David
Potter stated he is scheduled for jury duty on'that day and may be
late or absent .
Lorraine Kraker, Secretary
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