When the City Council swivels its attention back to a hometown version of campaign finance reform in a few days, Mayor Mehau; O’Leary may have to stifle a yawn.
“I don’t see this as a Culver City issue,” he said this morning.
Candidates for the City Council, presently and in next spring’s election when three seats will be at stake, must abide by two conditions:
- A $500 limit on individual cash donations.
- No limit on in-kind donations.
State law calls for a ceiling on in-kind gifts without stipulating an amount. In the long days between meetings, the Council is divided three ways on a proposal to raise the cash maximum from $500 to $1,000, and, for the first time, apply that number to in-kind gifts.
Vice Mayor Andy Weissman and Councilman Jim Clarke support the plan. Mr. O’Leary and member Jeff Cooper say that it should not go into effect until the 2018 election cycle because the upcoming campaign – December to April – is too close.
Member Meghan Sahli-Wells voluntarily recused herself from the Council discussion because she will be running for a second term next April.
Her subtraction means Messrs. Weissman and Clarke need a third vote, and the betting is that neither Mr. O’Leary nor Mr. Cooper will cross the line.
The mayor, who will be termed out in the spring, said that “based on legal advice, we do need the changes.”
Besides objecting to the timing, Mr. O’Leary does not want to leave such a crucial decision up to the next City Council, which will turn over 40 to 60 percent of its members.
The timing of such an emotional matter likely is to be tilted, the mayor believes.
“They will just be coming in, having dealt with a campaign. They will make statements that may be counter to what they just did.
“Therefore, I think we are better off voting for them now, but putting the new rules on a pedestal until the (2018) campaign,” Mr. O’Leary said.
