The Ventura County Grand Jury criticized the county’s campaign finance law and the process for revising it in a report issued Friday.
Co-authored by county Supervisors Steve Bennett and Kathy Long, the ordinance establishes stricter conditions than required in state law for people running for theBoard of Supervisors or countywide office. Bennett says the measure has helped keep elections fair and minimized the effect of big money in politics, but critics say it protects incumbents and is confusing. The revision process added confusion to an ordinance already criticized as being complex, the report stated.
The Ventura County Board of Supervisors regularly revises the ordinance based on recommendations from Bennett and Long.
But the grand jury found the process ignored issues and concerns offered by parties affected by the ordinance and led to unnecessary changes and that a longer review period would have allowed for a more thorough discussion.
The panel did not identify the affected parties or stakeholders, but they presumably include candidates and contributors.
The ordinance became a point of contention last year in a faceoff between Bennett and the county’s chief elections official, Clerk-Recorder Mark Lunn. Bennett filed complaints over what he saw as Lunn’s failure to follow the requirements of the ordinance. Bennett, who won re-election, contended he lost valuable time in counteracting a campaign run by an outside interest group because of failures in Lunn’s office.
The Ventura County Campaign Finance Ethics Commission dismissed all five complaints, largely for technical reasons and because the panel lacked jurisdiction over Lunn as an individual.
Arguably, though, Bennett had the last word. He proposed and the supervisors enacted requirements for Lunn to follow. They included timely filing and posting of campaign documents as duties of the clerk and giving the commission the power to direct the clerk’s office to perform required duties.
The Ventura County Grand Jury is a 19-member panel of citizens who study and recommend changes for the operation of public agencies. The group cannot require changes, but public officials normally consider them.
In this case, the panel sought responses of the five supervisors, Lunn and County Executive Officer Mike Powers.
Read more: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2014/apr/11/ventura-county-grand-jury-calls-for-review-of/#ixzz30wmRMdll
- vcstar.com
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