SLO proposal would give voters $20 each to spend on candidates

Acting on a request from a San Luis Obispo-based election reform group trying to increase voter participation and prevent “outside” money from influencing local campaigns, city leaders are pursuing an idea to publicly finance municipal elections.

In a split 3-2 vote Tuesday, the San Luis Obispo City Council directed city staff to return with a discussion of policy, legal and operational issues on the idea, which as proposed would create a “democracy voucher” system giving each registered voter $20 to donate to candidates who agree only to receive contributions through the program.

If the program moves forward as proposed, it would be the first of its kind in California and among the first in the nation. Other cities, such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Seattle, have some form of publicly financed campaigns, Assistant City Attorney Jon Ansolabehere said.

City staff estimate the program could cost as much as $650,000 in its first year and about half as much in subsequent years, with money coming out of the city’s general fund. A program, if one moves forward, would probably be in place for the 2018 election cycle, not this November.

Councilmen John Ashbaugh, Dan Carpenter and Dan Rivoire voted in favor of pursuing the proposal.

“This will level the playing field,” Carpenter said. “My motivation is to get more candidates, new candidates, and in turn you will get more people engaged in voting because they won’t see the same people” running for election.

But Mayor Jan Marx and Councilwoman Carlyn Christianson said the program wasn’t needed in San Luis Obispo, with Marx calling it “a solution in search of a problem.”

“It may work in communities that do have a problem ... or in campaigns that are influenced by outside money interests,” Christianson said. “I don’t think any of us have been elected by outside money interests despite a few allegations made by members of the public.”

The council considered the program after a request last August from San Luis Obispo-based election reform group Citizens Congress, spearheaded by William Ostrander, which proposed an ordinance to create a system of “democracy voucher” funding for municipal elections. Ostrander, a San Luis Obispo farmer, is running for outgoing U.S. Rep. Lois Capps’ 24th District congressional seat and emphasizing campaign finance reform.

How it would work

As proposed, San Luis Obispo registered voters — there are 24,971 — would each receive a $20 voucher to donate to candidates who agree to accept the voucher funds as their sole source of funding. Candidates could receive up to $50,000 for a single election — a cap that’s three times the amount raised by any candidate in the 2014 election.

City election regulations limit the amount that candidates can accept from individual donors (excluding immediate family members) to $300 per person. The council raised the cap from $200 in 2014.

Shortly before the November 2014 election, The Tribune reported that Marx had far outraised her two challengers for the mayoral seat with more than $14,000 (including a $1,000 personal loan).

Campaign disclosure statements on the city’s website show that for the five candidates running for two council seats, financial planner Gordon Mullin reported raising the most, at $14,556, including a $5,900 personal loan. Christianson raised about $13,855, followed by Rivoire with $13,455.

Retired Army Col. Mike Clark had raised $8,193 by Oct. 18, which included a $2,000 personal loan; while candidate Daniel Cano raised no money but loaned his campaign $563.

“A lot of speakers said this will make it easier to fundraise and I’m not sure that it will do so for candidates, but it empowers our electorate,” Rivoire said. “There are a lot more people you have to go out and talk to as a candidate if you’re getting $20 instead of (a) $300 (contribution).”

But the council could decide to pursue a different type of program, such as a matching funds program, said City Attorney Christine Dietrick, who told the council that staff would need more direction for any proposed ordinance.

A look at the cost

Staff estimated the start-up costs for the democracy voucher program at $636,754 to $650,254, with $499,420 for the fund itself and other costs: webpage design, public education, equipment, the voucher cards, staff time and software development. Ongoing costs could range from $240,500 to $377,440 a year depending on how many candidates and voters participate, including more than $176,000 in anticipated staff costs, or about $7 per registered voter.

A few supporters disputed that the program would cost that much.

“We’re fairly confident that the administrative costs of this program can be brought down significantly,” said Michael Latner, associate professor of political science at Cal Poly. He urged the city to take the lead in “bottom-up reform” with a program that would encourage candidates to seek support from a wide range of donors.

And even if the cost is accurate, said resident Eric Veium, “what we get out of that is unprecedented involvement in participation in our community ... that we haven’t had before.”

But Christianson said she didn’t think the approach would increase voter participation.

“It’s not actually about money. It’s about voting, and people can always vote,” she said. “Everybody who registers to vote can participate in our elections, and that’s who actually gets people elected.”

She noted how money to fund the program would come from the city’s general fund, possibly impacting other services, and thought the idea should come to the council through its biennial goal-setting process.

Marx thought the idea should go through the initiative process: “I don’t think this city has a problem in terms of its integrity of elections. Go out there and gather the signatures and prove that this is something that the people want.”

This story was originally published March 16, 2016 at 7:33 PM with the headline "SLO proposal would give voters $20 each to spend on candidates."