Subject: Ordinance No. 06-014; Section 2.30 Municipal Code
Campaign Finance Regulations

January 31, 2007

Dan Cort, Mayor
Members of the City Council
City of Pacific Grove
300 Forest Avenue
Pacific Grove, CA 93950

Dear Mayor Cort and Council members:

The League of Women Voters of the Monterey Peninsula again thanks you for passing the recent campaign financing ordinance for the City of Pacific Grove. We believe that the ordinance had and will have a positive effect on the political atmosphere in the city. 

We are concerned about the status of two important components of an effective campaign finance ordinance in Pacific Grove.

The first is the issue of enforcement and oversight of the ordinance. The League believes it is essential that an oversight committee be formed to publicly review and ensure implementation. Our concern is based on our recent study of campaign finance ordinances adopted by many other jurisdictions in California. Oversight committees were essential to ensure implementation.

The second issue is that of transparency and making the campaign finance disclosure documents more accessible to the public. In this past election, the disclosures were not available in the library nor via the internet. In a manner similar to how the city places its council agenda and accompanying meeting packet on the web, the disclosures could also be placed on the web (as does the City of Monterey). From the discussions at the time of the passage of the ordinance, the council indicated it would create a policy addressing transparency, but this has not occurred.

The League would appreciate an update on the status of these open issues.

Sincerely,

Marilyn Maxner, President
LWV of the Monterey Peninsula