Friday, January 2, 2015

Long Beach City Council To Boost Officeholder Accounts

A vote is scheduled for January 6, 2015 to approve increases in the amounts that can be raised for officeholder accounts to $25,000 annually for City Council members and $75,000 annually for the Mayor, Prosecutor, City Attorney and City Auditor.

The problem with this move is that it institutes perpetual fundraising for elected officials and starts clouding the purpose of the Campaign Finance Reform Act  approved by Long Beach voters which kept fundraising to basically a year before an election.

While prior City Councils and other elected officials have raised funds for "officeholder expenses" the amounts allowed were a fraction of what is being proposed.

The following are links to the agenda item and the documents you need to review: Agenda item with documents

Long Beach Inside will also publish the officeholder account records as they become available from the City Clerk.