The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About03 - Regulation of Municipal Campaign Contribution and Expenditure Limits and Establishing Lobbyist Registration, Reporting and Disclosure Requirements - CorrespondenceReceived After Agenda Printed November 19, 2019 Item No. 3 Subject: FW: Another model for lobbyist registration From: ienmcd10(a)aol.com Sent: Monday, November 18, 2019 7:52:30 AM (UTC -08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) To: Dept - City Council Cc: City Clerk's Office Subject: Another model for lobbyist registration Dear Mayor Dixon and Newport Beach City Council, I've sent you separately a letter signed by 175 Newport Beach voters asking you to pause the adoption of ordinances 2019-19 and 2019-20 in order to conduct a more public review of the options available to the city. In the course of discussing this issue with other residents, not all of whom signed the letter, one question kept coming up: why would we adopt a lobbyist registration model that provides minimal transparency and could actually end up benefiting lobbyists, when much tougher systems have been adopted by other OC cities? For instance, two years ago, the Anaheim city council adopted a "Sunshine ordinance", requiring that lobbyists submit quarterly reports on 1/ who they met with, 2/ when the meeting took place, 3/ who from their company took the meeting, 4/ what was discussed, and 5/ how much they are being paid for the lobbying work. They also have to include in their reports all campaign contributions made during the quarter. Here is a link to the Anaheim ordinance. Section 1.11.070 could serve as a template for our city. htto://www.anaheim.net/DocumentCenter/View/17931/Ord-No-6417?bidld= Here is a link to a blank disclosure form. https://www.anaheim.net/DocumentCenterNiew/17924/Lobbyist-Quarterly- Report-Schedule-C?bidld= And here's one that's been filled out. http://anaheim.net/DocumentCenter/View/28660/2019 Q3 TODD PRIEST AND ASSOCIATES PRIESTTODD Here's what is found on the Anaheim website... https://www.anaheim.net/471 O/Lo b byist- Registration -a nd-D isclosu re -Rep ...and here's a link to the annual report the city generates, showing all activity conducted and contributions made during the year. https://www.anaheim. net/DocumentCenter/View/25364/2018-Registered-Lobbyist-Report I think we can all agree that Newport Beach voters are expecting election reforms that will make a real difference. Having our own "Sunshine" ordinance would: - make it possible for residents to easily find out who is lobbying our officials and how they are going about it - allow council members to know which lobbyists and donors their colleagues and staff are meeting with - help quiet some of the concerns in the community about what's going on behind the scenes at city hall, especially at a time when we are updating our General Plan, facing new state housing mandates, and making plans to "revitalize" Mariner's Mile, Marine Avenue and potentially other parts of the city. It did not take a citizen initiative for Anaheim to adopt serious lobbyist registration requirements. Instead, elected officials took the initiative in order to address concerns expressed by their constituents. It would send a very strong message to Newport Beach voters if we also let the sun shine in on our local government. Respectfully, Jennifer McDonald November 18, 2019 Mayor Diane Dixon Newport Beach Civic Center 100 Civic Center Drive Newport Beach, CA 92660 By Email: CityCouncil@NewportBeachCA.gov and CityClerk@NewportBeachCA.gov RE: Public Comments: Proposed Campaign Reform Ordinances Dear Mayor Dixon and members of City Council, The 175 undersigned Newport Beach voters urge you to pause the adoption of ordinances 2019-19 and 2019-20, so the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Election Reform can have time to conduct a more public review of the City's campaign finance reform options. While we appreciate the efforts to date, it had been our understanding that prior to developing the ordinances, the Subcommittee was going to listen to the public's concerns, so they could guide the ordinances' creation. Instead, after six months of private, unpublicized meetings, the public was presented, at a single poorly -publicized and sparsely -attended public meeting, with camera-ready copy. Minor tweaks could be considered if the draft didn't address the public's until -then -unasked concerns. Among other shortcomings of the lobbyist registration ordinance: For no obvious reason, paper registration forms are to be filed with and posted by the County rather than the City, making them much less visible than they should be to Newport Beach residents. In addition, the County forms ask only for the names of the lobbyist and the clients. They do not ask lobbyists to disclose the issues they have been hired to lobby about. Lobbyists are not required to file activity reports of any kind. As a result, while the officials being lobbied may know they are speaking to a paid lobbyist, the public will have no idea who has been lobbied, about what or how much they were paid (unless the lobbyist chooses to appear at a public meeting and voluntarily "confess"). The ordinance prescribes different penalties for "intentional" versus "unintentional" violations, but unlike the Campaign Contribution ordinance, which requires notice and failure to respond to establish intentionality, the lobbyist ordinance provides no method to distinguish the two. In addition, it contains nothing to ensure the penalty, if any, for intentional violation is any worse than that for unintentional. ..- al. November 18, 2019 Page 2 And the campaign contribution ordinance: 1. Fails to place any affirmative obligation on the City Clerk to proactively examine all campaign filings for potential violations (not all of which may be obvious due to the FPPC rules for aggregation of related -donor contributions) and send notices as indicated. 2. Fails to place any obligation on the City Clerk to investigate potential violations brought to her attention by members of the public. 3. Does nothing to address the frequently -expressed public concern about developers and other special interests, including those with business before the council, from padding the re-election campaign accounts of council members immediately after they win their seats and years before the actual election. This practice allows incumbents to head into re-election years with large bank accounts, which discourages grassroots candidates and anyone who isn't independently wealthy from running against them. Undoubtedly there are many more concerns that would have come to light through a more thorough public vetting of our City's money -in -politics issues, including the Subcommittee interviewing those who feel the existing regulations didn't work for them. In sum, rather than adopt half -way measures with limited public input in hope they will later be improved, it seems better to try to get things right from the start. We have been waiting several years for meaningful reforms and urge the council to take the time necessary to consult the citizenry and come up with robust solutions that give us greater confidence in our elections and local government. We look forward to participating in the process. Yours sincerely, Signers listed on the following pages cc: Leilani Brown, City Clerk rAM November 18, 2019 - Page 3 175 Signers listed below Jennifer McDonald Dennis Baker Leslie O'Rourke Janis Carpenter Phillip Drachman Dorothy Kraus Carl Long Dennis Bress Allan Leguay Carol Hartman Anne Ewing Daniel Kretschmar Jim Mosher Robert Craig Cheryl Fischer Thomas Cullis Elizabeth Hallett Carol Strauss Jill Nelke Jill Ayres Lynn Lorenz Peggy Palmer Michael Palmer i Nancy Thompson Nicole Reynolds James Sutter Andrew Leguay Patty White Ed Siebel Cynthia C. Siebel Jane Drew Dianna Sahhar Allan Beek Susan & Larry Becker Lauri Preedge Joseph Munday Phoebe Loos Janet Ronnenberg Nancy Lynn Beck Susan menning ROBERT HANLEY Diane Fullerton Nancy Skinner Deborah Lucas Robert Bielen Margaret Bielen Emily Ziebell Sylvia Burnett Joan Nichols Catherine Trotta Tim Stoaks Linda Watkins Cathy Wyatt Charles Klobe Brett Hemphill Pauline Smith Karen Tringali John Reilly Martha Tringali georgia foell William White Monica Burke Carole Johnson JEAN POWELL Joy Heilig Jean Watt Gia Gaffaney Lorian Petry ROY ENGLEBRECHT . rAM November 18, 2019 - Page 4 175 Signers listed below (cont'd) Stephen Sholkoff phil green Dr. Donald Wise Benjamin Rubin Annie LINDT Michael Pilsitz ernest bastien Gail Hirsch Donna Bahney Daniel VOGT Clifford Jordan Denys Oberman John Johansson carol hartman Ken Thompson Bob Yant John Kidde Donna Kidde Suzanne Gauntlett Berkeley Gauntlett Sorrell & Newt Wayne Alan Miller Murphy McCann Sharon Wohl Anne Gordinier Susana Hegstrom lauren Mulvaney Mary Ann Hemphill Michael Smith Robert Parker Ruth Evans Andrea Lingle Win Rhodes Susan Skinner Mary Peikert Lizann Barman Lynn Swain Faye Hezar Marsha Kendall Elisabeth Hau Christine Sims Franklin Sims Lydia Sharp Wendy Marine Hall & Melinda Seely Charlette Peterson Ben Cagle Catharine Hardesty Sue Dvorak Shari Ciko Esther Fine Eileen McLemore Lloyd Richard Lloyd Anne Pamella Marks Kent Moore Peggie Fariss Tom Baker Lu Baker Lynda Adams Val Fletcher Libby Frolichman Kathleen Johnson Margaret Rumsfeld Judy Strauss carol gates Carol Lind Seychelle Cannes Gary Nielson Linda Ernst . November 18, 2019 - Page 5 175 Signers listed below (cont'd) Barbara Shelton Richard & Deborrah Lugo Miki Csintalan Beverly White Susan Eaton Gordon Henry Laurie Sanders Tully & Janette Seymour Gail & Sorel Reisman Sandra Warren James Warren i Laurie Smith portia weiss Richard Weiss Vicki Ronaldson Don Ronaldson Lukas Ronaldson JD Fox Gary Ranes MaryAnn Bruce Nancy Scarbrough Remy Weiss Katherine Meleski Marjaneh goodarzy kayvon goodarzy Sohrob goodarzy Valerie Carson Thomas Carson Linda Oeth Lori Morris .