A majority of Orange County supervisors Tuesday signaled their approval of a sweeping reform of campaign financing with an ethics commission that would have the authority to subpoena bank records of candidates.
The five-member commission would replace volunteers such as Shirley Grindle from having to enforce an ordinance originally approved by voters in 1978 and amended in 1992 that is known as TINCUP, or Time Is Now Clean Up Politics.
The county’s attorneys were directed Tuesday by a 4-1 vote to polish up an ordinance that the supervisors on Oct. 20 would decide to put before voters, most likely in next year’s June primary.
Board Chairman Todd Spitzer and Supervisor Shawn Nelson were the driving forces behind the proposed ordinance.
Supervisor Andrew Do introduced his own version late last week, ruffling the fathers of Grindle and other pioneers of campaign finance reform, but by the end of Tuesday’s debate on the board everyone appeared pleased with the final result.
Only Supervisor Michelle Steel opposed the ethics commission, arguing it would duplicate what officials can already do in the county at a higher cost to taxpayers.
“What will be different than before,” Steel said as she read from a statement. “And, lastly, how much will it cost? … It’s important to know how much it will cost because it is not our money.”
Steel claimed a similar ethics commission in Los Angeles County costs $1.9 million annually.
“Keep in mind it is not ethical to waste taxpayer dollars in order for you to make symbolic gestures,” said Steel, who then did not participate in any of the discussion of the shaping of the ordinance Tuesday.
Grindle and her followers, frustrated that they have no ability to enforce the TINCUP ordinance other than shaming candidates who run afoul of it, were threatening to put their own initiative in front of the voters.
Last year, the board voted to hire the Fair Political Practices Commission to oversee the enforcement of campaign finance rules. They put the question to voters, who approved Measure E in November by a 56.6-to-43.4 margin.
Last summer, state lawmakers, however, balked at approving legislation allowing the state agency to contract with the county as it does in San Bernardino County.
Grindle, who has become a sort of folk hero for campaign finance reform as she kept records over the years and would alert candidates to missteps, has butted heads in the past with previous county boards as she tried to put teeth in TINCUP.
While praising Grindle for her commitment to the cause, some officials have noted in the past that her system of index cards needed to reconcile itself with 21st century technology.
“I want to thank all of you,” Grindle told the supervisors. “Our goal was to come up with an ordinance we could all live with and we’ve done that… After 10 years of preparing for this day, I wholeheartedly support (the proposed ordinance).”
Grindle said it “meets all of our concerns of a workable commission free of political influence.” Grindle was especially pleased that it must be approved by voters because “only the voters can weaken or repeal it in the future.”
Grindle took a shot at Do’s proposal, which she said allowed the supervisors the power to repeal or weaken the law, “which is a deal breaker for us.”
Michael Anzis, who served on the 2013 county grand jury, which issued a scathing report on Orange County corruption, blasted the ordinance because the commission’s members would be appointed by the supervisors. Anzis suggested a panel of retired judges pick the commissioners.
That drew a pointed rebuke from Nelson, who said Anzis’ proposal was “ridiculous.”
Nelson ridiculed the grand jury’s report on corruption two years ago, reducing it to, “Back in the 1980s people were indicted, the sheriff went to jail, so Orange County is corrupt.”
Nelson added, “To those who pay attention to the idea of democracy, there is one and only one way to get power in this country and it’s nothing new — you are either elected to office or you are granted power by those who are. There’s no third leg to the stool.”
Nelson said Anzis’ suggestion that the board “controls” the budget for the commission, therefore leaving it open to corruption, doesn’t make sense given that the board also pays for the grand jury’s stipends.
“It’s an interesting concept,” Nelson said of having an independent panel appoint the ethics commission’s members, “But it does fly in the face of a democratic government we’ve had for over 200 years.”
Nelson praised Grindle as a “tireless person trying to make sense of this and I want to honor that. Let’s just get what you want to get done right.”
Spitzer called Grindle “the godmother of this ordinance.”
If approved, the ordinance would allow a staffer to take the lead on campaign finance violations. Then, if a candidate wants a hearing, it would go before the commission, Nelson said.
The commission then could issue a fine for violations, Nelson said.
“This is more for the mundane, lower-level stuff,” Nelson told City News Service after Tuesday’s meeting.
The more serious criminal violations would still be available for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office to pursue for prosecution, Nelson said.
“The overwhelming majority of what’s going on are inadvertent mistakes,” Nelson said of most violations of TINCUP.
— City News Service