$500 campaign limits likely

The Huntington Beach City Council appeared to have finally come to a compromise on campaign contribution limits this week, likely closing a debate that had taken up three consecutive meetings with no consensus.

If the vote is confirmed at the next meeting, residents could donate up to $500 to local candidates.

Members voted 5-2 at their meeting Monday to raise limits to $500 from $300, also adding in automatic raises every two years to keep pace with consumer prices. Council members came to consensus after Mayor Debbie Cook asked them all in turn to state their ideal limits and the most they would compromise. Members quickly settled on $500.

“Tonight we’re going to try something a little different,” Cook said. “Let’s just get it all out on the table.”

Members said they brought up the automatic raises, tied to the Consumer Price Index, to avoid ever having to vote on the issue again.

“I think we absolutely need to depoliticize this decision,” Councilman Don Hansen said. “I want to save future councils from even having to wrestle with this.”

The 5-2 vote was the first such vote since the issue was introduced in April to pass by more than 4-3. Members had been sharply divided since.

But most council members said they could live with the compromise.

“I would think mostly everybody sitting up here would agree that an increase is needed,” Councilman Joe Carchio said. “The way the costs of everything we’re using today are going up, and it’s going to continue to escalate.”

Cook herself, along with Councilwoman Jill Hardy, voted no on the limit; both have repeatedly said they wanted no raises at all.

Ultimately the $500 figure matched a proposal from last summer by Hansen, which sparked the debate in the first place. At the time, council members voted to hold off until a committee on campaign law reform came up with a comprehensive plan. The resulting discussions dragged the debate out over a year.