Campaign Finance

Questions

Will you commit to pro-actively abiding by all aspects of Petaluma’s existing campaign finance and disclosure laws?

Will you commit to demonstrating your degree of local support by pro-actively limiting contributions to your campaign such that

• at least 75% of all dollars contributed come from individuals who are residents of the City of Petaluma, or from businesses or organizations headquartered in Petaluma*
• at least 60% of all dollars contributed come from individuals who are residents of the City of Petaluma
• you contribute from your own monies no more than 5% of the total of all contributions to your campaign

* For the purposes of this question, contributions from local affiliates of PACs and unions headquartered outside of Petaluma would not be counted within the 75% of local support.

Background

Non-partisan organizations such as Maplight and The Center for Responsive Politics (OpenSecret.org) clearly reveal a close relationship between money given and votes cast at the federal and state levels.   As our local elected government, members of the Petaluma City Council are entrusted with representing the welfare and interests of the residents of Petaluma.  However, according to publicly available records, in recent years some City Council Members have received the majority of their campaign contributions from outside Petaluma or outside Sonoma County.   In addition, though Petaluma’s campaign finance ordinance allows individuals to contribute a maximum of $200 to any individual candidate, the ordinance sets no limit on the amount of money a candidate can contribute to their own campaign, leaving the opportunity for a candidate to substantially or fully fund their own bid for office.

Occupy Petaluma recognizes that voters in the area surrounding Petaluma may have some interest in decisions that are made by the Petaluma City Council. But just as the Occupy movement is concerned with the undue influence on state and federal officials that special interest groups gain through campaign contributions, Occupy Petaluma is concerned that over-reliance on campaign funds from outside the area — or from wealthy, self-funding candidates — undermines the  right of Petalumans to decide what is best for our community.

Recommended:  Video of Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig on the corrupting influence of money in politics

Alicia Kae Herries

Will you commit to pro-actively abiding by all aspects of Petaluma’s existing campaign finance and disclosure laws?
Will you commit to demonstrating your degree of local support by pro-actively limiting contributions to your campaign such that
• at least 75% of all dollars contributed come from individuals who are residents of the City of Petaluma, or from businesses or organizations headquartered in Petaluma*
• at least 60% of all dollars contributed come from individuals who are residents of the City of Petaluma
• you contribute from your own monies no more than 5% of the total of all contributions to your campaign
I support and follow Petaluma’s existing campaign finance and disclosure laws. My campaign outreach includes Petaluma residents, regional organizations, businesses, friends and family members.

Gabe Kearney

Will you commit to pro-actively abiding by all aspects of Petaluma’s existing campaign finance and disclosure laws?
Yes.

Will you commit to demonstrating your degree of local support by pro-actively limiting contributions to your campaign such that
• at least 75% of all dollars contributed come from individuals who are residents of the City of Petaluma, or from businesses or organizations headquartered in Petaluma*
• at least 60% of all dollars contributed come from individuals who are residents of the City of Petaluma
• you contribute from your own monies no more than 5% of the total of all contributions to your campaign
I have supporters from years of networking not only in our community, but throughout the state, and country. Limiting myself to donations from only within the city limits is prohibitive to my ability to raise funds for my campaign.

Kathy Miller

Will you commit to pro-actively abiding by all aspects of Petaluma’s existing campaign finance and disclosure laws?
Yes.

Will you commit to demonstrating your degree of local support by pro-actively limiting contributions to your campaign such that
• at least 75% of all dollars contributed come from individuals who are residents of the City of Petaluma, or from businesses or organizations headquartered in Petaluma*
• at least 60% of all dollars contributed come from individuals who are residents of the City of Petaluma
• you contribute from your own monies no more than 5% of the total of all contributions to your campaign
No. Many people who live outside of the City of Petaluma are impacted by decisions made in Petaluma and are, therefore, interested in who is elected.

Tiffany Renée

Will you commit to pro-actively abiding by all aspects of Petaluma’s existing campaign finance and disclosure laws?
Yes.  However, the current Petaluma campaign finance ordinance is problematic if the goal is to limit excessive business/corporate contributions. In years past we have seen multiple individual contributions from a single business entity. So, it makes working within the more limited framework that you are seeking below to be a further burden to candidates that do not seek these business/corporate funders. Do you want candidates making funding calls or work transparently on behalf of the public? The harder we work for funding, the less time we have to be of service to the public. A higher cap ($500 or $1000) would reduce the amount of time needed to fundraise, freeing up time for serving the community. Ultimately, public financing of campaigns is the solution.

Will you commit to demonstrating your degree of local support by pro-actively limiting contributions to your campaign such that
• at least 75% of all dollars contributed come from individuals who are residents of the City of Petaluma, or from businesses or organizations headquartered in Petaluma*
• at least 60% of all dollars contributed come from individuals who are residents of the City of Petaluma
• you contribute from your own monies no more than 5% of the total of all contributions to your campaign
I have taken an integrity pledge, which is visible on every page of my website. However, because I serve a larger area as a representative on three regional boards, I cannot commit to further limiting my fundraising to Petaluma. I serve on Association of Bay Area Governments representing nine bay area counties, including 101 cities. I serve on Sonoma County Transportation Authority/Regional Climate Protection Authority representing the nine cities and the county of Sonoma. And I serve on the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District representing the City and County of San Francisco, Counties and Cities of Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino and Del Norte. I have over 70 donors and over 90% comes from within the Bay Area region that I appointed to serve. About 50% of my fundraising has come from Petaluma. The remaining mostly comes from colleagues around Sonoma County, save a few contributions from colleagues and supporters in Marin and Mendocino.

Given this information, I hope you will see that your framework is too limiting for my position as a regional representative for Petaluma. As it is, fundraising is an unfortunate full-time job. My donor base is for the most part struggling in these times. And because I didn’t enter the race until July, I have loaned my campaign funds to stretch out the time to cover all the costs of my campaign. Having a limited income due to all my public commitments, I only made about $16,000 last year. This year is looking as challenged, so repaying myself for these expenses will be essential to making ends meet in our household. So, I won’t consider the loan a contribution to the campaign. I would suggest that questions and frameworks like these are too narrow if Occupy Petaluma is seeking to ensure that candidates are not being bought nor buying a seat at the table. I’m dedicated to serving Petaluma and the region because I want to enact policies that makes a difference and are rooted in the values of protecting the environment and supporting the community to live thriving, just and purpose-driven lives.

Jason Davies

Will you commit to pro-actively abiding by all aspects of Petaluma’s existing campaign finance and disclosure laws?
Yes.

Will you commit to demonstrating your degree of local support by pro-actively limiting contributions to your campaign such that

• at least 75% of all dollars contributed come from individuals who are residents of the City of Petaluma, or from businesses or organizations headquartered in Petaluma*
Yes.

• at least 60% of all dollars contributed come from individuals who are residents of the City of Petaluma
Yes.

• you contribute from your own monies no more than 5% of the total of all contributions to your campaign
So far I have loaned myself just $200 in this campaign.

I will do my best to raise more funds in order to avoid loaning myself more, but the reality is that I may need to in order to cover the cost of an upcoming mailer. However, that will be a loan that I plan to pay back through additional funding from primarily small, local, contributors. The fact is that other candidates have received more funding from outside interests and I’m running more of a grassroots campaign. Should Occupy Petaluma be in a position to help support my fundraising efforts, I would be most grateful as I too want to ensure leaders are elected that have the support from residents and more locally based small businesses. The 5% figure limit, I would suggest, should also take into account total money raised, where the money is coming from, and what (and who) the candidate stands for that is willing to invest their own resources for the benefit of the public at a time when a great many supporters are lacking in funds.

Mike Healy

Will you commit to pro-actively abiding by all aspects of Petaluma’s existing campaign finance and disclosure laws?
Yes, of course.

Will you commit to demonstrating your degree of local support by pro-actively limiting contributions to your campaign such that
• at least 75% of all dollars contributed come from individuals who are residents of the City of Petaluma, or from businesses or organizations headquartered in Petaluma*
• at least 60% of all dollars contributed come from individuals who are residents of the City of Petaluma
• you contribute from your own monies no more than 5% of the total of all contributions to your campaign
No. Candidates have less control over who chooses to contribute than the question assumes.