Riverside County May Limit Donors

The Riverside County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to explore campaign finance reform that could limit contributions.

The board voted 5 to 0 to direct county counsel to study the issue with the nonpartisan Center for Governmental Studies, and present information at a public workshop in September.

The board rejected a proposal by Supervisor Bob Buster to have county counsel draft a proposed ordinance by the end of August.

“I don’t see what’s going to be gained by rushing into this,” said Supervisor Marion Ashley. “Let’s get the public involved in this.”

Buster noted that there are no limits in Riverside County beyond the state’s Political Reform Act, which requires disclosure of donors, contributions and spending, while hundreds of California cities and counties have adopted tighter restrictions. Buster narrowly avoided a runoff in the March election against Linda Soubirous, a candidate heavily financed by the Riverside Sheriffs’ Assn., a deputies union. He said after Tuesday’s board meeting that this experience, and the growing influence of other interests such as developers and Indian tribes, prompted him to propose considering donation and spending limits.

The lone supporter of Buster’s proposal was Supervisor Jim Venable, who lost his March election bid to Jeff Stone. Stone also got funding from the Riverside Sheriffs’ Assn.

Kevin Jeffries, chairman of the Riverside County Republican Party, urged the board to consider the legal challenges San Diego faced when it tried to restrict donations to independent organizations that support candidates.

“The only reason I bring this up is because we do not want to see a legal challenge at a later date,” he said.

Brian Floyd and Art Cassel, political supporters of Soubirous, added that limits could infringe on donors’ 1st Amendment rights. They urged the board to tread carefully.

“Elections and everything involved -- campaign finance, term limits -- these are public matters,” Cassel said. “I, in the strongest terms, urge you to make this a public process.”