Many questions, few answers

Barbara Diamond

City officials may find it is a lot harder to stuff the genie back

into the bottle than it was to pop the cork.

Deep philosophical divisions on the City Council surfaced Tuesday

night that had until now been cloaked in a veneer of civility. Wounds

inflicted during a contentious 2 1/2-hour hearing on campaign

spending may not easily heal.

“The worst thing about living here is these warring camps,” former

Mayor Ann Christoph said. “I don’t think it’s necessary. We all

appreciate the city and we should appreciate one another.”

Christoph referred to representatives of Village Laguna, of which

she is a member, and of the Laguna Beach Taxpayers Assn., who

participated in the hearing, which was marred by personal attacks and

questions about the influence of donors and the honesty and accuracy

of reporting donations and spending in city elections.

Council members with opposing viewpoints got in their swipes.

“How did we come to this?” said Bonnie Hano, one of the many

Village Laguna members at the meeting.

The hearing combined two separate items, one sponsored by Mayor

Toni Iseman and the other by council members Elizabeth Pearson and

Wayne Baglin.

“I first said let’s talk about how [political action committees]

get money and how they spend it,” Pearson said. “But then I said I

don’t want to go there. I wanted to take the high road and not attack

any individuals.”

Pearson modified her original intent and asked the city clerk only

for an explanation of the city’s election code, the amounts Village

Laguna and the Laguna Beach Taxpayers Assn. PAC reported collecting

and spending in the 2002 election. She also asked the city attorney

for a definition of a political action committee.

All the information is available at the city clerk’s office.

“When Elizabeth suggested we needed to bring forth an agenda item

to explain money spent by Village Laguna, I was motivated to do

something I felt should have been done,” Iseman said.

Iseman presented a spreadsheet of selected professional or

business categories of donors and where they were.

“Totals get reported, but the question is, what do the numbers

mean?” Iseman said.

The spreadsheet lists donations for all five council members and

Melissa O’Neal, a candidate in the 2002 election. It is available for

review in the city clerk’s office.

Iseman recommended that contributions in future elections should

be posted online and that the city should require donors to specify

their relationship to the city.

An online analysis would make it much easier to find out how much

candidates have in their war chests and where they got it, Iseman

said. She said she would welcome a review by Kinsman, a certified

public accountant.

“You better pray every night that I don’t,” Kinsman said.

Mistakes would be corrected, Iseman said.

The city code limits individual contributions to $250 per two-year

election cycle. Donations of $100 or more must be itemized with the

name and business or profession of the donor.

League of Women Voters representative Jean Raun said she liked the

idea of electronic reporting, but it is not the league’s job to

categorize contributors.

“Our objective is to get as much money out of the campaigns as

possible.” Raun said. “I see no violations in either agenda item. I

spent a lot of time on the reports, but didn’t see any contributions

that exceed limitations.”

Iseman, who had voluntarily signed a $30,000 spending cap,

exceeded the limit, but there are no penalties for that. City law

requires that the excess be donated to charitable causes.

The council voted 4 to 0, with Steven Dicterow absent, to take no

action on Iseman’s recommendation for online reports.

The council also voted to take no action on the suggestion by

Taxpayers Assn. member Frank Ricchiazzi to appoint a committee to

seek answers to eight questions he had submitted. If not satisfied

with the answers, Ricchiazzi said, the matters should be referred to

other agencies.

City Atty. Philip Kohn declined to comment on what actions, if

any, the council could or should take, without instructions from the

council. City Manager Ken Frank also declined to comment.

“All I have tried to do is say there are questions from the

2001-02 reports that need answers,” Ricchiazzi said Tuesday. “God

bless PACs. I love them. I belong to them. But we have to be honest.”

Pearson said that the presentation to the council by Village

Laguna on its foundation, history, goals and means of obtaining those

goals made no mention of initiatives.

The slide presentation included a reference to activity on El Toro

initiatives: Measures A, S, F and W; and open space initiatives:

Proposition 70, Measure H and CalPAW.

Village Laguna was founded in 1971 after a successful effort to

set building height limits in town.

“We are dedicated to preserving and enhancing the unique village

character of Laguna Beach,” Bette Anderson said. “That is our only

mission.”

Pearson said there is a perception in town that Village Laguna

goes out and raises $35,000 without making donors aware that they are

supporting a PAC.

“Let’s be up front about it,” Pearson said.

Village Laguna membership applications state that with the payment

of $20 per person or $35 per family, members receive a newsletter,

can attend parties, participate in the annual Charm House Tour and

support local city and school board candidates.

“Anybody who doesn’t know what Village Laguna supports may need

McDonald’s to tell them the coffee is hot,” Chris Selecky said.

The nonprofit organization does not claim to be a charity. It

files campaign statements as a general purpose committee.

City Clerk Verna Rollinger said she was not aware of any

requirement that obliges Village Laguna to earmark money for

philanthropies, although it does make charitable donations.

Ricchiazzi said he was not happy with the outcome of the council

hearing.

“I was very disappointed that the council took no action and that

Village Laguna did not answer our questions,” Ricchiazzi said

Wednesday

“We should have focused on just two questions,” Ricchiazzi said.

“The questions are, why did it take Village Laguna a year to pay the

2002 tram rent to the city, and when did they make a contribution to

the 911 Fund from the proceeds of the November 2001 fund-raiser

honoring Terry Neptune?”

Hano said on Wednesday that the tram rent was paid as soon as

Village Laguna received the bill, confirmed by the city, and a check

was presented to the Chamber of Commerce to be forwarded to the 911

victims’ fund.

“We have the canceled check for $1,221.01 that was presented in

January 2002 to Anne Morris at the chamber,” Hano said.

Councilwoman Cheryl Kinsman said she considered Iseman’s

spreadsheet a personal attack.”When you are mayor with a minority

position, you can lead with dignity and grace and bring us together,”

Kinsman said Wednesday. “This didn’t. Somehow, we have to mend our

fences and lead this town.

“There are still a lot of questions, but I hope we never, ever

have a meeting like that again,” she said.

* BARBARA DIAMOND is a reporter for the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. She may be reached at 494-4321.