Note: The responses of the five 2004 Petaluma City Council candidates to the Press Democrat's question, "Do you support Measure R, the campaign finance measure? Please explain" are as follows. For other responses, see http://go.pressdemocrat.com/candidates/response/candidate.cfm
In alphabetical order by last name:
Spence Burton
Yes, I support Measure R -- Campaign Finance Reform. To my knowledge, I am the ONLY declared candidate in this election that has taken the pledge to adhere to the measure for THIS election. I have a hard time understanding how somebody who says they are in favor of it won't pledge to adhere to it. It should be a matter of principle and credibility for every candidate. Some of these same City Council Candidates are raising $20,000& $30,000& $40,000 dollars and much more in amounts up to $500 per person. I personally don't think candidates should be raising and spending such large sums of money on a local non-partisan City Council Election! That could lead to a lot of you owe me requests once they are in office. I refuse to accuse any of my opponents of doing so on a quid pro quo basis as I firmly believe they are honest and dedicated members of our community, but the appearance of impropriety sometimes can be worse. I have confidence that people will vote for candidates because of their positions on the issues, not on who raises or spends the most money, or who has the biggest signs! Somehow we need to return to Common Sense when campaigning for the City Council; this isn't the race for the White House!
Mike O'Brien
I support the measure, however I have concerns. This ordinance is more of an "Incumbent Protection Measure" than providing a level playing field. The name recognition and free TV and press that incumbents enjoy, make it more difficult for a newcomer to mount an effective and successful campaign. I will gladly live with the voters decision.
Pamela Torliatt
Yes. I support campaign finance reform. I believe it helps level the playing field for an average citizen to partcipate in local government. People should have access to information detailing how much someone contributes to a candidate's campaign.
Cindy Thomas
I absolutely support the campaign finance reform (CFR) measure for Petaluma and participated in the real grass roots efforts to secure the required signatures from voters to get the CFR measure on the November ballot. In recent election years, the money being contributed to candidate campaigns has climbed far above what's necessary to run a viable campaign. More and more money is coming from special interest people and groups, increasingly from out-of-town sources. Huge amounts of money are being spent on mass mailings of candidate literature, some of which speaks very negatively about other candidates. I feel a candidate should raise only enough money to produce an adequate amount of materials which will inform the voters of the candidate's qualifications and pledges. Candidates should be out in public talking to the voters personally which doesn't require large sums of money. During my 2002 campaign, I raised less than $10,000 and lost by only 76 votes. I didn't accomplish that by mass mailings but by grass roots efforts. By my estimate, the 2004 city council election will likely show some Petaluma candidates as having raised well over $50,000 to run for office. CFR would force future candidates to work for their votes, not buy a seat on the council.