ANAHEIM : Council Mulls Term, Fund-Raising Limits

The City Council has agreed to discuss placing term limits on its members and caps on fund raising for future elections, which could be the first step to placing charter amendments on the June ballot.

Under a proposal by Councilman William D. Ehrle, himself a successful fund-raiser in two previous council campaigns, the council this week agreed to discuss both limits at its Jan. 28 meeting. Mayor Fred Hunter said he would like to see the council place both issues before the voters in June’s primary election.

Ehrle said he wants the amount a candidate could raise each election to be equal to $1 per registered voter--which would limit candidates to about $100,000 per campaign--and to limit council members to two or three consecutive four-year terms.

“Limiting the amount of money candidates can raise will force them to depend less on direct mailers and spend more time on face-to-face campaigning, knocking on doors and talking to people,” Ehrle said. “Spending has gotten out of control. We are spending more money on council campaigns in Anaheim than candidates for the state Legislature spend.”

He also said that limiting the number of terms a council member could serve would force “new ideas” onto the council and “term limits are something people throughout the nation and the city want.”

Ehrle, who was elected to fill a council vacancy in 1987 and then elected to a full four-year term in 1988, is expected to run for a second full term in November. Beginning with his first campaign, he has raised more than $574,000 in campaign contributions, according to public records.

A recent story in The Times reported that campaign contributions for Anaheim council members are increasing and that a substantial portion of those contributions come from developers doing business with the city. Council members, who receive a salary of $700 a month, have said that under the current rules, a candidate must spend $100,000 to $200,000 on a campaign to have any chance at winning.

Hunter, who was elected to the council in 1986 and is running for a third two-year term as mayor in November, said he will support both campaign and term limits. He has said he plans to leave the council in 1994, when his council term expires. Public records show that he has raised more than $574,000 in campaign contributions since 1984, when he made an unsuccessful bid in his first council race.

He said both limits could help elect a Latino to the council, something that has never occurred even though Latinos make up a third of the city’s population.

“They don’t have access to the money others have, and this will level the playing field and give them a chance,” he said.

Councilman Irv Pickler, who is serving his third term on the council, said he will listen to the proposals on Jan. 28, but he doubts he will support either limit.

Pickler, who lost to Hunter in 1990’s mayoral race and who may try again in November, has raised $636,000 since 1984. Councilman Tom Daly has raised $299,000 since 1988 and Councilman Bob D. Simpson, who has announced he will retire when his term expires in 1994, has raised $146,000 since 1990, records show.