HomeMy WebLinkAboutLeague of Women Voters PresentationLocal Election Finance Study
League of Women Voters -Southwest Santa Clara Valley
Serving the communities of Campbell, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, & Saratoga
Study Committee
Tom Picraux*, Danice Picraux*, Meg Giberson,
Kathy Murtfeldt, Pat White, Eleanor Yick
* Co-chairs
The League of Women Voters
As a nonpartisan political organization we promote democracy by:
•Encouraging participation in government
•Educating voters
•Advocating issues—but only after study & consensus on the issue
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Local Election Finance study’s purpose
•Grew out of our LWV national study on “Money in Politics”
•Study objectives are:
Examine local election regulations for our area
Compare practices to other cities in our county
Educate our membership
Consider and promote possible best practices
•Purpose
Promote participation & transparency in local elections
for both voters and candidates
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What did we do?
•Studied local city council and school board elections
Campbell, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, and Saratoga
•Analyzed 2016 election voting results and spending & contribution
reporting for all races
•Interviewed 10 candidates, covering all races
•Surveyed the practices of the other 11 cities in SC County and
compared their laws and practices to ours.
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Selected findings to consider
•Posting candidate election contribution and expenditure reports on city’s website
(Forms 460, 470, 497)
•Bearing a portion of the cost (currently about $1,500 to $1,800) of the candidate
statement for the Voter Information Pamphlet mailed to all voters.
•Consider the merits of voluntary campaign spending limits or total (non-family)
donation limits
•Enhance city’s website for well-organized, relevant election information
-Post additional candidate guidelines and helpful information for prospective candidates
-Post additional information on candidates running for city office during election season for
voters (e.g. candidate statement, contact information, linked to LWV Voters Edge info on
candidates, upcoming candidate forums, link to candidates web and Facebook pages)
Encourage greater election participation and transparency by --
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