Publication Date: Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Should the city subsidize council candidates?
Should the city subsidize council candidates?
(August 17, 2005) Palo Alto pays $2,000 per applicant for ballot-related fees
by Bill D'Agostino
It's an ironic fact of Palo Alto politics. Most candidates for City Council criticize the city for unnecessarily spending money, yet their very candidacies cost the city about $2,000 each.
Palo Alto is one of the few cities in the area that pays the full cost of printing the candidates' ballot statements in the county's official voters' guide. The price has gone up considerably in recent years, especially since the 200-word statement is now required to be translated into five languages: English, Tagalog, Chinese, Vietnamese and Spanish.
This year's council candidates have until the end of the day Wednesday to file their paperwork, including statements, for a council run. On Monday, there were a dozen candidates for the Palo Alto City Council's five open seats, meaning the cost to the city for the printing of the ballot statements would be around $24,000.
Candidate Harold "Skip" Justman, a real estate lawyer, said he thought it might be worth reconsidering the long-standing policy if the public were interested.
"It's just another financial burden on the city," he said, later adding: "If you can't raise $2,000 to run for City Council, how serious a candidate are you?"
Many fellow candidates thought different. Environmental activist Peter Drekmeier, who works for a nonprofit, said the $2,000 cost would have been tough for him personally.
Similarly, Councilman Jack Morton, who's running for re-election, said keeping the price low encourages participatory democracy.
"You want (running for council) to be accessible for people with as wide a range as (formerly homeless man) Victor Frost to (former mayor) Larry Klein," Morton said.
The lack of a price tag for a council seat is likely why some candidates like Frost run during each campaign. Justman said the "non-serious" candidates detract viewers' attention during candidate forums.
"You're going to lose a lot of people halfway through because they get tired of the people who don't have a chance," he said.
Former Mayor Gary Fazzino said if the city wanted to limit the number of candidates, it would be better to require them to collect more signatures, rather than pay for the statements. Council candidates currently need to collect 25 signatures from registered voters. If candidates get more than 100 valid signatures, the city returns a $25 filing fee.
In the City of Santa Clara, the city pays half the cost of printing the ballot statements but only if the candidate agrees to abide by the city's campaign finance restrictions, according to City Clerk Rod Diridon Jr. A candidate who signs on agrees not to raise more than $27,000, he said.
Mountain View is currently considering a measure similar to Santa Clara's to partly subsidize the cost of printing the ballot statements in exchange for candidates agreeing to campaign finance restrictions.
A final list of the candidates for the Palo Alto City Council will be posted online this week at www.PaloAltoOnline.com.
Staff Writer Bill D'Agostino can be e-mailed at bdagostino@paweekly.com.
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