Campaign complaints filed by both sides

June Casagrande

A debate over the city’s campaign rules is boiling over into an

all-out battle, with allegations being lobbed from both sides.

Greenlight leaders have filed a slew of complaints against “Team

Newport” candidates -- Councilmen Gary Adams, Tod Ridgeway and Don

Webb and businessman Bernie Svalstad -- and their hired consultant

Dave Ellis. In turn, Ellis has submitted to city officials complaints

alleging that Greenlight has broken campaign finance rules.

Though it’s the city clerk’s job to wade through the allegations

as they pertain to city rules, the allegations will get the most play

in City Council chambers, as councilmen wade through a bog of

back-and-forth accusations during a campaign finance study session.

“City Atty. Bob Burnham and I are going to get down to business to

make this study session happen,” Councilman John Heffernan said.

The study session, originally requested by Heffernan, has been

postponed while city officials work out the details of what the city

might want to consider as it looks at revamping is campaign rules.

In addition to the complaints against “Team Newport,” Greenlight

leader Phil Arst has accused the Newport Beach Police Assn. Voter

Awareness Committee, the Newport Beach Firefighters Assn. and the

Newport Beach Public Safety Assn. of violating campaign rules in the

city charter.

Greenlight’s charges against some parties include allegations that

Team Newport supporters who sent out absentee ballot applications as

a public service to residents used information gathered from them for

the partisan purpose of compiling a database of addresses to promote

the candidates. Greenlight alleges that this is a violation of city

campaign rules.

Greenlight also charged that a group called Team Newport doled out

financial assistance to candidates in a way inconsistent with the

rules and that there was an inappropriate relationship between the

candidates and groups that are supposed to be independent of the

candidates’ control.

“We think that it’s clear that they violated campaign law,” Arst

said.

Greenlight has also alleged that an expenditure for phone bank

services on Gary Adams’ campaign finance statement suggests that

Adams knew that Ellis created a phony campaign phone message to

benefit Adams. Adams has denied knowing anything about the phony

message and has said that the expenditure was for legitimate campaign

telephone services.

City Clerk Lavonne Harkless was out of the office Friday.

In turn, Ellis has alleged that the Greenlight Committee broke the

rules in how it collected and distributed money to its candidates in

the 2002 election: Councilman Dick Nichols, Allan Beek, Madelene

Arakelian and Rick Taylor.

“Greenlight mailed numerous fliers and posted signs clearly

indicating a slate of four candidates. Greenlight did not file as a

slate committee, in possible violation of the statute,” Ellis wrote

to Mayor Steve Bromberg.

His letter lists numerous potential violations by Greenlight in

how the group collected money and distributed cash and nonmonetary

benefits to its candidates. Specifically, Ellis wrote that some

distributions to candidates violated the $500 campaign contribution

limit.

“Greenlight drove a truck through the city’s campaign contribution

ordinance,” Ellis wrote.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport.

She may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

[email protected].