Council calls for added disclosure on campaign bank accounts
By Sophia Fischer sfischer@theacorn.com

Thousand Oaks City Council candidates who raise $10,000 or more for a campaign will now be required to disclose their campaign bank account statements. The council approved the municipal code amendment earlier this week. The rule does not apply to personal bank accounts.

Councilmember Andy Fox initiated the suggestion at the council's April 25 meeting. The idea was then sent to the city attorney's office to be drafted.

"This would ensure that fundraising and campaign disclosure match," Fox said.

But not everyone agreed. On April 25, Councilmember Claudia Bill-de la Pea requested that political action committees and independent expenditure funds, including a community endowment fund in the name of Andy Fox. Any entity that backs a particular candidate should also disclose its statements, Bill de la Pea said.

Her motion wasn't supported by any other council member. She raised the issue again this week, expressing concern that the amendment serves incumbents.

"Strengthening campaign reform law would look good on my campaign brochure, but it has to be broader, done in a more thoughtful manner . . . ," Bill-de la Pea said. "Disclosure and transparency is much more important that a campaign statement."

Resident Nick Quidwai, a community activist, agreed. "This ordinance is not needed," Quidwai said. "It helps the incumbents."

Councilmember Jacqui Irwin and Mayor Dennis Gillette supported the amendment but both acknowledged it wasn't enough.

"I don't think it will end all of the shenanigans but it is one step," Irwin said.

Gillette said he hoped the amendment might be a deterrent.

Council candidates in Thousand Oaks have been known to raise thousands of dollars for campaigns. In the 2002 election, when Fox, Gillette and Bill-de la Pena ran, 10 of 12 candidates met the $10,000 threshold. In 2004, four of seven candidates raised well over $10,000, including Irwin and former council members Ed Masry and Bob Wilson.

"Ten thousand dollars is only a drop in the bucket in Thousand Oaks, unfortunately," said Bill-de la Pea, adding that she had never spent that much on a campaign, a sentiment echoed by Gillette. The motion passed 3-1 with

Bill-de la Pea dissenting. Councilmember Tom Glancy was absent.