TAKE ACTION
SLO COUNTY CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION LIMITS – NOV 20, 8AM
SUMMARY
The state of California passed a law which will cap campaign donations at $4,700 starting January 2021. In San Luis Obispo County, this will apply to 10 elected officials, including the county supervisors, the district attorney and the sheriff.
Republican supervisors John Peschong, Debbie Arnold and Lynn Compton are pushing for the county’s contribution limit to be raised to $25,000 AHEAD OF THE STATE LIMIT TAKING PLACE. A limit of 25k would be more than 5 times higher than the state limit, and 16 times higher than other CA counties, such as Los Angeles County ($1500).
CALL TO ACTION
1. BEFORE NOV 19TH 5PM: Send an email to the SLO County Board of Supervisors and request to vote NO on the proposed SLO County campaign limit. Ask supervisors to follow the CA state limit, and to shift their energy to the needs of SLO County residents, rather than their own.
2. NOVEMBER 20TH, 8AM
- LEAVE A PRE-RECORDED VOICE MAIL: Must be received no later than 8am, Nov 20th.
- Call (805) 788-6638; state your name, mention the agenda item number 32, and leave your comment in opposition to a local campaign limit.
- Verbal comments are limited to 3 minutes including stating your name.
- PARTICIPATE IN LIVE PUBLIC COMMENT: Join us November 20, at 8am
- Call (805) 321-0555 to listen to live meeting and to provide public comment
- A staff member will ask for your name to place you in the queue.
- When asked say: Calling for agenda item 32: Campaign Contribution Limit
- When it is your turn to speak, the Clerk of the Board will announce your name (through the phone audio) and then you can speak for 3 minutes.
- Request the Board to follow CA state campaign contribution limits by voting NO on agenda item 32. SLO County does not need their own limits. Follow CA law.
- If you are getting a busy signal, that means the queue is full, please continue to call until you get through.
- You can watch the Live Video from home.
FAQ’S
Q: I heard there’s a potential conflict of interest involved. Is it true?
A: Yes:
- Supervisor Peschong is a partner at political consulting firm Meridian Pacific, which could potentially benefit from higher campaign donations.
- Meridian Pacific was hired by Supervisors Arnold and Compton, both in favor of Peschong’s 25k limit.
- Meridian Pacific was also hired by District Attorney Dan Dow in the past. If the county passes its own limit, the District Attorney would be in charge of enforcing the limit with county tax payers money instead of the FPPC, which creates a further conflict of interest especially when considering the current DA’s recent Republican Party pandering.
- How much money can Meridian Pacific make? In 2018, Peschong’s firm made $650,000 in one campaign season, just from fighting Measure G.
Q: Would this county limit cost tax payer money?
A: Yes, if the county sets their own limit, the application and enforcement falls under SLO County’s budget, instead of the state. At a time when money is being taken away from social services, we need to make sure no additional tax payer money is spent on unnecessary local regulations.
MORE INFO