Negative campaigning affects candidate pool

Given the noxious nature of Yorba Linda's political environment – for too many years beset by personal grudges and petty political in-fighting – I'm surprised anybody outside those involved in these activities would want to serve on the City Council.

In fact, many of the city's most prominent and active citizens won't seek council positions because the feuding factions active in local politics have access to funds from special interests they use to demonize opponents in negative – and very expensive – campaigning.

One offensive symbol of the sad state of electioneering in the city is putting an opponent's picture in a circle with a diagonal line through it, often in red, a particularly tawdry practice.

Today's campaign tactics are in stark contrast to the upbeat atmosphere of the first council election in 1967, when an impressive roster of 27 of the community's outstanding citizens appeared on the ballot and ran positive campaigns on issues that would shape a new city's identity.

Despite differences on the value of incorporation, nobody's picture appeared in a red circle with a line through it, and committees promoted endorsed candidates' attributes without denigrating other contenders.

Naturally, long ago elections with 3,600 registered voters are different from present ballots with 45,000 potential voters, so collecting contributions to reach many more residents with mailers and advertisements becomes the key to electability.

At best, in hotly contested council elections with several viable candidates, fewer than 300 residents will contribute, in total, to the campaign treasuries of the candidates they support.

So too often, candidates rely on special interests, such as builders and public employee unions, seeking to influence the city's future course by direct donations to candidates or cash spent through “independent expenditure” committees.

And negative campaigning works when thousands of voters don't know candidates on a personal level, as opposed to the city's early years, when “everybody knew everybody.”

Some potential candidates shy away from the ballot when they learn they must file a “statement of economic interests” revealing, in broad categories, the value of their properties and investments, sensitive details many wouldn't want in the public record.

Add that some winners have complained the time they spend on city issues detracts from their occupations and businesses, resulting in financial sacrifices, and the pool of possible candidates becomes smaller.

Of course, a council position can help some lines of work, and a couple past members have told me that increased visibility, especially when they served as mayor, attracted new clients.

Perks include $500 monthly salary ($525 after November ballot); $1,095 monthly currently added to members' tax-deferred retirement accounts; lifetime retirement pay based on salary, if eligible; monthly $100 car allowance; vision and dental care; and maximum $1,167 monthly lifetime health plan payments for retired members and dependents, as eligible.