The Santa Barbara City Clerk’s Office laid down the hammer on several City Council and mayoral candidates for not filing campaign contribution statements on time ahead of the Nov. 2 election.
Nina Johnson, a candidate for the District 6 City Council seat, was fined $6,570 for several contributions she received above $1,000 that she did not report within 24 hours, as the law requires.
Johnson had nearly 20 filings that were late, so the $10 fine is applied to each filing, per day, some of them going back to early August.
She told Noozhawk that late filing was a misunderstanding that she takes full responsibility for.
“All information was fully disclosed and available online for the public to view, well before ballots were mailed allowing voters to make informed decisions,” Johnson said. “Our campaign team is focused on real crises — working on solutions for homelessness, the high cost of housing, and business recovery and revitalization.”
The District 6 race includes Johnson, Jason Carlton, Meagan Harmon and Zachary Pike. Johnson also commented about the incumbent, Harmon.
“I’m proud of the large number of individual contributions received from a broad range of community supporters, small businesses, and downtown stakeholders,” Johnson said. “Unlike Councilmember Meagan Harmon who has received large sums from unions and other elected officials, we have taken a different approach, not accepting any donations from unions or elected officials. My supporters are the people of Santa Barbara, not a political party. Our campaign is made up of grassroots volunteers who do not have political campaign experience. They believe in our mission of restoring more inclusive, collaborative community conversations and rebuilding trust in local government.”
Harmon fired back at Johnson.
“It is sad that instead of simply apologizing for breaking the law and depriving voters of their right to full public disclosure, this candidate chooses to bash working families and the many highly respected community leaders who support my campaign to continue serving on the City Council,” Harmon said.
Randy Rowse, a candidate for mayor, was fined $4,020 for multiple late filings, according to the City Clerk’s Office.
“I am responsible for what happens in my campaign,” Rowse said. “I made a mistake about the deadline for reporting individual contributions, not considering the different rules from the last time I ran. We discovered it in mid-September and reported it immediately to the City Clerk. We received the notice of penalty today which the Clerk reviewed with me. The notice is accurate.”
Mayoral candidate Mark Whitehurst was penalized $800 for filing his campaign contributions late; mayoral candidate James Joyce was fined $90 for filing late; and mayoral candidate Deborah Schwartz was fined $40 for filing late campaign contribution statements. The mayor’s race includes incumbent Cathy Murillo, Joyce, Matt Kilrain, Rowse, Schwartz and Whitehurst.
“The law is clear that contribution reports must be filed on time,” said Rebecca Bjork, interim City Administrator. “The public is deprived of important information it needs to make informed decisions election decisions when reports are not filed on time.”
The City Clerk’s Office fines the candidates $10 per day, per report that is late.
The municipal election on Nov. 2 includes four seats on the Santa Barbara City Council: mayor, District 4 council member, District 5 council member, and District 6 council member. Ballots are mailed out in early October, according to the City Clerk’s Office.
Click here to access the city’s public portal for campaign finance disclosure.
— Noozhawk staff writer Joshua Molina can be reached at jmolina@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
