Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

What’s Behind California’s Frozen Housing Market?

19 hours ago

Oil Prices Rise on Trade War Relief, US Pressure on Russia

20 hours ago

Marjorie Taylor Greene Is First Republican Lawmaker to Call Gaza Crisis a ‘Genocide’

22 hours ago

UK Will Recognize Palestinian Statehood in September, Barring Israel-Hamas Ceasefire

22 hours ago

Trump’s EPA to Repeal Core of Greenhouse Gas Rules in Major Deregulatory Move

23 hours ago

US Approval of Israel’s Gaza Offensive Drops to 32%, Poll Shows

24 hours ago

Shooter in New York Skyscraper Left Note Blaming NFL for Brain Injury, Mayor Says

1 day ago

Trump Eyes Aug 1 Trade Deals as EU, China Talks Continue, US Commerce Chief Says

1 day ago

Trump Says Many Are Starving in Gaza, Vows to Set up Food Centers

2 days ago
The Glaring Flaws in California's Political Pay-to-Play Law
By admin
Published 2 years ago on
March 8, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

A wave of corruption scandals has washed over California’s local governments in recent years, particularly in Southern California.

Bribery and self-dealing is so common among small cities in Los Angeles County that the speaker of the state Assembly, Anthony Rendon, has described the area he represents as a “corridor of corruption.

Last month, Jose Huizar, a member of the Los Angeles City Council for 15 years, pleaded guilty to federal charges of racketeering and tax evasion for extorting at least $1.5 million in bribes from developers of real estate projects.

This week, another former Los Angeles councilman, Mark Ridley-Thomas, went on trial in federal court for allegedly, as a county supervisor, routing contracts to the University of Southern California in return for benefits for his son, former assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, including a $100,000 grant to the son’s nonprofit corporation.

Dan Walters with a serious expression

Dan Walters

CalMatters

Opinion

Out-and-out bribery violates both state and federal law and quite a few local officials, both elected and appointed, and some state legislators have been prosecuted.

Just below blatant tit-for-tat bribery, legally speaking, is another layer known colloquially as “pay-to-play.” Those seeking beneficial acts from political figures, such as trash hauling contracts or development permits, understand that they need to make campaign contributions to increase their chances of success.

In the 1980s, the Legislature enacted laws to curb campaign contributions to elected officials who sit on state boards. They were inspired by allegations that local government officials sitting on the California Coastal Commission were being showered with campaign money from property developers.

Last year, state Sen. Steve Glazer, an Orinda Democrat who once was the city’s mayor, carried a bill to expand the 1980s laws to local governments. Senate Bill 1439 was backed by political reform groups and sailed through the Legislature without a single negative vote or formal opposition.

The new law went into effect on Jan. 1, essentially prohibiting contributions of more than $250 to any local elected official from anyone seeking contracts, permits or licenses from the board or council on which the official serves. It would be retroactive, requiring the official who received such contributions in the past to give the money back.

Last month, a coalition of business groups and a few elected officials sued to overturn the law, saying it “is overbroad and violates the constitutional rights of thousands of contributors and local elected officials.”

“We have become numb to the legal corruption that has enveloped our democracy,” Glazer said this week in response. “Pay-to-play is antithetical to an honest and ethical government, and it should be rooted out and killed like a cancer that has affected the body politic.”

Law Exempts Unions

While the situation Glazer seeks to address is a real one, his new law could ensnare an official who innocently accepted a campaign contribution, and perhaps spent it to get elected, only to learn months later that his vote would affect a contributor.

That said, one obvious flaw is that it applies to a very narrow set of official acts. It would not, for example, affect a local government’s contract with its workers’ union, due to specific exemption in the original 1980s laws. Yet, unions are among the most active favor-seeking interest groups.

Also, the law would not apply to legislators or other state-level politicians, including the governor. They rake in immense amounts of campaign money from interest groups seeking to affect their decisions but, unlike local officials, are not required to avoid votes on issues affecting their contributors, including state employee unions.

If the law is good for the local goose, it should also be good for the state gander.

About the Author

Dan Walters has been a journalist for nearly 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers. He began his professional career in 1960, at age 16, at the Humboldt Times. For more columns by Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.

Make Your Voice Heard

GV Wire encourages vigorous debate from people and organizations on local, state, and national issues. Submit your op-ed to rreed@gvwire.com for consideration. 

 

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Warner or Conklin? Fresno State QB Battle Builds Ahead of Kansas Opener

DON'T MISS

Protein Bar Arms Race Is Waged on Store Shelves and Social Media

DON'T MISS

Israeli Minister Hints at Annexing Parts of Gaza

DON'T MISS

Russia Has Developed Immunity to Sanctions, Kremlin Says After Trump Tightens Ceasefire Deadline

DON'T MISS

Fed Likely to Hold Rates Steady Despite Trump’s Push for Big Cuts

DON'T MISS

California Under Tsunami Advisory After Magnitude 8.7 Earthquake

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Dies in DUI Crash, Driver Arrested

DON'T MISS

Madera County Wildfire Burns Near Fairmead, Containment at 0%

DON'T MISS

Watch Twin Meteor Showers Reach Their Simultaneous Peak in Summer Skies

DON'T MISS

New York Gunman Was Flagged by Security Camera System Before Attack, Sources Say

UP NEXT

As Trump Cuts Education, Candidates Line Up for California’s Top Schools Job

UP NEXT

What’s Behind California’s Frozen Housing Market?

UP NEXT

How Israel’s War With Hamas Became Unjust

UP NEXT

What Does Trump Crackdown on Homelessness Mean for California?

UP NEXT

California Governor Candidate Stirs Outrage With Auschwitz ‘Unemployment Plan’ Post

UP NEXT

California May Soon Ban Selling New Glocks Like Kamala Harris Owns

UP NEXT

California School Board Resigns After Audit Reveals $180M in Improper Funding

UP NEXT

Jack McAuliffe, Who Started a Craft Beer Revolution, Dies at 80

UP NEXT

PBS Has a Future by Leaving the Past Behind: Opinion

UP NEXT

Key Player in California’s Water Wars Embraces Controversial Newsom Plan

Russia Has Developed Immunity to Sanctions, Kremlin Says After Trump Tightens Ceasefire Deadline

27 minutes ago

Fed Likely to Hold Rates Steady Despite Trump’s Push for Big Cuts

29 minutes ago

California Under Tsunami Advisory After Magnitude 8.7 Earthquake

15 hours ago

Fresno Man Dies in DUI Crash, Driver Arrested

15 hours ago

Madera County Wildfire Burns Near Fairmead, Containment at 0%

15 hours ago

Watch Twin Meteor Showers Reach Their Simultaneous Peak in Summer Skies

16 hours ago

New York Gunman Was Flagged by Security Camera System Before Attack, Sources Say

16 hours ago

As Trump Cuts Education, Candidates Line Up for California’s Top Schools Job

17 hours ago

US House Panel Rejects Immunity Request by Epstein Associate Maxwell

18 hours ago

Fresno’s Vacant Property Ordinance Punishes the Wrong People: Rassamni

18 hours ago

Warner or Conklin? Fresno State QB Battle Builds Ahead of Kansas Opener

One quarterback transferred from Rice. The other transferred down Highway 99 from Sacramento State. One will start at quarterback on Aug. 23...

9 minutes ago

9 minutes ago

Warner or Conklin? Fresno State QB Battle Builds Ahead of Kansas Opener

Image of the David Bar, Which Is High in Protein
21 minutes ago

Protein Bar Arms Race Is Waged on Store Shelves and Social Media

Destroyed buildings lie in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 28, 2025. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)
23 minutes ago

Israeli Minister Hints at Annexing Parts of Gaza

Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a statement to the media at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia May 11, 2025. (Reuters File)
27 minutes ago

Russia Has Developed Immunity to Sanctions, Kremlin Says After Trump Tightens Ceasefire Deadline

President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speak during a tour of the Federal Reserve Board building, which is currently undergoing renovations, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 24, 2025. (Reuters File)
29 minutes ago

Fed Likely to Hold Rates Steady Despite Trump’s Push for Big Cuts

15 hours ago

California Under Tsunami Advisory After Magnitude 8.7 Earthquake

Juan Carlos Mendoza Jr., 23, was arrested on suspicion of DUI and vehicular manslaughter after a crash in Fresno County killed a 24-year-old passenger. (Fresno County SO)
15 hours ago

Fresno Man Dies in DUI Crash, Driver Arrested

A wildfire in Madera County, dubbed the 19 Fire, has burned 16 acres with 0% containment as of Tuesday, July 29, 2025, afternoon, according to CalFire. (CalFire)
15 hours ago

Madera County Wildfire Burns Near Fairmead, Containment at 0%

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend