1993_02 Insight February 1993

              1 California State University, Fresno
NSIGHT
Wednesday, February 24,1993 CSU Fresno's Premier News Source
Volume 25, Issue 15
20 candidates
race for city
council seats
By Shelley L. Willingham	
Staff Writer
The 20 candidates running for City Council
in the March 2 election don't have a lot in
common, but there are some similar themes
being echoed from their campaigns.
They say crime is out of control and must be reduced.
Charter Section 809 should be repealed, development
must be better planned and tax dollars should be spent
more wisely.
Assessing the campaign, David Provost, a CSUF
political science professor, said "perhaps the overriding issue that people aren't tuned into is the decline
in federal and stale funding that limits what the local
government can do."
"The most interesting aspect is the number of candidates, and with the exception of Karen Humphrey, no
incumbents are running this term," he added.
Constituents of Districts 2,4 and 6 want vandalism
and other crimes reduced so all of the candidates
promote some form of improved protection, strict
penalties for vandalism and improved detention facilities, in addition to activity-based preventive programs
for high-risk youth.
The candidates debate the significance of recent City
Hall efforts such as the Ratkovich proposal that cost
See City Council page 4.
Eric Johnston and Matt So by/In si i; i it
Mayor hopefuls
neglect state laws
By Davin A. Hutchins
Staff Writer
As a result of Ihe public's apparent distrust of politicians statewide, it seems that
with each new year, amendments are added
to state laws, ordinances are passed by local
governments, or voters put initiatives on
the ballots to further regulate political campaigns.
Due to the ever growing mass of local and
state laws on campaign financing, candidates for public office are finding it more
and more difficult to keep track of all the
requirements needed to run a successful
campaign without tripping up on the campaign trail.
The City of Fresno's mayoral race is no
exception.
Thirteen candidates are currently running
for Fresno's mayor. They are: Mayor Karen
Humphrey, Brian Sctencich, Bcnjermen
Junior Raya, Anthony Garza, Michael
Escandon, James Jackson, Ralph Cato,
William Morgan, Andrew Winford, Vincent
Lavery, Mike Eagles, Gcrold Gordon Ricks,
and Jim Patterson.
As of Jan. 15, KIRV general manager Jim
Patterson led with a grand total of $84,234
in total monetary and non-monetary contributions, according to campaign records. Mayor
Humphrey followed with 567,708 and councilman Brian Sctencich had the third largest
amount with $5,624.
"We're probably over $100,000 now and
could be as high as $ 120,000 by the election,"
said Darren Belk. Patterson's campaign manager.
Bclk attributes Patterson's lead in contributions to getting started on the campaign trail
early and the hard work of volunteers.
Running in this year's mayoral race has
given many of these candidates first-time
exposure to the volumes and volumes of state
and local requirements for campaign financing disclosure.
Yet even seasoned candidates, who have
either run for public office before or hired
staffs with extensive campaigning experience, still manage to overlook some restrictions.
For example, Patterson may have violated
state election laws by receiving $7,975.69 in
reimbursements from his campaign bank account for personal campaign expenditures.
According to the Campaign Disclosure Form
See Candidates, page 2.
Fresno divided
on Measure D
By Marni Garrison
Staff Writer
Measure D is the fourth attempt by the Fresno City
Council to repeal the eight-
city formula that determines public
safety salaries, otherwise known as
Charter Section 809.
Fresno voters will decide whether
salaries should be based on the average monthly salaries of those in Pasadena, Glcndale, San Jose, Stockton,
Sacramento, Berkeley, Richmond and
Alameda.
Stebbins Dean, executive director
of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce
and supporter of Citizens for a Safer
Fresno said the issue is one of local
control and that Charter Section 809
should be repealed.
"We have our own problems in this
city. We are not Sacramento. We are
not Pasadena. We feel local government should have the right to choose
the pay raises," Dean added.
Police and firefighters are afraid to
put public safety tax dollars into the
hands of City Hall, said Kelly Mcran,
campaign coordinator for the police
and firefighter Public Safety Coali
tion for a Safer Fresno.
Public safety employees are
afraid the money will be spent on
pet projects such as the new City
Hall or outside consultants instead
of public safety, Moran said.
"City Hall politicians have no
priority for public safety," Moran
said. "The City Council has shown
See Salaries, page 7.
Inside
Mayoral Race	
2,3
City Council Race
....4
Ballot Measures...
6,7
-..8
Opinion	
.-.9
A&E-.. 	
..10
Sports. —~-
..11
-J