Helping Our Peninsula's Environment

By David Dilworth

Prior to 1986 no campaign for a Carmel council seat spent more than about $2,000. That changed dramatically, and continues unabated today, with the entrance of a celebrity who spent a reported $30,000 on polls and a professional campaign staff.

By the early 1990s, many people from opposing political camps had grown increasingly uncomfortable with the cost and complexity of campaigns. This resulted in the 1993 formation of a balanced cross-partisan cooperative group who studied Campaign Finance Reform laws in a series of meetings at City Hall.

The group included (in alphabetical order) Steve Brooks, David Dilworth, Robert D'Isidoro, Lindsey Hanna, Suzanne Paboojian, and Noel Van Bibber.

After six months of meetings and 11 drafts, the group came to consensus on a systematic Campaign Finance Reform law appropriate for Carmel. That document is included here. Unfortunately because of the hostility to this by then Mayor Ken White, the proposed ordinance was put on hold and has yet to be considered.

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