Newsom Uses Prop H to Attack PeskinPaul Hogarthbyline‚ May. 12‚ 2008With Prop 98, the State Senate race and the Bayview initiatives dominating attention on San Francisco’s June ballot, very few voters know about Proposition H. Sponsored by Mayor Gavin Newsom, Prop H looks like a modest campaign finance reform measure. But it’s tailored to remind us of how Clear Channel gave $20,000 to last year’s Muni Reform measure – a “controlled” campaign committee by Supervisor Aaron Peskin. Prop H plugs a small loophole in existing law, but fails to define what is a “controlled committee” – a far greater problem that has allowed Newsom and others to raise hefty sums to various ballot initiative campaigns. Newsom put Prop H on the ballot without going through the Ethics Commission, which is common protocol for campaign finance measures. Peskin has introduced similar legislation at the Ethics Commission – which goes further by actually defining what is a “controlled committee.” |