$100,000 REFUND DEMANDED CANDIDATE KORENSTEIN ACCUSES RIVAL SMITH OF BREAKING SPENDING CAPS.Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer Los Angeles City Council  The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States. candidate Julie Korenstein on Thursday
accused her rival, Greig Smith Greig Smith is a Los Angeles City Councilman, representing the 12th District, which includes Granada Hills, Northridge and other parts of the Western San Fernando Valley. Smith is also a reserve officer for the Los Angeles Police Department. , of violating the spending caps for the
city's matching funds Noun 1. matching funds - funds that will be supplied in an amount matching the funds available from other sourcescash in hand, finances, funds, monetary resource, pecuniary resource - assets in the form of money program and demanded he give back the $100,000 in public money. Smith's campaign denied wrongdoing wrong·do·er n. One who does wrong, especially morally or ethically. wrong  do .
Smith spent $391,000 in the last reporting period, which ended Feb. 26, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the reports he filed with the city. Under the city matching funds program, candidates can qualify for up to $100,000 in city funds if they agree to limit spending to $330,000. However, that limit can be lifted if independent expenditures in the race exceed $50,000. Candidates were notified of the limit being lifted on Feb. 25. The validity of the complaint centers on how much Smith was able to spend in a single day before the March 4 election to succeed Hal Bernson Hal Bernson served as Los Angeles City Councilman for the 12th district. He was chair of the Transportation Committee. Prior to being on the City Council, he served in the Navy. Preceded by Robert M. in the Northwest San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. Valley's 12th District. Smith, Bernson's long-time chief of staff, and Korenstein, a long-time school board member, ran No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the March voting and are competing in the May 20 runoff. ``It's impossible in a campaign like this to spend $61,000 in less than 24 hours,'' said John Shallman, Korenstein's campaign consultant. ``He clearly was spending resources above and beyond the $330,000 before the cap had been lifted.'' Shallman added that if he did spend that much in a day, he must have had advance warning about the independent expenditures - making them not truly independent in violation of city law, he said. But Smith's campaign officials said it is easy to spend that much money in a day, and said they followed the law in every respect. ``We're totally in compliance with the law,'' said Smith's consultant, Mitch Englander. ``It's all reported correctly.'' ``We were notified the day the caps were lifted, and we decided to do more mail. If you tell your printer to go ahead with a piece of mail, the day you accrue it is the day you report it.'' |
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