$1 million spent to influence outcome  Special interest groups
with a stake in the outcome of Ventura County's contentious 19th
District Senate race have now spent nearly $1 million in
attempts to influence voters.  The spending is in addition to
the about $6 million that the candidates, Democrat Hannah-Beth
Jackson and Republican Tony Strickland, have raised for the
campaign.  The outside spending is being done by groups known as
independent expenditure committees, which have proliferated in
recent years as a means to sidestep California's strict
contribution limits to candidates for state offices.
Individuals, companies and political action committees can
contribute a maximum of $3,600 to candidates for the
Legislature. Small contributor groups, which include most labor
unions, can contribute up to $7,200.  To get around those
limits, interest groups increasingly are financing their own
independent television ads and direct-mail pieces. They can
spend unlimited amounts on those efforts, as long as they don