POLITICS? Politics is the way we negotiate, make decisions, handle conflicts, elect representatives, and plan our future in community. It belongs to all of us and is supposed to done for the community’s benefit.
THE FACTS: The City’s voluntary campaign expenditure program sets a limit on what candidates can spend on their political campaigns. It was $25,111 in 2024. The City asks candidates to agree voluntarily to that limit.
If they accept: They get some perks (e.g., half the cost of the ballot statement)
If they exceed the cap: Penalties apply
If they don’t sign: It hurts their reputation
So most candidates sign.
THE FINE PRINT: Independent expenditures don’t count toward the cap.
So PAC-backed candidates can:
Sign the voluntary cap
Claim they “kept their promise” to limit spending
Sit back and watch the PAC spend unlimited amounts on their campaigns—money they say they know nothing about
THE REAL IMPACT: PAC opponents struggle to get their messages out while their opponents flood the media channels—all while claiming to play by the rules.
As it stands, the voluntary spending cap creates a false appearance of fairness, disadvantages candidates without PAC support, and rewards those who benefit from the loophole while claiming clean hands. A program that enables deception kills public trust.
WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW? Nothing. But cancelling this program should be on any review of City election programs or election resolutions. Such a review should be part of the plan to protect self-government discussed above.
