City Approves Campaign Finance Law

City Council members have unanimously approved a landmark campaign finance law after a late-night sparring session, marking the beginning of what supporters hope will be a new era in city politics.

The measure, which includes a $250 limit on contributions to city candidates, will take effect next month and will apply to this November’s city elections if granted final approval by the council July 14.

“I think this ordinance is outstanding,” Councilman Andy Fox said. “It’s going to take us a long way toward where we have to go.”

In a wide-ranging three-hour discussion Tuesday, council members tussled over a range of details, including an existing $25,000 voluntary cap on campaign spending, limitations on use of leftover campaign funds and a 90-day post-election fund-raising period.

Council members suggested many amendments to the ordinance proposed by a citizens committee. All but a handful of small changes were defeated.

As approved, the law includes:

* A strict $250 limit on contributions.

* A ban on anonymous and cash contributions of more than $25, well under the state’s $100 limit.

* A campaign fund-raising period that begins six months before election day and ends 90 days after.

* Allowances for the city clerk or city attorney to investigate and audit campaigns.

While he expressed approval of the measure as a whole, Fox, the driving force behind the 16-member citizens committee that wrote the ordinance, said the limitation on leftover funds was an attack on him.

That section will force candidates to give their leftover funds to the city or back to donors. Fox has used past leftover campaign funds to form a special office-holder account that pays for his public functions, including barbecues and golf tournaments.

Councilwoman Judy Lazar said she was reluctant to support the limitation.

“I’m really troubled by this motion because I feel it is personal,” she said.

But Lazar, acknowledging that future candidates could abuse the accounts and that the reform committee wanted them excluded, joined with Councilwomen Linda Parks and Elois Zeanah in affirming the limitation.

In one of several unsuccessful amendments proposed late Tuesday, Zeanah fought to keep a voluntary $25,000 campaign spending cap. Her motion failed in a 2-3 vote.

Craig Steele, legal advisor to the reform committee, said a voluntary cap was “unenforceable” and would likely face a court challenge.

A Zeanah amendment to outlaw post-election fund-raising also failed. As passed, the ordinance allows candidates to raise money for 90 days after an election to pay off campaign debt.

Zeanah said the 90-day period amounted to a loophole for contributors who do not want to disclose their support before an election, but Steele argued that a tighter limit would create its own problems.

“I can’t recommend that,” Steele said.

A set of four other reform measures, including an elected mayor and an ethics commission, are to be discussed at a future council meeting.