Millbrae sticks with state-set campaign limits

“I would be supportive of sticking with the [state] limits and seeing how that works in Millbrae before setting a lower limit,” Councilmember Reuben Holober said.

While the majority of cities in the county have opted to default to the state law, some have also implemented their own lower contribution limits, generally corresponding with moving to district elections. Burlingame, for instance, recently dropped its cap to $350 from both individuals and organizations.

Millbrae recently completed its switch from at-large to by-district elections, and voters will vote by district for the first time in November. With the new arrangement, voters will be divided into districts and chose only a single councilmember instead of casting votes for all four or five members. The move will limit the scope of campaigns from more than 22,000 people, the city’s population, to under 5,000, the population of districts.

Councilmember Ann Schneider said she would like to further examine campaign spending and donation limits, but also noted drawbacks, including workarounds that can obscure how much a candidate is actually spending or receiving.

“There can be unintended consequences,” she said. “The media is a very important part of making sure there are fair elections.”

Holober also said the limits would likely benefit candidates who self-fund their own campaigns, as things like personal loans would be exempt.

Several residents spoke during the council’s meeting, urging the city to establish lower limits.

“I feel that the high level of spending in some campaigns represents outside-of-Millbrae money,” resident Jean Perry said. “Having the campaign limits will also be a leveling factor, it will make me feel like our City Council seats are not being sold to the highest bidder.”

Mayor Anne Oliva, Vice Mayor Gina Papan and Councilmember Anders Fung did not weigh in on the issue.

Per the First Amendment, cities cannot implement total expenditure limits. They can, however, create voluntary limits, with compliance incentives including public announcements of who has or has not observed the rule. Burlingame did this, effectively limiting total spending to roughly $30,000 per district.

In the last election in 2020, Fung raised $91,373, Papan raised $85,343 and Schneider raised $16,173. Both Papan and Fung have received individual donations in excess of the new state limit. 

corey@smdailyjournal.com

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