In line with long-standing efforts to update campaign finance rules, the San Mateo City Council voted 4-1 on Monday, Nov 6, to adopt voluntary expenditure limits and remove candidate statement fees, with Mayor Amourence Lee admonishing the measures as toothless reform.
The move was an extension of ongoing discussions and priority-setting by the City Council on how to lower barriers to entry and widen the pool of candidates running for local office. But Lee was quick to voice her disapproval, stating the expenditure limit proposed by staff is already at the higher end of typical campaign costs, which ranged from $17,000 to $57,000 for successful city candidates during the 2022 election, according to a staff report.
“I am very disappointed in where we landed on our voluntary expenditure limit to the point where I actually feel it is empty. The intent behind this effort was to try to level the playing field,” she said. “I feel that a voluntary expenditure limit of $50,000 in a district is a meaningless gesture, frankly.”
Voluntary expenditure limits are often used to curb exorbitant spending practices among candidates with higher access to wealth and other resources. Candidates typically opt in as a way to signal their commitment to more equitable elections and are subsequently listed publicly as a participant on the city’s website and other publications. While candidates do not face financial or legal penalties for overspending, noncompliance could result in constituent backlash, subsequently hindering reelection efforts.
The ordinance sets the spending cap at $2.50 per person in each candidate’s district, which amounts to roughly $50,000 per candidate, and would not include filing-related expenses or legal fees associated with litigation arising out of the campaign.
Lee and Councilmember Adam Loraine suggested lowering the cap closer to $1.50 per district resident in a previous meeting, but Councilmember Rich Hedges pushed for higher limits, stating candidates would be disincentivized to opt in if the amount was set too low.
Redwood City and Burlingame currently have voluntary expenditure limits in place, the latter of which enacts a $5 per person limit. In Redwood City, the cap is set to $2.36 per person, and all city candidates in the 2022 election participated.
Staff also presented to council an optional provision mandating that a copy of every mass mailing in support or opposition of a candidate is filed to the city, excluding online communications. While Lee envisioned the measure as a way to combat misinformation, others disagreed.
“I don’t think it’s necessary. It actually smacks of oversight. It’s just more work for the city, so I think it’s totally unnecessary and may actually be looked at as negative,” Hedges said.
While Deputy Mayor Lisa Diaz Nash and Councilmembers Hedges, Newsom and Loraine did not agree to the mailing provision, they voted in favor of setting up the voluntary expenditure limits. They also agreed for the city to absorb the cost of candidate statements, which typically range from approximately $500 to $700, City Clerk Patrice Olds told the Council in a September meeting.
The amended ordinance will go into effect in time for next year’s election cycle.
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