Check campaign contributions, voluntary expenditures

Since 1996, California has required single-donor contribution limits for state offices, but no cap for those running for local office until this year.

All but three states have capped campaign contributions for those running for local office. In many cases, these limits are a ceiling permitting local governments to adopt even stricter limits.

There are 111 California cities that have set contribution limits per donor for candidates. The median limit of cities with fewer than 100,000 residents is $400.

The city of Beverly Hills has a variant that encourages candidates to accept the voluntary expenditures the city has set. Candidates are limited to a $125 single-donor contribution, but the cap is raised to $450 if candidates accept the city’s voluntary expenditure cap.

The range of limits in cities of similar size to most Marin cities goes from $100 to $550. In Marin County, only Novato ($400) and Sausalito ($500) have set contribution limits.

The purpose of limiting the amount of money a candidate can receive from a single donor is to both curb the influence of large donors and to ensure candidates have a broad base of support.

Contribution limits are a way to incentivize community candidates — people who have participated in the community, preferably through civic engagement (tenure and experience on jurisdiction commissions), but also through community service (work with nonprofit, political and youth organizations). The Marin IJ editorial published Oct. 7 with the headline “Good candidates make Tiburon Council endorsement a close call,” shows how civic engagement experience can give the edge to candidates.

The state limited contributions to local candidates to be the same as an Assembly candidate ($4,900). Assembly districts have a population of at least 465,000 people; my town of Corte Madera has a population of approximately 10,000. Having the same cap as an Assembly candidate defeats the purpose of why limits have been set.

Even so, there have been several examples of candidates in Marin County local elections, both at city council and county levels, receiving contributions over the limit that has existed for Assembly candidates for many years. I recall a county Board of Supervisors district campaign (approximate population of 52,000) where many of the contributions received were over the state assembly limit.

Corte Madera should consider setting a limit on single donors in the $400-$500 range much like the limit set by Sausalito (population approximately 7,300).

Local jurisdictions like state offices cannot impose mandatory limits on the amount a candidate can spend because the

U.S. Supreme Court ruled in

1976 that campaign spending is a form of political speech.

The state has established voluntary campaign limits for state offices. Local jurisdictions may set their own spending limits, either through a formula or flat amount, with the suggestion they be no more than $1 per resident.

The merits of voluntary spending limits are an extension of those for which there are mandatory contribution limits — to curb the influence of large donors, ensure candidates have a broad base of support and to incentivize community candidates who have participated in the community.

Campaign expenditures by candidates for council in Marin’s towns and cities are usually between $3,000 and $5,000 with the exception of San Rafael (population: 58,775) and Novato (population: 55,642). As Marin’s largest two cities, they far exceed that amount spent in the other nine cities. There have been only two exceptions found in the average expenditures of Marin city council elections in the nine smaller cities: $40,000 budgeted for a race in Larkspur and $30,000 budgeted for a race in Tiburon.

Corte Madera’s municipal code has had a well-written example of addressing voluntary spending limits since 1997. Maximum candidate expenditures have remained below the $4,919 cap set by the formula (50-cent rate per the number of town residents at 9,838). Yet, this has not kept candidates from reaching out to voters for support.

It’s time for all Marin’s cities and the county to set stricter required campaign contribution limits per single donor and voluntary expenditure limits that are appropriate for their populations.