Campaign donation limit sets right tone

The influence of campaign cash is a frequent complaint about politics and politicians. The Corte Madera Town Council has taken a step toward addressing that criticism, enacting a reasonable $500 limit on campaign contributions from individual donors.

Corte Madera is a small town and it shouldn't cost much for candidates to run their campaigns for Town Council.

Limiting the size of donations not only underscores that expectation, it also encourages others to run for office by addressing concerns that they can't afford to mount a campaign.

The single-donor limit set by the state is $4,900, but the law also allows local jurisdictions to opt for a lower limit.

Corte Madera decided to take advantage of that option, backing a proposal by Phyllis Metcalfe, a town planning commissioner and a veteran of helping run Marin political campaigns.

She proposed the local limit as a way to curb the influence of large donors and to broaden the base of candidates' support. Sausalito has also adopted a local limit of $500.

It is not uncommon around here for incumbents to build sizable campaign chests in order to discourage challengers.

Novato has had a $400 local limit on donations on the books for 15 years until recently when the City Council raised it to $750, even though its move to district elections was supposed to reduce the cost of campaigns and candidates having to seek as many big checks.

Longtime Novato Councilmember Pat Eklund, who supported the increase, said the city's limit was not keeping up with the increased cost of campaigning in Novato.

In Novato's case, a downside of the local limit has been the rise of high-priced political action committees that can mount independent campaigns for or against candidates.

But council races in Novato have a reputation for being a lot more rough and tumble than recent council contests in Corte Madera.

Its move to district elections, reducing the number of voters candidates have to reach by 80%, should reduce the cost of campaigning, but it didn't have much of an impact in the 2019 round of elections, where two winning candidates spent more than $27,000.

That's about $2.63 per resident. It's about $3.75 per registered voter.

Corte Madera Councilman Bob Ravasio got it right for his town.

“We are a small town and this is absolutely in keeping with the spirit of a small town,” he said.

Corte Madera also has adopted a voluntary campaign spending limit of $5,014 — or 50 cents per resident.

A candidate doesn't need many donors — even with the $500 limit — to reach that mark.

But the Town Council's measure sends a strong message that it wants to limit the influence of campaign donations on its elections and keep the cost of its campaigns at a level where it encourages rather than discourages people to run for local office.

In enacting local limits, it seems councils would be wise to establish short-lived independent voter task forces to come up with reasonable limits so it softens the perception that incumbents are writing campaign rules.

Local elections should be about meeting voters rather than stuffing their mailboxes, annoying robocalls or trying to blanket town streets with eye-catching signs. Setting reasonable limits on political donations should help contain campaign budgets while also dispelling criticism that politicians are beholden to their big-money donors.