Tag Archives: Campaign Finance
New campaign finance rules in the works
Two City Council members, Ellen Troxclair and Jimmy Flannigan, are collecting campaign funds in anticipation of re-election campaigns that seem far in the future. Troxclair is likely to run for re-election in November 2018 for her District 8 seat, but…
City Council • By Jo Clifton • Feb 24, 2017
Zimmerman appeals campaign contribution limits
City Council Member Don Zimmerman has asked the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to strike down two provisions of Austin’s campaign finance laws: the $350 limit on contributions made by individuals to Council candidates and the…
Courts • By Jo Clifton • Nov 18, 2016
Ethics Commission says voters have given Zimmerman a greater sanction than it ever could
Austin’s Ethics Commission dismissed a complaint against City Council Member Don Zimmerman on Nov. 9, saying there was no sanction it could give him greater than being voted out of office. Commissioners voted 5-3 in favor of the complainant. But,…
City Hall • By Cate Malek • Nov 14, 2016
Prop 1, District 10, 7 races bring in cash
It’s anybody’s guess whether the city’s $720 million transportation bond proposition, known as Proposition 1, will win voter approval next week, but if it does not, it won’t be because of lack of funding. Move Austin Forward, the political action…
Elections • By Jo Clifton • Nov 1, 2016
Campaign finance reports show who's in the money
With only 28 days left until Election Day, Tuesday’s deadline for campaign finance reports arrived with little fanfare. City Council candidates were required to report all money they raised and spent between July 1 and the end of September, and…
Elections • By Jo Clifton • Oct 12, 2016
Dark money law keeps PACs busy
Move Austin Forward, the political action committee supporting the city’s $720 million bond proposition on the Nov. 8 ballot, has raised about $680,000, according to Jim Wick, manager of the pro-bond campaign. He said the campaign has spent about half…
Elections • By Jo Clifton • Oct 11, 2016
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PAC it up, PAC it in: PACs in local elections
To understand political action committees, it’s useful to think of them in terms of families. For example, if a candidate for City Council or mayor were the older sibling, a PAC would be the baby – that is, it would…
Elections • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Aug 3, 2016
How the city (used to) restrict candidates' fundraising time
With three months to go before Election Day in November, campaign signs for local, state and presidential candidates have bloomed – despite the incessant heat and current watering restrictions – on Austin lawns. Whether or not you’ve been fixated by…
Elections • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jul 29, 2016
Judge strikes down two Austin campaign finance rules
A federal district court ruled late Wednesday that two rules governing how candidates for Austin office handle campaign funds violate the First Amendment. The ruling came after Council member Don Zimmerman filed a lawsuit challenging the city’s campaign finance rules…
Courts • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jul 21, 2016
To the limit: how Austin caps campaign finance
Candidates for the five City Council districts scouting for new or incumbent leadership filed their first campaign finance reports Friday. And while we’re still in the very initial months of fundraising, some races have begun to resemble the tale of…
Elections • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jul 19, 2016
Why a little line on campaign websites might make a candidate look like a cheater
Natalie Gauldin’s backyard plays by its own rules. The grass tickles our calves and her almost 3-year-old daughter has left some toys scattered around. Dogs bark at us from inside her house in Austin’s District 7. But all these distractions,…
Elections • By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jul 8, 2016
Council to consider dark money ordinance
Independent political groups that spend money to influence elections will be required to disclose much more about themselves and their donors if City Council approves a proposed ordinance. At a Council work session on Tuesday, Assistant City Attorney Cynthia Tom…
