Public Ethics Commission Special Meeting on Limited Public Financing Act Program, August 21, 2020

The Public Ethics Commission (PEC) held a special meeting on August 21, 2020, to determine the allocation of funds in the Election Campaign Fund for the Limited Public Financing (LPF) program for the November 2020 election. The Commission found that the available $153,000 was insufficient to provide the maximum allowable amount to all 17 certified candidates and voted to distribute the funds equally among participating candidates, subject to a two-phase reimbursement process.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Megan Stefan spoke during Open Forum, asking about mediation on a public records request unrelated to the agenda item. During the action item, Ms. Stefan commented that some candidates are struggling to meet the 5% threshold and suggested exploring alternative equitable distribution methods to help underdog candidates. She also referenced a report on donation disparities by zip code.

Discussion Items

• Staff Memorandum (presented by Executive Director Whitney Barazoto): The LPF program provides reimbursements to City Council district candidates. The Election Campaign Fund has $153,000. To offer the maximum 30% of expenditure ceilings to all 17 candidates would require $766,500. Therefore, the Commission must determine a distribution method. Staff recommended: (1) a finding that funds are inadequate; (2) divide the $153,000 equally among all candidates who opt in by August 27 and meet the September 18 deadline for submitting first reimbursement claim (two-phase approach). This approach historically maximized fund usage (96% in 2018).
• Commissioner Michael MacDonald raised concerns about the adequacy of funds each cycle and suggested future consideration of a more equitable basis (e.g., excluding incumbents or adjusting for need). He noted that "equitable basis" in the ordinance is undefined.
• Commissioner Janani Ramachandran supported exploring equity but noted the small difference in expenditure ceilings between districts. She asked about historical distribution methods.
• Commissioner Joseph Tuman questioned the program's purpose, arguing that fundraising itself is valuable. He expressed that the small amount may not significantly impact races and suggested increasing the minimum threshold.
• Commissioner Jerett Yan highlighted that equity could mean giving more to candidates from less-resourced areas, and proposed forming a subcommittee to study alternative distribution models.
• Commissioner Jill Butler seconded the motion.
• The City Attorney confirmed options: adopt staff recommendation, reject and propose alternative, or request more information.

Key Outcomes

• The Commission unanimously voted (6-0) to:
  1. Find that the Election Campaign Fund of $153,000 is not adequate to provide the maximum allowable funds to each potentially eligible candidate.
  2. Adopt staff's recommendation to distribute the $153,000 equally among all candidates who opt into the LPF program by the August 27 deadline and who submit their first reimbursement claim by September 18, 2020 (two-phase approach).
• The Commission discussed the possibility of future study into more equitable distribution methods, but no formal action was taken on that.