By Jorge Casuso
February 24, 2025 -- In an effort to "promote free and fair elections," the City Council on Tuesday will consider raising the contribution limit to individual candidates.
Placed on the agenda by recently elected Councilmembers Dan Hall, Ellis Raskin and Natalya Zernitskaya, the discussion item proposes raising the local contribution cap from $410 to $1,500.
The move comes after a record $1.5 million was spent in the November race for four Council seats, with more than $1.1 million rasied by Political Action Committees (PAC), which have no limit on individual contributions.
"The 2024 City Council election was the most expensive Council race in Santa Monica’s history, with individual candidate fundraising dwarfed by independent expenditures (IEs)," the discussion item reads.
"Meanwhile, we handicap local candidates by limiting how much they can raise."
Raising the individual contribution limit would "promote free and fair elections, limit IE influence, and encourage greater participation and access to municipal elections."
Last November, individual Council candidates running on the United slate that swept the Council race raised a total of $197,155, while the rival slate raised a total of $194,071.
While the candidate campaigns were neck-and-neck in fundraising, PACs that supported the United slate backed by Santa Monica's liberal establishment were outspent by more than $150,000 -- $645,180 to $489,311.
Council candidates and the PACs that support them cannot coordinate their campaign efforts. In addition, PACs tend to support an entire slate, focusing less on individual candidates
Tuesday's discussion item notes that while the Council raised the individual contribution limit from $370 to $410 two years ago to address rising inflation, the State raised similar limits from $250 to $500 last September.
The item directs staff to include automatic adjustments each election cycle "that reflect increases in the Consumer Price Index."
It also asks staff to look at the contribution limits in peer cities in the State and Los Angeles region based on "size, association and influence."
The item notes that West Hollywood and Culver City have individual contribution limits of $1,000, with Culver City's limit rising to $1,120 in last year's race due to the cost of living increase.
Last November's Council race easily shattered the previous spending record set in 2016, when PACs spent $367,000 and Council candidates spent $212,000 ("Council Race Shatters Finance Record," October 30, 2024).
